Dear Reader,
Many apologies for not posting my travel blog, in the last few days but it’s been so busy here in Las Vegas. So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
I awoke reasonably early on Thursday morning and decided that I needed to take advantage of this superb hotel’s (The Bellagio) gymnasium. On the way to the gym I had to walk through the Casino and I quickly found out that wherever you went in this hotel you had to walk through the Casino! To see folk playing cards, slot machines etc before seven o’clock in the morning was surreal but each to his (or her) own! Having pounded the treadmill for the regulatory forty-five minutes I was on my way back to our room through the Casino, of course, and I saw a gentleman playing cards wearing his gym kit. I couldn’t decide whether he was on the way to, or returning from, the gym or perhaps he was conducting a subterfuge in an attempt to fool his wife!
On retuning to the room my good lady wife, Diana, a.k.a. She Who Must Be Obeyed, was awake and ready for breakfast so a quick shower and being dutifully clothed by She Who Must Be Obeyed we broke bread.
Our first adventure was to visit a pawn shop. Not just any pawn shop but a very famous one. In case you have missed it there’s a TV show broadcast on the History Channel in the USA and in the UK that Diana and I have enjoyed entitled “Pawn Stars”. It’s a bit like The Antique’s Road Show but the valuers have the physique and dress sense of ex wrestlers but nonetheless we found the show to be fascinating & hugely entertaining. After carefully parking the Corvette in the shops car park we found ourselves standing in line awaiting to gain admission to the holy shrine of second hand bric a brac which was duly patrolled by a “doorman” who had the size and physique of a mature silver back orangutan. We were shocked when the said orangutan pulled us out of the line and with great deference and in soft spoken tones enquired whether we would like to enter the emporium immediately. We, of course, responded in the most positive and enthusiastic way, after all it’s not often that a giant of a man asks us to do his bidding! Entering the store came as a surprise and we were a little disappointed by the interior of the emporium as it was somewhat smaller than we expected and the articles on display could have done with a flick over with a feather duster but then we reminded ourselves that after all we were in a pawn shop!
Suddenly, a young man, artistically dressed in jeans, shirt, a small hat and sporting a careless cravat around his neck enquired of us whether we would like to appear on the TV show? She Who Must Be Obeyed immediately grasped the opportunity as en exercise in self promotion and agreed with alacrity. We were duly ushered to the back of the shop and the store was cleared of lesser mortals who were not required for this most important episode of this venerable artistic entertainment. The cravatted artistic young man then briefed the willing future international TV stars as to their duties and asked if there were any questions. Silence reigned and then She Who Must Be Obeyed arose to her full and not inconsiderable height and enquired in a stentorian voice “What are the rates of pay?” The now flustered young man being unsure how to handle such a formidable negotiator quickly capitulated under the withering stare of S.W.M.B.O. Filming commenced and afterwards we were informed that the episode will be broadcast sometime during the next two months in the USA and at some point in time the UK! So, dear reader, my advice would be to set your DVR to record the entire series of this illustrious episode. We retuned to our hotel bathed in the light of our new found international stardom.
After morning coffee we were strolling around the beautiful swimming pool when we were hailed by our good friends Stephan and Georgia Longworth. The four of us have a love of classic cars and we had learned that there was an exhibition of them at The Imperial Hotel just down the “strip” and we gathered ourselves and took a short taxi ride to the said establishment. On our way to the exhibition, the largest in the world, housed on the fifth floor, and through the Casino we encountered and were entertained by legendary stars Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, and somebody called Prince who when not performing acted as croupiers! You can see their photographs and pictures of the day by clicking on “More Photos” in the Flickr panel on the right hand side of this blithering blog. Finally we gained access to this astonishing collection of machinery and stared in awe at a variety of vehicles some of them with impressive histories. Among them vehicles that had been owned, driven or used by President Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby and other notables. Most of the assembled vehicles on display were for sale and the total value exceeded two and a half million dollars! I took some photographs of the ones that caught my eye and you van view them together with a brief description on my Flickr site by clicking on “More Photos” in the panel on the right hand side.
Later that day we enjoyed a delightful dinner with our group at the renowned Strip House Steak Restaurant in the Planet Hollywood resort. After dinner Dr. Couchman and I were enjoying an excellent cup of coffee while Diana, encouraged by Katie Ostro enjoyed a free makeover and then on to an excellent variety show “Vegas” where we were treated to some fabulous dancing, singing and magic. This was not a show that would have ordinarily appealed to me but I really enjoyed it!
On the way back to our hotel I had a brief encounter with a lovely showgirl but I did remember the advice that I received from my son Matthew, “Dad, if a girl talks to you in Vegas, she’s working!”. At the end of our first day in Vegas, Diana and I retired to bed happy and knackered!
Until my next post, Toodleloo!
Clive Leach's Blog 