This time three weeks we will be home! Its strange how quickly the last few weeks have gone, and we can’t believe we only have one proper day left in Vegas. On a more cheerful note, today was a successful day of sightseeing in Vegas, which was free of rain or intimidating grey clouds.

We started by checking out of the Stratosphere. Overall we had a pleasant stay there and would definitely recommend it. Our first stop of the day was the Luxor hotel, which is the one shaped like a pyramid, and obviously Egyptian themed. Its an impressive sight from the outside, and comes complete with a hieroglyphic-engraved obelisk and large sphinx. Inside, the pyramid has rooms lining its walls and a casino in the centre. Apparently the slanted lifts up to the rooms are a great experience, though we weren’t allowed up since we weren’t residents. The whole hotel is undergoing renovation work, and it did look noticeably tired in places.

Next we walked across to the neighbouring Mandalay Bay. Like the Tropicana, it has a tropical island theme, though has a much more upmarket take on it. The annex (called the Four Seasons) is also worth mentioning since it is one of the few five star hotels on the strip, and continues the theme to an even higher level of luxury. The hotel was nicely done, and I’m sure very nice to stay in, but not a stand out when compared to some of the others around.

With our check in time of 3pm fast approaching, we made our way to the Venetian. The queues weren’t as long as expected, and before long we were introduced to our ‘luxury suite’ for two nights. Its by far the nicest hotel we have stayed in all trip (not surprising!), and is a great treat before being back in motels from Tuesday onwards. The suite is on the 26th floor and comes with a king bed, large living area and luxury bathroom with TV and marble bath – not bad at all!

This evening we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. I had a delicious take on macaroni cheese with chicken, though unfortunately Lauren’s burger was rather average. After we took a wander around the shops and spent quite a while in the Coca-Cola and M&M stores. Each had four floors of merchandise and we even got our photo taken with the coke polar bear! Tomorrow we are going to stay mostly in the Venetian, and check out a few of the remaining unvisited hotels on the strip.

Photo of the day: The Venetian as seen from the Mirage, and the brand new Hard Rock Cafe.