USA road trip, Post 15: Las Vegas

Our 3500km road trip came full circle with our final three nights spent in Las Vegas (July 9th to 12th). This time we stayed with the friends we made during our visit last summer: Alan and Julia. After our big Utah ditch and Bryce Canyon day, we arrived at their home at one minute to midnight on Friday. It was great to see them again and introduce them to Delle!

On Saturday, Alan and Julia spent the day showing us around some of the sights on the Strip:

The cute little "French shopping district" inside Paris Las Vegas (that's the casino featuring the Eiffel Tower)...





Another visit to the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens...











The cute mini hot air balloons nearby...

The glass plate feature ceiling in the Bellagio...

Another awesome ceiling in the Bellagio...



Looking across the Boulevard to Paris Las Vegas...



The Bellagio Fountains during the daytime...

Caesars Palace (next door to the Bellagio)...











We had a break from the Strip by taking a drive to a 50s-style icecream parlour...







Then hung out in the Venetian, watching gondolas, jugglers, stiltwalkers, and opera singers...

The Palazzo (next door to the Venetian)...







We had dinner at a southern-American style restaurant that was all about the meat and sauce. It was delicious!

Then, we showed Delle the Fremont Street Experience! This is where Ben and I stayed last summer - you can see our hotel, the Four Queens, in the video below...

On Sunday we had a great day that ended with a friendly game of Rook.



On Monday, before our 1:40pm flight back to Bellingham, Ben, Delle and I did a little shopping at the Las Vegas Outlet Center. I managed to buy a pair of shoes and a replacement handbag, so that was a year's worth of successful shopping for me! Then we returned our rental car, took the two shuttles to the airport, flew to Bellingham, retrieved our car from the $20/week storage lot we were ecstatic to have discovered beside the airport, and drove home.

And that was our trip!