Trip Report - 5/23-5/26

Left Madison at 6:50 am - arrived in Vegas at 10:45 on Sunday morning. 2 Vegas returnees (me and friend) and 2 Vegas virgins (my mom and my aunt). I had arranged for Jim (Prez Limo) to pick us up and as of Friday, he was still slated to pick us up. Got to the baggage claim and found out we did not have Jim. Got Doug instead. No champagne and no roses...the group enjoyed the surprise of the limo ride. Wish they wouldn't advertise that you're getting champagne and roses when you don't - and I didn't feel right about asking about it in front of the rest of the group. Limo ride was nice - Doug was ok - not overly informative. Was really wishing we would have gotten Jim, but I understand that things happen.

Checked into the Excalibur...waited in line for about 45 minutes. Upgraded to strip view rooms. Very smokey walk through the casino to get to the elevators. Room was nice - nothing extravagant, but I knew that going into it. Bathroom is huge as reported. Everything was very clean- no complaints at all about the room. Staff was always friendly and helpful.

We went and had some lunch at the buffet - marginal at best. We didn't eat there again during the trip. Took the tram to Luxor and Mandalay Bay and back. Walked over to NYNY and MGM. Checked out M&M Store and Coke Store. By now my migraine that I was trying to ignore was full-force, so we opted to just hang out in the room and go to bed early. We'd been up for 17 hours by now!

Monday - Krispy Kreme for breakfast YUM!!! Took the bus down to Venetian - love that plac e- I could walk through there for a whole day, I think, hit Mirage, and then Ceasars. Got there just as the Cheesecake Factory was opening for lunch - AWESOME lunch! Will definitely go back there again. We had the "lunch" version of the salad/pizza combo. The salad would have fed the four of us and we could have shared two pizzas. And of course cheesecake for dessert (Snickers and White choc/raspberry. Did a bit of shopping. Hit Bellagio conservatory and then did the Eiffel Tower experience - everyone enjoyed that. Went back to the hotel - sat by the pool in the afternoon. That evening we went to Legends in Concert at IP - great show - we saw Donna Summer, Prince, Beatles, Elvis, Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin, then off to see the Fountains at Bellagio. Walked back to Excalibur - that really IS a long walk!

Tuesday am - mom and aunt went on Hoover Dam tour. Friend and I taxied over to Orleans for breakfast (I stayed there last year and loved the breakfast). It was as good as I remember - love the made-to-order omelets. Did a bit of shopping on the strip. Back to the pool for the afternoon. Ate at Regale at Excalibur. Good food. Taxi downtown to see the light show. Taxi back to the hotel. Ate a late dinner at the Sherwood Forest cafe - food was good. Mom and Aunt were tired - friend and I went to Thunder From Down Under at the Excalibur. GREAT SHOW!!!

Up very early on Wed. am for our 9:15 flight back to WI. Arrived in Madison at 7:00pm.

Great time was had by all.

 

How much was the cab ride to the Orleans?

 

Dukie,
I don't remember exactly, but I think around $6-$7