US Road Trip - May 2023 - Day 4

Day 4

Up at 5 am and in the car to drive to Bellagio at 6. The traffic is horrendous on the strip at the moment as Vegas gets ready for F1 in November, so we took advantage of the continued jetlag, checked out of Resorts World and straight to the room at Bellagio that we had checked into yesterday.

I spent the next hour or so finally unpacking all four suitcases as the clothes need to be sorted before the cruise as we won’t take everything with us. Even if it’s just for a few days, we can live out of a drawer again! Dave had gone down to the casino, and I caught up with my blog before heading down to join him. It seems I had forgotten to pack my laptop charger, so we walked over to Miracle Mile and the ABC store to get something that would work - I didn’t want you all to miss out on my trip and I can’t write this much from a phone!

Around 11 am we jumped in a Lyft and headed downtown and Whiskey Licker Up at Binions for lunch. We love it there. The revolving bar is just great for people-watching and there were definitely a few ‘characters’ on the street today! I ordered a Vegas Sunset (Absolut Mandarin Vodka, Orange Juice, Cranberry and Red Bull) and Dave opted for a Modelo. 

The food is typically ‘beige’ and there is absolutely nothing about this holiday that is going to be healthy - I’ll deal with that when I get home! To eat, we shared the beef sliders, chicken tenders (which are absolutely the best I have ever tasted) and some fries. Lunch cost $80.....hmmm, at this rate we will have to go back to work! 

The bartender there is great. I can’t remember his name, but if you’re ever up there, ask him how ‘The Rams’ are doing? He’s an American who supports Derby County for some reason! After we left Whiskey Licker Up we had a gamble in Golden Nugget and also in Circa. For once, Circa was quite kind to me and I came away a few dollars better off.

 

Around the middle of the afternoon, we got a Lyft back to the strip, grabbed a jumper and went for a walk down to Aria. Dave and I didn’t see each other for the next couple of hours as I got hooked in by video poker and played each machine until I got four of a kind. $600 later and we found each other again, by which time Dave had blown his gambling budget for the day and decided he wanted to borrow some of mine. We played in Park MGM for a while and then walked over to Horseshoe where Dave won his second hand pay of the trip ($1379), thankfully they sorted the tax because he has his ITIN, and we found the most amazing cocktail server we have ever seen in Vegas. Literally every 5 minutes she was back and if we hadn’t been careful, we might have rolled out of there! Met an amazing couple from Canada who we spoke to for a while. The guy was 80 and his wife wasn’t far off and they had driven to Vegas and had a 3-day drive back! 

We had a Subway on the way back to Bellagio and ate it in our room and disappeared into bed just after 9.30 pm!!!

Click Here For More Photos

Read More

US Road Trip - May 2023 - Day 3

Day 3 - Resorts World, Las Vegas

Waking up in Vegas! Unless you’ve done it, you won’t know what it means. Every time we arrive, I just feel like I’ve come home. Don’t misunderstand me, I love my Norfolk home. This is just different! We managed 4 am this morning and I know it will get better as the days go on. Just before I started to write this, Dave said to me ‘don't worry about what time it is, Vegas deals with that'! Who actually cares what time you get up and what time you go to bed?!

Dave went downstairs to get a Starbucks (you’ve just got to love a 24-hour Starbucks when you’re waking up at silly o’clock) and brought it back to the room. We chilled for an hour or so and then, of course, the casino called and he went off to spend some of his Freeplay whilst I wrote my first two days’ blog for you.

At 7.30 am I was ready too and went down to find him before we headed off for breakfast at Jardin at Encore. We didn’t know anything about this place until we saw it on a Vegas vlog on YouTube. We watch lots and each one we watch gives us new ideas about things we haven’t done in Vegas. My list is never-ending and as Vegas grows and changes, then so will my list! Jardin isn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination and yes, some of you might shrink at spending $80 on breakfast, but the restaurant was just opulence in itself. They asked our last name as we walked in and we were both addressed by this throughout the service. I couldn’t fault it, from the service to the quality of the food. We won’t spend this on breakfast every day. There will be many days when we won’t even bother with breakfast but for a special occasion, or just somewhere to treat yourselves. Then I’d recommend Jardin. 

I had the Hickory Ham & Cheddar Omelette, which came with hash browns and toast, whilst Dave went for the Jardin Three Eggs Your Way with hash browns, sausage and toast. The waiter persuaded me I needed a mimosa at 8.30 am and Dave was sensible and went for a latte! 

After breakfast, we gambled in Wynn and Encore for a while. Both kicked our arses, and we left with less than we went in with! Despite having another night at Resorts World, we were also checking into Bellagio today, so we ambled off down the strip, enjoying the sunshine and just being back in our favourite place. We called in at Cosmopolitan on the way and had a drink each in there, lost a bit more money and then popped over to Bellagio. When we arrived, we went to the Platinum check-in desk, even though it was only about midday, and asked when our room might be ready. The guy checked us in and said the room wouldn’t be long and would text us, so we had another drink each and did some low-rolling slot play.

When we got our room key, we went to see which room we had. We had booked a Salone Suite which we have stayed in before. This time, however, we were on the 4th floor! Not a great view, but hey, we aren’t here for long and I couldn’t be bothered to ask to be moved. We had already decided we weren’t staying here tonight anyway because we had some Resort Credit to use in Resorts World and had a table booked at Carversteak for dinner.

We walked back up to Resorts World which took about 45 minutes, grabbed some food from the Street Foods place in the centre of Resorts World, to soak up some alcohol and then Dave went to the bar to play some video poker and I had a couple of hours by the pool. It was windy and not that hot - or so I thought until I came back in with red arms and legs! We have been staying in Crockfords West at Resorts World and you get your own private section of the pool, which was nice and quiet. I read my book and people-watched for a while and then went back to find Dave around 5 pm.

We had a shower and got dressed for dinner and headed back down to the casino at around 6 pm, stopping at a few slot machines on the way, and then it was time for dinner at Carversteak. We love this restaurant. It’s quirky in the fact that if you order a steak, they bring you a box of steak knives out and you get to choose your own! I had the filet mignon and Dave went for the 14oz striploin. Both were cooked the way we like them and we also ordered the pomme puree, roasted carrots and beer-battered onion rings as sides to share. We were disappointed that they don’t have the sprouts with bacon on the menu at the moment as they are amazing, but maybe they’re a winter thing. Dave had two beers, and I had a glass of pinot noir and the bill, with a tip, came in at about $280. Would we eat there if we didn’t have resort credit? Possibly not, but it is a lovely steakhouse, and we didn’t have to pay for it. I would definitely recommend Carversteak as a steakhouse to try if you have the money and you want to try a different steakhouse in Vegas.

I think we left the restaurant at around 8 pm and played around on the slots a bit. I won a little on the new Buffalo Carnival thing and did well on some random dream poker machine I found, but yesterday caught up with us and we were in bed again by 9 pm.

Click Here For More Photos

Read More

US Road Trip - May 2023 - My 50th Birthday Trip! - Day 1 and Day 2

Day 1 - Travel Day

Checked in for our flight to Denver, at London Heathrow, headed through priority security and went straight to Galleries Lounge South, and from dropping the car, it took about 30 minutes. Not bad going! 

After a cheeky glass of champagne and some nibbles in the lounge, our flight took off more or less on time at 2.45 pm. I know some people will turn their noses up, but yes; we flew Club World and if you get the opportunity, I would choose this over economy any day. I’m too old now to sit up straight for 10 hours when I don’t have to! After a couple of drinks and some food, I managed to sleep (or doze) for the majority of the flight and we landed in Denver, right on time at 5.30 pm (7 hours behind the UK).

Quickly processed through immigration and after grabbing our (four) suitcases, we jumped on the shuttle bus to collect our car from Avis. I would highly recommend Avis, especially if you are travelling from the UK as all insurance is automatically included so you don’t have to worry about anything. We have never actually got the car we request, which is fine by us and despite this time asking for a Mazda CX-5 we got a Toyota 4Runner - it’s huge and plenty big enough for all our luggage.

Just under 2 hours out of Denver International Airport, we arrived at The Hampton Inn & Suites in Silverthorne for our first night. Decent hotel. The room was fine, and the bed was comfy. We were both knackered after a long day, so we went for the only food that would cut it - Maccy Ds - and we were in bed and asleep by 9.30 pm.

Day 2 

The dreaded jetlag woke us at 3 am. We had a coffee in bed and then decided to just get up and get on our way. We were checked out by 4.30 am and on our way to Richfield, Utah, almost a 6-hour drive away - the sat nav told us we would be there by 10.30 am! 

After a Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts for a sugar fix at around 7 am, we made it to Downtown Grand Junction for breakfast at a cute little cafe called Cafe Sol around 8.30 am. We both had the American Breakfast and neither of us finished it! I love, love, love American bacon. Why can’t we get it like that at home?

Downtown Grand Junction looked like a quirky place to visit with lots of little shops and arty-farty things but we were way too early for any of this, so headed back to the car with a change of plan.......

.....As we were scheduled to arrive in Richfield way earlier than we expected and with not a lot to do there, we decided to scrap that and drive straight to Vegas - of course we did! After frantically texting our amazing host at Resorts World, she said she could comp us a room for a couple of nights with a bit of Resort Credit and Freeplay. We were already booked into Bellagio from the next day anyway and this just meant we wouldn’t have to check out of RW before we could check into Bellagio - win, win!

The drive through Colorado and Utah was incredible. The scenery was magnificent and the photos just didn’t do it justice, but I gave it a try - even if it was through the car window. We managed to see a bald eagle, but I wasn’t quick enough to take a photo. Rocks and mountains don’t move though, so I took plenty of those! I’ll upload more to my Facebook page and add the link in here.

Click Here For More Photos

It was a tough drive and although I kept offering to take the wheel, Dave decided that he was going to drive the 9 hours all by himself. To be fair, it’s not a tough drive. Just two roads, the I70 and the I15 all the way and it didn’t get busy until we were 10 miles outside of Vegas. We had a few coffee breaks and stops for fuel and snacks and eventually arrived (after crossing another time zone) around 3.15 pm. We were staying in Crockfords West and we get free valet parking. Now we usually just park ourselves, but after 9 hours there was no way we were lugging 4 suitcases, two rucksacks and other bits and pieces across the hotel so we rocked up and gave that job to someone else!

The room wasn’t quite ready, so yes; we sat at the bar, had a cocktail and a beer and played some video poker. Dave got four aces. I got nothing and my wallet was $50 lighter. Dumped our cases in the room around 4.30 pm and grabbed some food from Street Foods at Resorts World. Chicken nuggets and fries for me, burger and fries for Dave and another healthy meal!

We were both tired, but the slots were calling. We’d split up to play different games and literally, within 10 minutes, Dave was on the phone telling me that he had won a hand pay and could I go and get his passport and ITIN from the room! $1558 later for him and a cheeky $600 win for me on All Aboard and missing out on Richfield was proving to be a fruitful decision. A few lemon drops may have passed my lips, but we were in bed and asleep by 9.15 pm - how we live the dream!

Read More

My Review for Descended by Ingrid J. Adams

Descended is so beautifully written, I couldn’t get enough! Indigo knows he is a little different from his peers. He’s way more in tune with his feelings and surroundings than any of his other friends, and it feels like most of them just don’t ‘get him’. Everything about his story touched my heart, his rapport with Cordelia and the loving way he was accepted into hers and Robbie’s family.

I guess Descended is a coming-of-age story, nothing is trivialised or made to appear worse than it is. It is just all about growing up and the issues that come along with all that and Ingrid J. Adams masters the whole thing brilliantly.

The story is set in the early 90s, and at that time I was in the latter half of my teens. Many of the references that the author makes in relation to music and whatever else was happening at the time melted my heart a little as I remembered what I was doing, who my friends were and the fun times I was having.

Descended is the first in the series and I absolutely cannot wait to find out what is in store for Indigo, Cordelia and Robbie.

Thank you to the author, Ingrid J. Adams, for the opportunity to read and review Descended.

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Read More

My Review for His Secret Wife by Lisa Timoney

I really enjoyed His Secret Wife by Lisa Timoney, and for a couple of days, all I did was read, sitting in the sunshine in the garden. Cora and Harry both found their way into my heart and I loved that with the innocence of childhood, they were probably the best thing that happened to each other. 

Elle is married to Rob, Jen is married to Bill and we realise from the beginning that Rob and Bill are the same man, who actually believes he is doing the right thing for both families! I did question how someone can be so deceptive and think he can keep things going with two wives indefinitely. Well, he certainly gave it a good go!

The author covered the kids’ diagnosis with differing forms of ADHD, with incredible knowledge, and she obviously did her research well. The story made me think about how difficult it must be for parents and teachers, whose children are perhaps a little different from their peers and how hard it is, as a child to try to fit into what is considered ‘normal’.

I will definitely be reading more of Lisa’s books and I would highly recommend His Secret Wife if you want something to read that you honestly won’t be able to put down.

Thank you to Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read and review His Secret Wife by Lisa Timoney.

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website

Read More

My Review for To Dream of Shadows by Steve N Lee

Good luck reading this without sobbing your heart out! I love historical WWII fiction and this is nothing like anything I have ever read before. From start to finish, it is simply amazing. Loosely based on true events, it is everything I could ever hope for in a book. It is heart-warming, heart-wrenching, emotional, horrific, and an absolute love story.

There were many times throughout the book when I just couldn’t believe what I was reading. I was angry at Rudi (Heinz), a German SS officer. I was scared for Inge, the eighteen-year-old Jewish woman who often should probably have kept quiet but who was forever sticking up for her camp mates. I haven’t read a book in a while that kept me hooked from page one, right the way through to the end. I had no idea how it was going to end, and what was going to happen to our mismatched couple. I wanted to turn the pages fast, so I found out what was going to happen and I wanted to turn them slowly because I didn’t want this wonderful story to end.

If WWII fiction is your thing, then I cannot recommend To Dream of Shadows enough. I promise you will not be disappointed. If you haven’t read anything like this before and you want to dip your toe in to the historical fiction water, then give this a try. 

Thank you so much to Steve N Lee for providing me with the opportunity to read and review a copy of To Dream of Shadows. It will definitely be included in my most favourite books on 2023.

Book Description

She will save hundreds of lives. But can she save her own?

Inspired by a previously untold true story.

1943. 18-year-old Czech, Inge is torn from her family and imprisoned in some godforsaken hellhole. There, she suffers month after month of torturous labor while praying for liberation by the Allies. But rescue never comes. And her dream of surviving the war dies.

Heinz, an SS Sergeant, has been force-fed the Reich's poison since childhood, but nowadays, he covertly helps prisoners.

So when a random act of kindness thrusts Inge and Heinz together, they can't resist being drawn to one another. Unable to deny their feelings, they dare to dream of a future, a life — together.

But their relationship does not go unnoticed. For Inge and Heinz, falling in love becomes a death sentence. And not just for them, but for all those they care about.

Unless…

Inge makes an unthinkable sacrifice.

Set during history’s darkest hour, “To Dream Of Shadows” is an epic tale of compassion, sacrifice, and the strength of the human spirit.

Discover one of the most heartwarming, heartbreaking, and heroic tales of the Holocaust. Discover “To Dream Of Shadows”.

Author Bio

Apart from animals and writing, Steve’s passion is travel. He’s visited 60 countries and enjoyed some amazing experiences, including cage-diving with great white sharks, sparring with a monk at a Shaolin temple, and watching a turtle lay eggs on a moonlit beach. He’s explored Machu Picchu, Pompeii, and the Great Wall of China, yet for all that, he’s a man of simple tastes — give him an egg sandwich and the TV remote control, and he’ll be happy for hours!

He lives in the North of England with his partner, Ania, and two black cats who arrived in the garden one day and liked it so much, they stayed. Graciously, the cats allow Steve and Ania to stay in 'their' house.

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Read More

My Review for The First Spark of Fire by Marion Kummerow

Most of us are more than aware of the events of the Second World War, however I’m not sure many of us know of Hitler’s rise to power, and the lead up to the outcast and mass extermination of the Jewish population.

Based on real-life events, Marion Kummerow gives a huge insight into this, in The First Spark of Fire (German Wives #1), the first in a new series, from this incredible author. We follow two very different families, Edith and Julius, who are wealthy, want for nothing and have always been at the forefront of society. Our other family is Helga and Heinrich, who often struggle to keep themselves and their young family afloat, and that doesn’t get any easier once Hitler is in charge. Edith and Helga are German, whilst their husbands are Jewish and they both stand by and support their family as a difficult time approaches.

As in her other books, Marion Kummerow deals with extremely sensitive issues throughout with compassion and empathy. I found the book slow to begin with, but it soon picked up pace and now I can’t wait for the second book in the series to discover how Edith and Helga deal with the next decade.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review a copy of The First Spark of Fire by Marion Kummerow.

Book Description

Germany, 1938. ‘No,’ she cries out as she falls to the floor, fear clutching desperately at her chest, ‘They can’t have taken him, they can’t have taken my husband.’ As her tear-filled eyes dart wildly around the empty room, she realises she has no one to turn to. She is his only hope. But how can she possibly save him?

When shy, beautiful Edith first met Jewish-born Julius it was love at first sight. Julius swept her off her feet, whisking her from humble beginnings into the sparkling society and glittering ballrooms of Berlin’s powerful elite. It felt like all her dreams had come true.

But her perfect world begins to crack with rumblings of the Nazi party growing in power and influence. Every day there are new laws to strip Jews of their money and their freedom. And there are even more frightening rumours, of horrifying camps, and people disappearing in the night…

Then when Edith’s own brother Joseph enlists as an SS officer, and her whole family turn their backs on them, she knows that it is only a matter of time before they come for her husband. She pleads with Julius that their only chance is to run away and start again. Who cares about worldly possessions if they can still be together, their lives intact? But despite everything, he refuses to believe he is in danger.

Then one terrible night, the sounds of cries and breaking glass ring out across the city as the Nazis wreak their destruction. Edith’s worst fears have been realised— Julius has been taken.

For so long, Edith has led a sheltered life, secluded from the real world. But the only way to save her beloved husband is to defy the Nazis and put herself in grave danger. Can she draw on every bit of strength she has to fight for love and save him… or is she already too late?

A totally devastating, powerful, and ultimately uplifting story, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, My Name is Eva and Sold on a Monday.

Author Bio

Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to "discover the world" and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she's now living with her family.

Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website

Read More