Up early - we’d set the alarms for 6.45. Les got coffee and fruit from the lobby while Anne showered. We were all ready by 7.30 so we had time to check email etc before going to the lobby to check out. We waited by the Transportation desk as instructed but it wasn’t until just after 8am that a bellhop came in from where we’d seen him standing outside for ages. Talking to the driver it turned out that he’d been there since 7am. A nice drive to the airport, completely traffic free - presumably because it’s a Saturday morning - probably very different in the evening rush hour.

We had a very smart limousine for the journey to Newark, which explains why the price was surprisingly high - we thought we were booking the transit coach which we’d seen outside the hotel, and was effectively like the ‘minivans’ that we’ve hired in Florida. Driver was very good telling us what we were seeing. He told us that he lived in Queens and had been without power since the tornado (officially confirmed as two tornados through NY city).

Check in very different to anything we’ve come across before - the desks aren’t staffed. It’s all done by an automated screen which prints out your boarding passes. Staff roam behind the row of desks and when you’re finished they simply put the luggage tags on your cases - these having been printed out behind the desk. Whole thing went very quickly. Straight through security without much problem or queuing and then into the airport which seems very spacious, light and clean. Of course, this is a Saturday morning so there’s no business travellers.

We had a nice breakfast in the Garden State Diner which left us about an hour until boarding. Got more cash - this time without any problems. The only drawback we could see was that there was no free wifi in the airport.

Easy flight. Five hours seems a long time on a small plane - 3 + 3 - but we did get fed even if it was only ‘turkey dogs’. Fortunately it came with a small bag of baby carrots, crisps and a Kit-kat so Anne didn’t go completely hungry.

Quick disembarkation, etc because for once we weren’t going through immigration. We’d forgotten about the shuttle train which takes you from the landing gate to the main terminal building. Picked up our luggage quickly and got a cab straight to the Luxor. The driver was Singaporean so we spent most of the journey talking about Singapore - he hasn’t been back for thirty years. We seemed to have checked in at the only time in the day when there wasn’t a huge queue. The room is very nice - huge - two Queen beds etc and massive walk-in shower. Lifts up the corner of the pyramid are a bit disconcerting. You can’t see anything but the element of sideways movement is strange. There tends to be queues for the lifts.

Mandalay Bay

Luxor

Went for a walk after unpacking and having a shower. Walked all around the Luxor and then down to Excalibur and had a walk round that to refresh our memory. Everything chimes with what we’ve read in that they’re trying to put the ‘sin’ back into Casino. Tacky gyrating dancers in both hotels - seems a bit odd in Excalibur which is supposed to be child friendly. Various nightclubs in Luxor, allegedly offering topless barmaids and other naughty bits, but doubt it’s really as bad as they’d like you to think. Most noticeable was that banks and banks of slot machines and gambling tables were empty. This is on a weekend when you’d expect it to be most busy. Did see lots of brides though and a lady with bouquet in long black dress - was it a divorce party?

We went out of Excalibur to look at New York New York. It was very hot so we got the monorail back up to Mandalay Bay and walked back into Luxor. Disappointed to find that the Italian ice-cream shop had gone - no lovely sorbets for Anne.

Excalibur from our hotel window

New York New York

Eating doesn’t seem as cheap as before - not sure whether prices have gone up or it’s the exchange rate. Possibly a bit of both.

Went back to the room for a short rest - tried to get wifi but couldn’t. The Guest Directory talked about wired internet access but we couldn’t find anything anywhere. Went down and ate at The Pyramid Cafe very early. Good value. Anne had fish and chips and Les had a chicken pie (burnt his mouth as it was so hot). Strangely it came with a muffin! Seems to be the best place to eat. The posh restaurant seems outrageously expensive and the buffet ($30) probably isn’t very good value for Anne. We may try it one night.

Came back and were trying to read and plan but simply kept falling asleep. Gave in and actually went to bed about 7.30 (10.30 NY time). We must’ve been really zonked as we slept right through to 7am.