Viva Las Vegas!!!

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Sin City. Gambling heaven or a good excuse to go shopping!!! That's exactly what it was for Sheri and myself. We first spoke about a trip to Vegas last March, so it only took us a year and half to actually go. With the Canadian dollar as strong as the American it was perfect timing. Sheri came into Vancouver and spent a couple of days with her brother John. They picked me up on the Saturday and we were off to the airport. We checked in - standby on Westjet - and then went through to the Departure Gates. As we had come early, we had plenty of time to stop at a bar and have a huge caeser and a good gossip. We boarded the plane and soon found out that we were in the party row!!! We had two couples on either side of us and they ordered drink after drink after drink. Sheri and I didn't quite meet up to their standard of drink ordering but we certainly enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine 😊

Soon, we were down in the City that never sleeps. Bright lights abound and the Strip shone brightly in the dark sky. We jumped on a bus and were soon on our way to our hotel. We stayed at the Stratosphere, which has a huge tower that dominates the skyline of the North end of the Strip. After checking in we went out to find somewhere to eat and found a Thai restaurant on the other side of the road. It was full of Asians which is always a good sign. The food wasn't too bad. After eating we went to a store across the road, bought a few drinks and felt like rebels as we wandered back to the hotel with drinks in our hands!!! We had a walk around the shops in the hotel and found a little jewelers where Sheri found a certain type of toe ring that she'd been looking for. They put the toe ring on whilst your toe is wet so that it stays on. I got on as well. Why not.

The next morning we woke to lovely sun and sat down by the pool for an hour. Next, we grabbed a Starbucks - there was one down by the Casino in the hotel, pefect! Next we walked a block to Sahara Avenue. We were on the lookout for David's Bridal. I have spent a lot of time on their website during the last few months looking at dresses. We found out a few days before we arrived that there was a store in Vegas and it turned out to be along the road from the hotel. We also found out that they had a sale starting the day we arrived. It was just meant to be. On arriving for our appointment, we were given a magazine to chose dresses and then went to a huge fitting room. There were different groups dotted around, all oohhh-ing and ahhh-ing as the brides to be were displaying the various beautiful dresses.

We spent a happy few hours with me trying on around eight different dresses. We shortlisted them down to four and from there to one. Yes, one - the one I bought, brought home and am going to wear next May 17th 😊 I love it. I knew it was the right dress before I actually tried it on. I had admired it on the internet and in magazines and when I put it on I knew. So, it was a very successful day. After paying and arranging a pick up time (yes, no alterations were needed - just a spruce up), then we were on our way. To celebrate our achievement we stopped at the 7-11 across the street. We picked up a couple of perriers and white wines and made a white wine spritzer to enjoy as we walked - cheers!!! We decided that we'd make our way to the Strip and that we'd weave our way down a bit further so as to not back track the way we came along Sahara. We were walking for about 15 minutes on a road that ran parallel to the highway to runs beside the Strip. We were looking for either an underpass or overpass but couldn't see anything. The next thing we hear a beep beep behind us. Doh, we were being stopped by a Police car. I was convinced that he had spied us making our white wine spritzers. In fact, he was just being very kind and stopped us to see where we were heading as apparently if we stayed on our current path we had a long walk to find our way over to the Strip. We started to back track and spotted a taxi who we flagged down. Soon we were pulling up outside Fashion Show Mall, safe and sound.

Once in Fashion Show Mall we decided that we were getting quite hungry. I spied a California Pizza Kitchen which I used to frequent on the odd occasion in Hawaii. We ordered a glass of wine and a Thai Chicken pizza, which we shared and devoured - without so much as a beep from either of us. Once our appetite had been quenched we enjoyed the rest of our wine and then hit the mall. We visited Bath and Bodyworks and also to Macy's. After netting a few bargains and walking around the Strip visiting the Venetian and went over to The Forum shops. We found a Cheesecake Factory and had some lettuce wraps and Vietnamese summer rolls for dinner. Then we jumped into a cab and made our way back to the hotel. We were exhausted after a busy day and soon hit the sack.

Our adventure started the next morning with a trip up the Stratosphere Tower, which we got as part of our room deal. After lining up we were soon in a lift that took us up to the top. We soon found the Starbucks, located up in the sky and enjoyed the views sipping our coffees. After taking in the 360 degree view, we took the lift back down. We had another mission to start - the Outlet Malls! The Stratosphere ended up being the perfect spot for us, it was close to David's Bridal and also the transfer point for the trolley. We jumped on one such trolley that went North and then West before reaching the Outlet Mall. It must be said that we spent quite a while there. In fact, I think it was getting dark by the time we left. We jumped on another trolley and were soon back at the Stratosphere.

We had high intentions of popping into the hotel club or even just dressing up and stopping in the casino to take some pictures to pretend that we had wild nights of partying. That just didn't happen though. We went to the Thai restaurant, picked up some take-away food and then went to the shop and stocked up on drinks. Went back to our room and had a picnic before trying to pack all our stuff whilst getting a little tipsy. The best way to pack I tell you!

After a good night's sleep we woke to our last day 😞 We went down to the pool for a little bit of sun. Then it was back to our room to change and grab our bags. We had to check out and left our bags in the luggage room. We grabbed a Starbucks and then went down to Sahara and walked along to David's Bridal - time to get my dress... It was all ready, looking very beautiful I must add. Just before going into the store we had been very clever to get a couple bottles of perrier and some white wine, so we had some refreshing spritzers for our walk back to the hotel. We stopped on the way to pick up some pear cider to take with us for our next trip of the day. We dropped the dress off and then caught a trolley down the Strip - South this time. We got off at the Bellagio and waited for the water show to start and enjoyed our cider whilst we waited. As we were waiting we noticed some wee men out in a boat and it looked like they were fixing something. Apparently they were, as the water show was a bit of a disappointment. After ten minutes or so everyone starting turning and walking away. So we gave up as well and starting our way up the Strip taking in the sights as we went. Eventually we made it back to Fashion Show Mall, it really doesn't take us long. We enjoyed some food at California Pizza Kitchen before doing our last minute shopping from the list of things to buy.

Then it was back to the Stratosphere and enough time to grab our luggage before catching a shuttle to the airport. It wasn't too long until we were on our way. It wasn't home though, we went to Calgary arriving early morning and then were due out on the first flights in the morning. Sheri to Edmonton and myself to Vancouver. We spent a fairly uncomfortable and really cold night, sleeping on chairs in the airport. The only saving grace was the sheep cushions we'd bought from Bath and Body Works before we left Vegas. Everyone may have laughed at us but they were very soft and at least our heads were comfy!

Before we knew it, we could check in for our flights. We went through security and kept our blood sugar levels up by devouring a Tim Horton's breakfast bagel - yum. Then it was time to say goodbye. I had a brilliant few days and Sheri, thanks so much for helping me find the most beautiful wedding dress. I can't WAIT to wear it and to have the memory of buying it in Vegas is certainly a good one.

It was a great weekend and Vegas really does have lots to offer - certainly for shopping!!!!

Bye for now and lots of love xxx

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