After so much travelling during the first four days of our vacation, we decided to stay in town. Brian had noticed that the camcorder we use for BeagleCam was starting to fail, after almost two and half years of continuous use. The camcorder was almost ten years old anyway, so Brian decided that it was time to replace it. He took a look at the phonebook and decided we should go to Belz Factory Outlet World and see if he could find a good deal at one of the electronics stores over there.

Morning in Vegas.

After having a huge brunch at the Mirage buffet, we headed to the outlet mall. It was very easy to find it, on Las Vegas Boulevard, just a few miles south of the airport. We quickly found the store that had the advertisement in the phonebook. Unfortunately they did not have the camcorder model Brian was looking for. He was a bit disappointed, so we decided to walk around and see if we would be able to find other electronics stores in the mall.

Before we left Toronto on this trip, I had already decided what souvenir I wanted to bring back from this trip: a piece of petrified wood. I was interested in visiting the Petrified Forest National Park when we drove to Arizona, but I realized that it was too far and out of our way to visit that park on this trip, so I gave up the idea of going there. However, I had read enough about petrified wood to know that the region is rich in that mineral product.

When we went to the Barringer Crater, I had seen several pieces of petrified wood in their gift shop, but Brian didn't think they looked like real petrified wood and I found them to be pretty expensive.

As we were walking around the mall, we came accross this store which had two beautiful pieces of petrified wood on display. The pieces were of good size, but at the same time not too large and heavy to carry back to Toronto, and the rings on the section of the petrified wood were very visible. I decided to get one of them.

My souvernir from this trip: petrified wood.

We couldn't believe how lucky we were. Brian had come to look for a camcorder, and I ended up finding my petrified wood. LOL

When Brian sold his previous car, he forgot his sunglasses in it, and therefore lost them. Whoever got his car also got a nice pair of sunglasses. Before leaving the mall, Brian stopped by one of the sunglasses stores and tried a few pairs. He finally found one that he liked and purchased it. Finally we were both happy. =^)

We drove back to the hotel and for the rest of the afternoon we walked along the Las Vegas Boulevard, so Brian would be able to take some shots during day time. We also went to the M&M World, where we had lots of fun enjoying the M&M 3D movie and their huge store. You won't believe how many different colors of M&Ms are available there! =^)

The Mirage Casino and Hotel, a nice place to stay.	The Lake di Bellagio, where the water fountain show is hosted.
The Venetian, another great casino and hotel on the strip.	The Bellagio,where the movie Ocean's Eleven took place.
The elegant shops at the Bellagio, and Caesar's Palace in the background.	Paris Las Vegas, with its Eiffel Tower.
Brian, in front of the Bellagio.	New York, New York, with its roller coaster.
In the tram that links the Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay.	The tram, running by the Luxor.
The Luxor Casino and Hotel.	In front of the Luxor.

By the end of the afternoon, we returned to the hotel, where we got ready for the evening. After changing, we headed to the Bellagio, where we had tickets for Cirque du Soleil's show "O".

We started the evening having dinner at the Bellagio's buffet. We arrived early and did not have to wait long to get a table. I'm so glad that we had arrived early, because half an hour later I noticed that the waiting line was pretty long. In my personal opinion, the Mandalay Bay has the nicest buffet dining room, but the Bellagio has by far the best food among all the buffets we visited. The dishes were carefully selected, the salads were tasty and light, and the main courses were delicious and in large variety. The dessert selection was also very nice and provided a nice finishing touch to the great meal. It was also by far the most expensive buffet we went to, but I would say that it was worth the price.

Now, how can I start describing "O"? The title is a pun on the French word for water, eau. If I were asked to describe this show in one single world, it would be: magical. I was really impressed with the entire production, the costumes, the acts, the artists, the setting, not to mention the 1.5 million gallon pool of water, which is the stage for this show. It was amazing, it was a delight to our senses, surprising us with surreal visions for 90 minutes. I think Pat Craig was able to describe this show wonderfully with these words: "If Frederico Fellini ran the Summer Olympics, it'd look a lot like 'O'." If you are interested in his comments, feel free to follow this link.

Cirque du Soleil "O".

After the show, we went to the Lake di Bellagio, where once again we enjoyed the beautiful water fountain show. By now Brian was already tired of watching the water show. For whatever reason, I fell in love with it. What a fantastic way to finish the day!