Awoke to temperatures in the 100's! It is planned to be 105 degrees today. Tried to get a coffee and also book a show for that evening. Over a 30 min wait to get a coffee, and nearly an hour's wait to get a show booked at consierge services. Even then she booked it online! We could have done that from the room.
We were advised by the girl on the desk to walk to the next hotel and go to the Starbucks for our coffee. Crazy! The Bellagio may be a fabulous hotel but it certainly can't deliver on the basics.
Sandra and I then decided to go to the pool and get some beds for us all to sit on.
Well, that was harder than it seemed. Every bed looked taken, loads of people walking about with towels in their hands. So we did what it seems you have to do all the time in this hotel, we paid someone to find up 4 beds. That took another 30-40 mins!
After a lot of coming and going we eventually met up with Lel and Pat, went to our beds and got the girls settled. By this time the temperature was 106 degrees, and it was only noon.
Pat and I needed a haircut, so we jumped in the van, thank god for aircon, and off we went.
We drove up "The Strip" and decided to visit the pawn shop featured in the TV show Pawn Stars. It always amazes me on TV how busy the place is and what items get brought in.
As usual in the USA, the shop has it's own parking lot, we parked up, about 4 guys directing parking in a lot that only held about 30 cars. Shows how much of a tourist attraction this has become.
There was security checking people into the shop and it was heaving inside.
It is basically a counter either side, with a pawn area to the left as you enter. At the back there is a range of merchandise and you can take your picture with a backdrop of the stars of the show!
Only in Vegas.
Pat and I went to the mall to get a haircut, eventually found the hairdressers, booked ourselves in for a haircut, as always just having our heads clippered, or a "buzz" as the Americans call it.
A girl came out to do mine, Pat got a guy. Pat's guy had more make up on the Sandra and Lel would use together, his hair had a huge quiff, was peroxide blonde and shaved at the sides to a point at the back of his neck, Ashley Cole style. He was also camper than a row of tents. When he asked Pat what we were doing in Vegas , he was very quick to tell him that our wives were back at the hotel sunbthing by the pool!
After 20 mins, we both left $35 lighter, including a tip, and went back to the hotel.
By now it was about 108 degrees, so we grabbed a beer each, and had a dip in the pool to cool off. The pool area is very nice, quite large, in fact there are about 5 or 6 pools of one kind or another. Lots of shrubbery and conifers, all set out in an Italian garden style as you would expect.
The heat was really oppressive, so father about an hour we all decided to go back inside. We grabbed a salad from the little cafe on the way back to our lifts, only a 20 min wait, the shortest yet and sat down to eat it.
As we were eating we noticed a couple of sparrows flying around inside the building, as we looked up they were making a nest in the domed area above our heads. Can't believe that a 5 star hotel allows that to happen!
We went up to our rooms to get ready for the show. We chose to go and see a show called "Raiding the Rock Vault", it has been voted best Las Vegas show for the last 2 years, replacing Jersey Boys.
We headed down to The Tropicana hotel, collected our tickets from the box office and went and had a drink before we went in. The show offers VIP packages where you get to met the band before the show, pics, autographs etc. we saw these all go in and then looked at the line waiting to enter. It was massive, so we had another drink and waited till it got shorter before we joined it. Sandra needed the toilet and was told there were some inside the theatre. As we entered she asked where the toilets were, only to be told there were none in the auditorium and she had to go back outside. Well, you can imagine Sandra's reaction! She saw a tall guy, suited and booted, and went up to him. He was English, spoke with a very posh accent and she ranted to him about the lack of toilets, he agreed, said it was ridiculous and as she carried on ranting he suggested that she write to her MP. She wasn't very happy!
Off she went to the toilet, there was plenty of time before the show started, and we all took our seats. We had a great view, near centre stage. In the front rows there were booths and tables, so for those shows with dinner this is where you would sit.
The show was fabulous, it featured rock songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Some great musicians, ex Whitesnake, Bad Company, Asia, Bon Jovi etc. It was a bit tongue in cheek, but very accomplished, and a great 2 hours of rock music. All the classic rock songs were played, the lead singer often changing for different songs.
It also happened to be the 500th show in Vegas, so at the end on came a cake and champagne to celebrate. The band introduced everyone thanked a few people including the show's producer, a guy called Sir Henry Cowell. He was a tall English guy, suited and booted. Yep, you guessed it, the same guy that Sandra was ranting to earlier about the lack of toilets in the theatre!
We went back outside to have a drink, we were all laughing about what had happened previously with Sandra. As we sat at the table, there were some raffle tickets left there, a couple of guys were singing songs playing pianos. During a break, they announced there was a raffle, they pulled out a ticket, read the number no it was one of the ones left on our table. Sandra collected the prize and of course it was a voucher for 2 tickets to see a show, "Raiding the Rock Vault"!
We told the guy we were leaving Vegas in a few days so he swapped it for a tshirts of the show. The band were doing signing sessions of merchandise right net to where we were sitting, so we persuaded Sarnie to do her "groupie" act and get the band to sign it. Whilst waiting she was chatting to people in the line, one guy had seen them 22 times before, another girl was part of the PR team. When she got to the front of the line, she really milked the moment, chatting to ech member, photos with them, getting the tshirt signed, the "whole 9 yards" as they say out here.
We went back to the hotel, had a bit of a gamble, a few drinks and grabbed a snack. Well a burger really, we're so hungry! It was delicious, it was the nearest equivalent to a kebab after a night on the booze!
We finally got to bed about 3.30 after a great night out.
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