West Coast Chronicles: Las Vegas (Day 02)

Our second day in Las Vegas involved a lot of walking and seeing all the sights. As a runner, I thought I had an advantage but there’s just so much to see along Las Vegas Strip that it isn’t really the case.

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The tiring walks of the previous day took its toll on us and it was practically lunch time when we got out of our room. That made our first activity of the day being brunch at a popular restaurant chain that sounds like my name: Denny’s.

The Las Vegas Monorail and McCarran International Airport as seen from our room

Then starts our tour proper of The Strip. We started our walking tour in front of New York New York Hotel just across our hotel, MGM Grand. It was a hot day (around 98°F or 36°C) but since the desert air is very dry, humidity is very low and it doesn’t feel as hot as Manila. In fact, you don’t really feel the heat unless you’re directly under the sun so as long as you stay under the shade, it’s not a problem. We brought along a bottle of water as well just to be on the safe side.

At the front of New York New York Hotel is this structure that kind of looked like the Brooklyn Bridge

Going to the other side of The Strip for a better view of the leaning Veer Towers

If you want to splurge you can visit The Shops at Crystals

Taking on the pedestrian overpass at The Cosmopolitan to go back to the other side…

Don’t you just wish that sidewalks are always this wide?

If you don’t like walking you can always take a bus

Caesar’s Palace is the first hotel we visited. Air conditioning is always welcome on a hot day! Anyway, Caesar’s Palace is not only huge, it’s quite spectacular! It looked like a palace that Caesar would own if he were alive to this day. Everything is opulent and classic.

It’s so big I think Caesar would be proud

Going indoors for some relief from the desert sun

The painting of the sky in the ceiling makes it feel like you are outside

Amazing atrium at the mall area with a wide fountain at the bottom

The first and only place I know where twisted escalators exist

Afterwards, we went back outdoors to explore more of The Strip.

Thank goodness somebody invented photochromic lenses! It’s just so bright that day!

Here’s a seemingly innocent fountain in front of The Mirage but free shows are held here nightly

An excellent replica of *Campanile di San Marco* in front of The Venetian

The furthest spot we reached at this time along The Strip: Fashion Show Mall with Trump Tower at the background

After reaching Fashion Show Mall, we decided to get back as we were tired. But I still captured some shots on our way back.

A replica of the Trevi Fountain outside Caesar’s Palace

Another interesting statue on the grounds of Caesar’s Palace
(I think this is the first nude picture on this blog 😀)

Las Vegas Strip on a warm and sunny afternoon

View of Ballys and Paris Hotel from Bellagio

Initially I thought that the fountain shows at Bellagio is only at night but apparently it starts earlier than that

A pretty interesting area at City Center

Mandarin Oriental as seen from City Center

Before we know it, it was already late in the afternoon. We went back to our hotel to rest for a bit and prepare for our special dinner. It is special as we were going to dine at one of the best (if not the best) buffet Las Vegas has to offer—Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s Palace. We had to arrive early as the queue can get pretty long as I was told. I won’t be detailing our dining experience as much on this post (as I’ll be making a separate post) but to summarize, this is the best buffet experience I’ve had so far (and the most expensive one too at $52/person plus taxes and gratuity)!

Here are some items from of a myriad of options

Some great tasting beverages (tried a few)

These crabs are worth a fortune in Metro Manila

As much as we’d love to sleep after a feast, the night is young and we are in Vegas so it’s off we go to see more of The Strip!

A replica of Michelangelo’s *David* inside Caesar’s Palace

In case you’re wondering what it looked like from behind 😀

Caesar’s Palace also has free shows inside the hotel using animatronics

On a pedestrian crossing again for a view of Stratosphere at the outskirts of The Strip

Fashion Show Mall definitely looks better at night!

The furthest casino we visited along The Strip: Circus Circus

I don’t know if there really use the place for circus performance but there’s this setup inside, above the casino floor

After reaching Circus Circus as our furthest point this side of The Strip, we started heading back. We of course went inside the casinos we encountered along the way, starting with the magnificent The Venetian.

The skies were dimmed to give you that feeling that it is indeed getting late

This is so inviting… too bad they’re already closed when we arrived

Actually, even the floor is lovely so don’t mind if I take a selfie here 😀

Amazing painting… and this is painted on the ceiling of the driveway!

Another painting on the ceiling of the driveway that would look good on any wall

Given the right angle and lighting this area could actually look like a canal of Venice is behind you

Replica of *Arc de Triomphe* in Paris Hotel

It was around midnight when we got back into our hotel. If you’re thinking that that can’t be all that we did the entire day, you’re right! Experiencing Las Vegas won’t be complete if we didn’t try our luck on the casinos! As someone working in the IT industry and fascinated by technology, I was impressed by how fast the slot machines are in terms of applying the latest technologies. And if you look closely enough, you may actually see the evolution of these machines as you go about trying different ones in different casinos. I didn’t take any photos while we’re on the casino floors though but some of these machines can be found in casinos in Metro Manila in case you’re curious.