Venice in Vegas

Another relaxing morning spent reading in a sheltered spot in the garden until it became too hot to stay outside!

Then, in the afternoon Sharon and I went back for a closer look at some of the hotel/casinos on The Strip. Each one we visited was splendid and each had its own distinctive style with stylish restaurants, shops and often a theatre. The only thing completely in common was the enormous gaming area was always in the forefront of them all. As Vegas is very much in holiday mode between Christmas and New Year the casinos were absolutely full of people, most gambling in one shape or other but others strolling amongst the gaming tables and the ranks of one-arm bandits, several even with young children or babies in buggies. The most popular areas were the large number of tables where poker was being played. Hardly a word was spoken as we passed them but you could hear the clink clink as the players nervously toyed with their chips as they tried to concentrate. It had been agreed that I could not leave Vegas without a small flutter and so we found a Roulette table where the minimum bet was $15 - many, many others were much higher! We had scarecely taken our place at the table when a young lady came to ask if we wished to have a drink - which we accepted. These are apparently free for anyone actually playing, obviously to encourage folk to stay and gamble further. Never having gambled before, I was like a rabbit in the headlights to start with so Sharon thankfully took control of the placement of our $20 worth of shared chips. We watched what others were doing for a couple of turns of the wheel before we plucked up the courage to place our bets on the table. We luckily doubled our money on the first turn so at least we were still in the game when our drinks arrived. It was actually great fun - we won a little and then lost a little and finally left the table having "spent" £20 between us which we felt was well worth the experience including the free drinks!

While we were walking between venues we noticed the waxing moon again, but unlike last night, per yesterday's blip, Venus was a little paler tonight and sat directly under the moon and further away from it too.

Our final venue was The Venetian. Again we walked through the large and busy casino and past several interesting and bijoux shops until we found ourselves, bizarrely, alongside the Grand Canal of Venice. Gondoliers were serenading their customers as they ferried them along the canal while dozens of onlookers watched and took photos from the Rialto Bridge or the canal side. You will see from the blip that although we had just spotted the moon outside and it was therefore dusk and getting darker, the sky above the canal is blue and studded with flufffy clouds. In fact the whole area - even when we moved into the replica of St Marks Square - was covered with this artificial sky so the little restaurants along the way were able to offer seating 'outside' on small tables just as if they really were in Venice! It was all totally surreal but very entertaining.

One more full day of my holiday to go - or as the grandchildren would say, two more sleeps!