Day 3 - When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie - that's amore

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Our third day started once again with a mountain of breakfast, then a shuttle bus straight to the Strip. Destination eventually was the Venetian hotel, which not only contains vast quantities of designer stores, but also boasts it's own canals (inside and outside the hotel. We finally located the ticket office, purchased three tickets and were ushered immediately around the corner for embarkation, as our Gondalier awaited. A chatty fellow originally from the mother country but settled in the US at 15, and had barely spoken Italian since until this job. So as we scooted along he serenaded us with two songs both made famous by Dean Martin (very Italian!!), Volare, followed by That's Amore. Very enjoyable 15 minutes.

Now for those of you not au fait with very touristy places, let me give you a word to the wise, not much happens in Vegas where they won't try and flog you a picture of you doing it. And so it came to pass following our canal adventure, we were taken back to the office so they could entice us with photos of ourselves on the gondola - classic.

Gondolas are thirsty work so we set off to find sustenance and chanced upon a cool diner that had high bar chairs, served shakes and for 5 cents, you could play a tune from the mini jukeboxes on the counter. Aidan went for Strawberry & Oreo, which looked more like a meal in a glass than a drink, but he enjoyed it and the whole experience, even found 5 cents stuck in one of the jukeboxes - good lad.

Some breathtaking parts of the Venetian, it is one of my favourite hotels in Vegas, but I do like Italian stuff, especially red and in a bottle!!

We ventured back out to the Strip, and by this time (midday) it was over a 100 degrees, so we decided to go back south and to a cinema (or theatre as they're known in these here parts), somewhere cool and relaxing. On the Strip you do see some sights, and today was no exception. There are a number of people around who are homeless, selling you tickets to something, selling you water, or dressing up as a character (you have photo with them, and give them a tip). Woody & Buzz from Toy Story were about, as was Hello Kitty, Mario & Luigi and Big Bird. However, on Bastille day the piece de resistance was a 5ft tall Chewbacca - yes a short bloke in a hairy suit in 100 degree heat, fool and surprisingly no takers, but very funny.

The homeless also employ humour, as they are not allowed to verbally beg, instead they all have cardboard signs. My favourite so far has to be a guy whose card read; "To ugly to be a prostitute, please help".

We made it to the cinema theater on time and wasted a couple of hours on Pacific Rim. Now 3:30pm the contentment of breakfast had worn off, so it was lunch time and this meant a trip next door to the Hard Rock Cafe. As we waited to be seated we were ushered in front of a Hard Rock backdrop for a team photo or two, which meant another picture sale to be swerved later.

Now, my tastiest burger experience was Hard Rock Honolulu, and having tried Washington DC, Manchester, London and Manila I thought we'd see how the Vegas Legendary burger would hold up. The results were good, definitely in my top 5 and a couple of pints helped as well. The picture sale was next, duly swerved as promised, then the bill and away out into the burning light of day.

Returned to chez Davis, the Aidan and I headed for the pool. I lounged, Aidan bombed with aplomb - I also think he ran, but there was definitely no heavy petting. Adieu, until tomorrow...................

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