Las Vegas

With Pete and Sue in Las Vegas for a week from 19-26 November, staying in The Cosmopolitan, room 3298 overlooking Bellagio fountains. Floor 32, but since the floor numbers jump from 4 to 15 actually the 22nd floor.Very cold, too cold to enjoy our balcony.

Bellagio from our room balcony

Paris casino from our balcony

Cosmopolitan's swimming pool was changed to an ice-rink

The Christmas Tree was lit the Saturday we were there

The object on top of this burger at the MGM Grand is a battered and deep fried gherkin. Ghastly!

On our last full day we took a tour with Pink Jeeps to Boulder Dam

White stone shows normal water level. Photo courtesy Sue Chasney.

 Water level in dam was very low as result of drought.

Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep grazing in park above lake

Two 25-foot tigers made from yellow lentils, red and black cargo rice and caraway seed

Bellagio Conservatory had this India themed display combining animatronic animals with many thousands of flowers.

Visited The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas and had this picture taken by a selfie booth,

picture courtesy Sue Chasney

 and sat in the (decommissioned) electric chair, though throwing the switch seen to the right of the chair makes a frightening electrical noise.

Downtown almost unrecognisable. Fremont Street and side roads are pedestrianised, and Fremont is roofed with people zooming its length on zip wires, and earsplitting music from large stages

Wheel of Death from KA, photo courtesy Sue Chasney

We saw two Cirque du Soleil shows, The Beatles Love at The Mirage and KA at MGM Grand, and the free KA 360 'Theatre Experience' tour, which explained the amazing technology behind the touch sensitive revolving horizontal/vertical stage, that the artists perform two shows daily and that the music is played live at every performance. 

Behind the scenes tour allows photo's, and uses the main stage  vertically for a movie screen.

The flight home departed at 21:10 so we enjoyed an afternoon burger at Burger Brasserie in Paris Casino. We didn't have their signature 777 Burger (Kobe beef, pancetta, goat cheese, seared foie gras, arugula, Maine lobster, 100-year-aged balsamic paired with a blt salad and a bottle of Dom Pérignon rosé champagne) which cost $777 and holds 'world's most expensive burger' title.

They sell about one per month, the manager told me, and about 40 a month for $77 without the Champagne.

Refreshingly there was a choice of bread and no brioche bun! Good burger, good plentiful chips and the wine exceeded expectations, as the assistant manager came bearing Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon, priced the same as plonk at other LV restaurants.