Caesars Palace was HUGE. The hotel was first opened in 1966 (much smaller than it is today!) and the massive shopping mall known as The Forum Shops came along in 1992.

One of the Forum Shops entrances

This is one of the last sections built and opened in 2004. It actually has a circular escalator (which you can see in the picture)... which of course wasn't working.

Heading deeper into the mall

Cute name for a watch shop!

Fountain of the Gods

By the time we arrived at the back section of Atlantis, we were famished! So we grabbed some lunch/dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Atlantis

Videos of 'oceany' things covered the walls.

An enormous 50,000 gallon saltwater aquarium with over 300 fish was in the center of the room.

Inside the Cheesecake Factory

Endless delicious bread... I think we had three baskets full!

A veggie burger with a cup o' fries

We finished eating just in time to catch the Fall of Atlantis animatronic show. The story begins with King Atlas deciding who should rule Atlantis... his son (ruler of fire) or daughter (ruler of water). The siblings challenge each other, each aggressively competing for the throne. Suddenly the gods intervene and decide to destroy the entire kingdom by means of an enormous dragon. All is lost under flames and flood.

The daughter took the stage, wielding her command over water.

Next came the son with fire while Atlas watched over both of them from above. The 9-foot-tall moving statues were incredibly lifelike!

We exited the mall and slowly headed to our next free show, passing several more buildings associated with Caesars Palace on the way.

The Colosseum, built in 2003, can seat over 4,000 people for concerts and other shows.

The casino with the massive hotel behind it

Venus de Milo (just a copy, of course. The real one is at the Louvre Museum in Paris)

A quick stop inside the Casino so I can pose with Julius Caesar

Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in Rome... or Vegas!

Sunset begins to paint the buildings with a warm hue.

In case you forgot for a moment where you were

The Mirage volcano erupts several times a night. To avoid any unpleasant smells, pina colada fragrance is added to the natural gas. The display was upgraded in 2008 (but I feel the original one was better).

The 'peaceful' volcano

Flames erupt from the top and even the water burns.

We were on our way back to the car when we stumbled upon the Bellagio dancing water show that had just started. Of course the place was packed and we had to make due with glimpses from the side.

See a few clips from the shows!

Most people were only just coming out for the evening, but we had been site-seeing for almost 9 hours. Not to mention, I had to leave quite early in the morning.

Excalibur Hotel and Casino

The Luxor Sky Beam is the strongest beam of light in the world. On a clear night, the beam is even visible by airplanes cruising over Los Angeles. It has been shining since 1993... although since 2008, only half the lamps are lit to save money and energy.