Sleeping and Eating on the Strip

So we had an awesome flight to get here. But now a different kind of fun gets to start! I’ve known about this trip for a month and could hardly wait for it to arrive. Now that it’s here, let’s explore some of the city!

While we waited for our shuttle to take us to the hotel, this car was parked outside. Maybe it was meant to be our rental?

It’s pretty. Too bad it’s GM.

There are six Hilton properties on the Strip alone, so I knew that I had to be very careful when telling him which one we were staying.

The line guy dropped us off here…this is the right place!

It’s probably the right place because I found it for $67 per night! Now that’s my kind of hotel fare!

    

I knew that we were in good shape when these beautiful lights met us in the lobby. I love this look of grouped lights

And the goodness continued with the view from my room. I asked for the highest floor, and they obliged. I am so spoiled!

These towers are actually residential condos. Can you imagine living right on the Strip like that?! I don’t think it would be very fun for a long-term choice, but maybe for a few weeks!

They have a nice pool. It was about seventy degrees today, so I am surprised that the pool was empty!

My room? Absolutely gorgeous. The entire hotel has been recently renovated, and I get to enjoy a giant room with a kitchenette, couch, and huge bed.

And I didn’t even name the horse painting. Can you believe it?

   

The bathroom was beautiful with a floating vanity. And the kitchenette would be a great option if staying for several days. I would just hit up a grocery store to get some goodies so not every meal had to be eaten out.

But I love when every meal is eaten out!

After I dropped off my bags and got on some better walking shoes, I headed back downstairs to walk to the Strip.

I’m glad that I decided to talk to the nice information lady at the hotel desk. She told me about the awesome 24-hour monorail ticket for just $12. I was saving so much on my hotel room that I decided to splurge and go for the monorail.

Boy, am I glad that I did. When I got back to my hotel room later that night, I Googled the walking distance. Almost six miles to get to the heart of the Strip! Yikes!

The monorail station was just a few blocks away from my hotel in another Hilton property. The trains come every seven minutes, so I knew that I wouldn’t have to wait long whenever I got there.

The stations are all gorgeous. For some reason, I was thinking that this monorail was a few decades old. It would just make sense to have an easy way for people to get around like this. However, it only opened in 2006!

So everything looked brand-new because it was brand-new!

Once I bought my ticket and ascended the escalator, this large area greeted me. This is a Monday afternoon around 3:00 PM in December, so I wasn’t surprised that it wasn’t really busy.

The airport was really busy…the National Bull Riding Championships begin next week, so lots of cowboys are already arriving in town!

I was first overwhelmed at trying to decide where to eat. The world is my oyster!

Once again, the information lady saved me by handing me a coupon packet for the entire city.

I saw the coupon for a free Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 3 and knew exactly where dinner would take place this evening!

And the closest monorail stop to Serendipity is Caesars Palace. So I’ll get off at the Flamingo Monorail Station!

From the platform before my monorail arrived, I had a great view of my hotel and the old Sahara Casino. Bummer that it closed down in 2009…the last monorail station on the line ends there!

I talked to a few people who say that it is possibly being gutted to reopen soon. Wouldn’t that be cool to bring back some of the old classic places in Vegas?

Hello, Ride! What took you so long?

Just like at the platform, I had most of the monorail to myself. I was so excited to explore the Strip for a few hours on foot.

Well, on foot once the monorail got me closer, that is!

We passed yet another Hilton property as we rode south towards the Strip. This is the Hilton Convention Center. I’m sure all sorts of interesting meetings take place here.

It is Vegas, after all.

This is a distant view of my hotel again. We are over by those towers near the Stratosphere. It’s a deceptive picture, because the Stratosphere was still a few more blocks away from where I was staying.

See you later, Hotel!

You can see on the map above that the monorail winds its way behind most of the major casinos on the Strip. Now we’re heading closer to all of the action.

Here I am standing at the monorail station just behind the Flamingo Casino. You can see Wynn in the background, and some construction going on nearby.

Fun! What do you think they are building?!

I am close to Bally’s, where Hubby and I stayed a few summers ago, and to Paris. Just across the Las Vegas Boulevard is my destination today…Serendipity, here I come!

My walk towards the Strip took me past some pretty pool areas of the casinos and hotels. Why isn’t anyone here?

Because it’s about sixty-eight degrees now, and cooling fast as the sun descends!

I walked through the Flamingo to get outside. Man, I hate that smoky smell of casinos. Luckily, I won’t be in them long! Just to get to and from the monorail on this trip!

Now we’re at the Strip!

Hello, Bellagio Fountains! Oh, what a nice greeting. I’m sure that you’re playing just for me to feel welcome. And I do, thank you very much!

Here I am on the walkway over the Boulevard, just outside of Flamingo. This walkway will get me the closest to dinner. And I’m hungry!

The view from up here is just beautiful! There’s the Cosmopolitan! And all of the shops at the Bellagio. I can’t afford anything in them, so I usually don’t even go inside.

Here’s old Bill’s Saloon, which I’m shocked hasn’t been bought out and built into a giant, new casino. Prime real estate, people!

And there is Bally’s and Paris in the distance.

I’ve never actually been inside Caesars, and I still didn’t make it inside for this trip, either! Am I missing out?

I made it! Let’s eat some grub!

Even in the middle of the day, I still waited about twenty minutes for a seat. They took my phone number down, then texted me when it was my turn to sit. Cool, huh?

The interior is different from the one in New York City, for sure, but still really eclectic and nifty.

And I loved the giant chandeliers…drummed shades. And huge! I’ve never seen anything quite like it!

I decided to sit on the heated patio to enjoy the Strip action while eating my early dinner tonight. Now that I’m out here, I’m wondering why it took them so long to seat me. There are lots of empty seats out here!

They must be short-handed tonight in servers.

I showered today, so I know that it wasn’t my fault.

The menu is so much fun. I wish I would have taken more time to explore it all. I took pictures, so maybe you can explore it with me now?

It’s huge, of course. And I have a coupon for a free Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, so we know that one will be coming to my table this evening!

And they have all sorts of flavors for the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, too. How yummy would the mint one be?

Just kidding. I love mint everything, but I’ve never felt like it quite belonged in hot chocolate.

And their appetizer menu was commendable. Looking at it now, I wish I would have gotten those All In Nachos instead of the sandwich that I chose.

Hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches. If you are hungry, this is a great place to get anything your little heart desires!

I am in Vegas, so I decided to take a chance and try something new. I had such a wonderful prosciutto sandwich in Seattle that I thought this one couldn’t lose. So I got the High Heel Pump sandwich.

And yes, I paid. $18. Is that crazy or what?!

I was sitting right across the street from the Flamingo for dinner. So I got a lot of looks of Donny and Marie while waiting for my meal to arrive!

This dinner view could be considered downright depressing! Unless you just focus on the Eiffel Tower!

Dinner has arrived. And the sandwich is massive.

The fries were really good. Salty, hot, and just right!

But I was a little disappointed with the sandwich. The menu said that it has pesto and a balsamic glaze on top. I thought that it would taste like a gourmet caprese salad with some prosciutto on top!

But all I could taste was mustard. And I am a normal person who happens to dislike mustard. When I asked the server about it, she said that it comes with pesto. And that must be what I was tasting.

Luckily, I know what pesto and mustard taste like, and this was definitely mustard. It kind of ruined the sandwich for me. I only had a few bites of this $18 giant.

Wop wop.

Luckily for me, I planned ahead to have a fall-back. And it just so happened to be drinkable chocolate!

The one in NYC is much larger, cheaper (though mine today was free), and better-tasting. New York City all the way, apparently!

So there you have it! The first few hours in Vegas were spent wisely…checking in at the gorgeous hotel, riding a monorail to the Strip, and eating a fun meal at Serendipity 3.

In tomorrow’s post, we’ll explore some more! Come back for sure!