TUESDAY - aiming for the heights of the Stratosphere... plunging the depths of Atlantis ..all in one day....

Decide to head up to The Stratosphere today and see the view - this means another trip on the monorail which I know will please E.
After managing to cause confusion in the Signature coffee shop trying to order tea, and E had had his required intake of fruit, we set off.....
Ride the monorail ...we've heard all the commentary jokes by now (and no, that isn't 'a klingon sitting next to me' ...it's E ) and jump off at the end of the line. Find our way past The Sahara and onto The North Strip.
It's a fiercely hot day and the Stratosphere looms like a beacon in a dusty wasteland. I don't know if I am hallucinating in the heat but The Strat seems like a real old Vegas movie hotel. Or maybe a CSI set.
First plan is to see if we can get to the top while avoiding the queue.

I've read on TA that the trick is to go up to the restaurant and just have a drink. Quickly discover I've totally mistimed things and they only let you do this early evening, as dusk falls.
So we hit the casino instead.

Amuse ourselves playing electronic roulette and win a few dollars. We've still not seriously gambled yet but are slowly building up to it ...
The Strat is a strange one as it seems to have a personality all of it's own ..E was quite taken with it ...(and even more so since he read the tale of the vanishing school girl outfit on TA.)

Memory fails how we passed the rest of the day ..it's all a kaleidescope of sounds and colours in my head... but eventually we head back to The Signature to freshen up for the evening.
Now I am hell bent on getting E into the vicinity of some shops.... and... ...I have a cunning plan!
'I have another surprise for you' I say casually ....'oh god', says E ...
'I think it's time for alittle abit of Ancient Rome'. ...

Our show treat for tonight is Elton John's Red Piano so it seems to me that if we head for Caesar's, I can then lure E into the Forum Shops by taking him to see the Atlantis animatronics.
He's impressed with the grand snaking escalator so it's a good start. Follow the signs ..me trying to get him interested in a little retail therapy as we go...but.......no chance. He just doesn't have the shopping gene.
Oh well.

As for the animatronics... I had a memory of them being pretty impressive ...but somehow they were a little less sound and fury then I recalled.
No matter ...a drink and a ringside seat at the bar and 15 minutes of flashing and banging gave us a distraction from our Vegas feet. ( We were both a bit footsore by this stage). E regarded the spectacle. 'Very interesting ' he said. ....
Time to grab a bite and go see Elton!