The Sounds and Sights of Vegas.

When we plan a trip and since it's not always longish, I make the itinerary interesting by having an outline of what we plan to do for the day. As this is supposed to be a holiday, we try not to live on deadlines or timelines as that is not fun!!!

This Vegas trip is all about the Strip. In fact, just our side of the strip. lol It was too hot to walk in but we walked anyway so most of the stuff you will see in this show and tell (write) are the places we would walk by to from points A to B. So from here (the lion statue that is MGM), we will walk north of Las Vegas Boulevard.

One block from the west wing area is this: M&M's world. So yeah, imagine our surprise when the Strip is full of kiddos in their strollers or on foot with moms and dads in tow. Although yes, it's still pretty early in the morning though - so I think it's 'safe' still. The parents should just cover their kids' eyes on the roaming billboards and make sure that their kids don't look up to the Hooters ad or look down too much on the pavements where porn (those pesky cards that are being held to any men walking down the strip) abounds!

We stopped by for my niece and nephew's shirts and a pound of candy for my hubby. lol The big bottle beside the M&M's world is a Coca-cola bottle. We did not bother checking this place as there was a long queue to the Glacier Drinks Bar that sits quite close to this. I think there is an Outback Restaurant in this Coke 'building' too.

Walking towards the second block - we see rows of food joints and small little enterprises that is reminiscient of those stalls in Manila like a Recto or Quiapo of some sort. There were mist-ers all over the place and funny, but, there was even a 'carinderia' called Kapit-Bahay along the strip. Too bad I only saw it on our last day in Vegas - otherwise, I would have asked B for quick eat out there. This is a long block where one can actually get some cheap (and tacky, lol) keepsakes and this has a row of people who are peddling their services for the Grand Canyon Tour (which we will do next time when we come back to Vegas) or some other 'wares' if you know what I mean.

The next stop is Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Hotel. The shops are a combination of high and low end type of stores so it's nice to go to. Inside Planet Hollywood (formerly Aladdin), you will see this imposing figure and just right by the 'ship' is some sort of a wharf. The place is hopping all the time so we did not stop to check what's in there but I have an inkling that this is supposed to be the 'lower' end (meaning, not the gourmet restaurant type of thing) food in the hotel. In MGM, we have a McDonald's (go figure!) and some chinese fast food which we never catch open, some italian fast food (which I think is so big on pizza) and a Haagen Dazs shop. The restaurant row here in Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile seems great actually (TODAI which is a seafood place is next in my list to re-visit but then again, that meant I will have to convince B to eat more sea life. lol) as they have an italian, brazilian, mexican, american/hawaiian, type of food going on. Most importantly, this shop has an Auntie Anne's pretzel (we don't have one in Canada!!!) and B & I thoroughly enjoy our cinnamon sugar pretzels with freshly squeezed lemonade. ;)

Inside Planet Hollywood you can find the best buffet!!! So, if there is anyone of you who is wondering where the best selection of food there is to be in the Strip - go to Island Spice Buffet in PH.

Vegas which is also synonymous to big, extravagant shows - meant that we catch a Broadway and a Cirque show. We caught the Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian where the stage/set was just totally breathtaking.

Equally amazing is how the theatre is able to create such a majestic show by pulling off show-stopping tricks as the 'chandelier'. Note: We almost got into trouble by taking a photo of this - it's a good thing that some other guys then have more guts than we did as others did take photos after photos of the whole set. yikes!

The Venetian Hotel is awesome. Just look at some of the painted ceilings - reminds you of Italy eh? And what is Venice without the gondola? We passed the gondola ride and the singing as there again, was a huge line up!

While we were sightseeing, a nice couple offered to take our photo together and B did the same for them. Here is us by the Gondola ride in the Venetian after watching Phantom.

On our way back, we managed to snap some more shots. Here are the great and humungous hotels along the Strip. MGM Mirage has the LOVE by the Beatles (Cirque du Soleil show).

Treasure Island which is still famous for the pirates show but we did not get to see them perform. :(

Caesar's Palace - known for the Boxing bouts of Manny Pacquiao and Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill! We missed it this time - so on the next round, we will have Bobby's restaurant on the list.

The North of the strip is European themed. Here are some more of these hotels - Bally's and Paris.

And the South of the strip is more American themed. This is Planet Hollywood at night.

New York, New York at night. The famous roller coaster ride has a drop of 144'. Yikes!!!! What you probably noticed was that there were no pictures of the fountains of Bellagio. Well, everyone was crowding the view so we did not take them! :(

At our home base, we watched one great Cirque phenomenon - where there is a vertical (yes, not the usual horizontal) stage, pyrotechniques and great acrobatics. KA is a site to behold! I don't know why some people would hate it - but we are blown away - especially on the stunt called Wheel of Death! Sorry, no real cirque pictures because they were really strict!!! Here is the doors to KA theatre right inside MGM Grand.

Well, in the desert of Las Vegas, the best way to cool down is in the pool!

And how can one forget shopping and a limo ride??? ;)

Hey, we might look tired but the loot and the ride are great! hahahaha ;)