We woke very early again this morning. It seems we are still in UK mode at the moment.

It’s been a lovely day here in Las Vegas, sunny and hot, but not overbearing. The current temperature is 89°.

We had breakfast at Primrose again. Si had the pastrami hash and I the ‘everything’ Bagel, that means it had crispy onions on top. Both were delicious. 😋

You can tell I’m in holiday mode, as I forgot to take any photos! 😔

We enjoyed a little gamble after breakfast and once again, we were not disappointed, especially on the Dragon Link machines.

Mrs B. on a Dragon Link machine

We spoke to a lovely couple from Forth Worth, Texas who were new to gambling and said they didn’t know what they were doing, but they still seemed to be winning regardless.

Afterwards, we walked over to Walgreens to buy some toiletries and make up. Walgreens sell the No. 7 range that is sold by Boots in the UK with some items a lot cheaper. The range is now smaller than it used to be, but I still managed to get all I needed.

We were served by a lovely lady called Sheila who uses No. 7 herself and she is obviously an advocate for the range. She gave us some free samples and a $10 voucher. As you can imagine, I certainly made the most of that. 😂

We have late checkout here at the Park MGM until 3.00 p.m. and will then make our way to the Bellagio, where we have already completed check-in on-line, but are just waiting for a room number to be allocated.

The Park MGM

This evening, we will be dining at Spago in the Bellagio It is a Wolf Gang Puck restaurant, where we have dined a few times in the past and where we shall be seated on the patio overlooking the Bellagio fountains.

Apart from Breakfast, we have been trying not to eat anything, as we want to be able to experience the full Spago event this evening.

We started coming to Las Vegas in 1988, so have seen it change a great deal in that time. The latest hotel to be demolished was The Mirage.

It opened in 1989 and had a huge volcano out of the front of the hotel that erupted at set times. It was a magnificent sight to see. Alas, it closed in July 2024 and in its place, they are building a new Hard Rock Hotel in the shape of a giant guitar! It is due to open in 2027.

The new Hard Rock Hotel in the distance currently under construction

From our window here at Park MGM we have a good view of the actual MGM Grand Hotel. MGM own quite a few of the hotels here in Las Vegas.

The MGM Grand Hotel

We received our room number for the Bellagio, so left Park MGM to get a cab to take us there.

Well, you will not believe what happened as our cases were being loaded into the taxi! Simon felt a tap on his shoulder, turned round and there were our neighbours from the UK, Dan and Leanne. 😱 They had just arrived at the hotel after travelling down from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The same trip as us but in reverse. We didn’t know they were going to be here at the same time as us. We are going to meet up on Saturday for a drink and a catch up. What a small world it is!? 🤷‍♀️

Well, I’m sad to say that our evening didn’t out quite as expected. 😔We arrived at Spago for dinner and were given the best table on the patio. So far, so good. 👏

Once we were seated though, things started to go down hill. The Bellagio Fountains were cancelled due to high winds. Service was extremely slow. Si had the ribeye but had to send it back because it was so tough, he couldn’t even cut it. At $99 you do expect a decent cut of meat. His vegetables looked as though they had been sitting on the plate for a long time. Si’s wine order was incorrect and my second amaretto sour was very weak.

One saving grace was the crab cakes Si had as a starter and I had as a main. They were delicious.

We like to think we are tolerant people, but everything added together did not make for a happy time. Si was ready to give up and leave at this point, but I said we should at least look at the dessert menu. Sadly, even that went wrong, as Si received a special dinner menu instead.

It was at this point that Si asked for the bill.

Well, talk about pouring oil on troubled waters …………………the bill, when it eventually arrived, still had the ribeye on it, so the waiter took it away to print another one. Unfortunately, the second bill still showed the ribeye and it was at this point that Si sort of lost his cool. Steam started to emit from his ears and he asked to see a manager.

We eventually received the correct bill and paid it, but needless to say, there was no tip added and Spago will not be seeing us for a while!

We’ve eaten there before and never had any complaints, but tonight was just awful. One of the waiters has been working in Vegas for 28 years, he remembered us from last year and we had a lovely chat with him. It was just a shame we couldn’t have had him serving us tonight. Things may have been so different.

But he did take a photo of us before everything, as we say, ‘went south’.

Si and Sand at Spago

Still, ending on a more positive note ………………….. we did have a very successful gambling day, so all was not lost! 😊😂

Thanks for reading. Hope you will join us again tomorrow.