Day One
It was time to go to VEGAS! I was so excited, this was going to be interesting! We checked in at Greyhound San Francisco late at night and got ready to hit Sin City. Full of gambling, lights, casinos and noise...Vegas here we come!
We had a smooth journey in which we slept for a big proportion, due to it being a night bus. There is also the bonus of not paying for accommodation for a night which gives us slightly more money to put towards trips, treats and also gambling. We aren't big gamblers but we were prepared to have a little go due to being in the place where gambling revels.
As we got closer to Vegas we saw our first highlight of the day, after we realised of course! We came off the freeway to have a rest stop for 20 minutes and as we came off we realised we were on Route 66. We were planning to go on 66 on our approaching roadtrip but this was a bonus for us :) We of course jumped off and grabbed a picture. BUT getting off the bus mean't going in the heat, the scorching, humid, desert heat. It was veryyyyyy hot!
Near where we stopped there was a very extravagant looking McDonalds which had train carriages, they must be selling a lot of burgers to make it so 'posh' (that's not really the word at all!).
A little treat for our Grandma, whose called Jean. There you go, as soon as we saw this we thought of you. :)
And then we were there...in Las Vegas. I couldn't actually believe we were there, even after seeing this sign as we entered the bus arrivals terminal :) Next stop, figure out how we get to our hotel which was Luxor! We decided to treat ourselves to a hotel in Vegas as this mean't we were right on the strip and also with being very money tight elsewhere we could afford a little bit of luxury as the trip comes to an end :'(
Then, we left the terminal after asking for directions to the bus and found our way to the hotel. However it didn't all go as planned, not in a bad way, but it was a very interesting story! Basically the lady who told us about the bus directed us the completely opposite direction so we found ourselves walking around in the heat looking for a bus station which wasn't ever going to come.
We decided to head into the nearest building, a casino of course!, and ask in there. As the bus terminal is in Downtown Vegas we needed to get south down to the Strip so we asked somebody. They had no idea but as we were getting this brilliant response a man asked us if we needed help. This was our meeting with Vicente!! After scoping him out and making sure he wasn't a murderer hehe we were offered a lift to our hotel. We appreciated this so much and couldn't believe our luck! We went with our gut instinct, which you should always do and decided he was safe! :)
He gave a tour of the strip and we had a real good chat with him so we made a decision we liked him. You'll be reading this Vicente, thank you SO MUCH!!
Upon arrival, we decided to head to Red Rocks Casino tonight, as it was the 4th of July of course so we organised that he'd pick us up at 7. Then we checked in and were welcomed to our bloody amazing room!! Nat got us a cheeky upgrade from a pyramid room to a tower room and it was AMAZING!!
From the pictures you can tell we ran across the room (which had 2 queen size beds, yes one EACH!) and couldn't stop laughing and smiling!!
After a shower and abit of dinner we headed outside waiting to be picked up by our new friend! He was dead on time and dressed up ready for our fun night on the 4th celebrating USA Independence! As we drove down towards Red Rocks Nat took this amazing picture, love the colours of the sky. Not bad Nat, not bad!
And bless him, I forgot to mention I was in the back of the van earlier and Nat in the front. So tonight, as I got in the back he had replaced the cooler I sat on previously with an actual chair! I appreciated this and he was so sweet to do this! On the journey we talked about his family, his job as a vendor for casinos and exchanged our travel stories.
It wasn't long until we arrived at Red Rock, and it was FIREWORK TIME! We parked at a great spot, as it's extremely popular we got there slightly early and were ready to see the show.
It was a shame we didn't think of getting some sparklers but we're grown ups.....hmm hmm.
After the 12 minute show we headed out and hit the unavoidable traffic, it was hectic!
The plan now was that we would head up to an amazing viewpoint in which you can see the whole of Vegas, predominantly the Strip (due to how lit up it is) but it was something we were really excited for. We parked there, on a central reservation (4th July anything is allowed) and took in the amazing view, with the odd bit of rain!
After seeing the amazing view we had a go at our first bit of gambling. I had my ID ready and waiting!! It was such great fun, Vicente explained certain casino rules that you need to know and how to play a certain game (Double Double) and bless him he used his $20 bill to let us have a go!
We had a great time, didn't win but gained a lot of wealthy and hopefully useful hints and tips. No not about counting cards!
It was now 1.30am and it had come out in conversation that supermarkets were NOT easy to get too at all. I was in no way hinting at all, but he offered to take us shopping in Walmart. It was our first time in Walmart and we were weirdly, very weirdly excited.
We were buying things and then he suggested that we borrowed his cooler! It would mean we could actually store fridge things in it, due to there being no fridge in the room (Vegas hotel tactics) and this helped a hell of a lot!
By now it was nearly 3am, normal for Vegas. Just before we got to the shop Nat said, 'Won't it be shut? It's 2am in the morning on a public holiday...surely'. To which Vicente replied with, 'It's Vegas'. Simple but so true!!
On the way back we took a look down the strip in the van and took in the sights and sounds of Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps.
The view from our hotel room
After saying our goodbyes and somehow managing to shift all our shopping, and a big cooler upstairs we made it to the room. Putting our shopping away we were saying how thankful and appreciative we were to have somebody help us out so much like he did! With this, we got ready for bed, watched the massive TV for a little bit until we decided 'We better sleep!' and then we headed off to sleep at 3.30am! Normal!
Day Two
Today was a day of adventure, seeing all of Vegas in the downtime...the daytime! Where things are crazy enough but fairly standard for Vegas. We headed out after having some breakfast, jam and bread (from the cooler...the jam not the bread!). I had noticed a certain new favourite of mine recently, basically due to the vacancy of Dairy Milk Top Deck, my temporary favourite is Hersheys. And guess what there is in Vegas, a gigantic Hershey's shop. We went in and straight away my eyes were fixated upon the lines and lines of Hershey-fied treats in the glass cupboards. Barks of chocolate, Reese's covered cupcakes and just heaven basically, to put it bluntly and truthfully.
And then I saw the World's LARGEST Hershey's bar ever...literally it is! It was a crazy like $50 but that was definitely expected. I personally was expecting the smaller, and more sensibily sized bars to be fairly reasonable but they were really expensive so I was put off.
Also had a big pot of strawberry sauce...sadly it was empty!
We headed out and came across New York New York and saw a little bit into the future!
Luxor is a pretty amazing hotel, and just the fact it's shaped as a pyramid amazes me. We wanted to look inside to compare our accommodation and it was SO HIGH! As you can see on the second picture down you are literally looking over the not-very-safe bannister right the way down. Gave me abit of vertigo, and I don't get vertigo (skydive!).
There was just nothing stopping a drunken person of going over, it was really quite worrying :S
People looked like little ants as you can see at the bottom centre of the picture.
We had an adventure around the casino and also upstairs on the top floor, we are pretty sure the double doors room/penthouse most likely belongs to Criss Angel or someone pretty well known OR well off!
From here we had a dabble of gambling, getting to grips to the games and also we got a M Life Players Card. Basically in every casino, or most casinos you can get a 'members card' and they all call them different things. Treasure Island is the TI Player, and so on...
We then took full advantage of the room by unpacking COMPLETELY. We actually got a surprise when we were checking in because for some reason I thought we were staying 5 nights but in fact it was 6 nights...bonus! We'd already paid so this was no trouble. We also had abit of handyman help as our bathroom light didn't turn on at one point. It was maybe half 12 at night and thought, 'It's late, I'll ring in the morning'. But after thinking we decided to ring, the receptionist was sooo lovely and helpful and it was as if it was the middle of the day. I said, 'If it's too late it can always wait until the morning' to which she replied, 'No absolutely no trouble, the handyman will be around shortly'. Night is day in Vegas! So about 15 minutes later he arrived, for precisely 12 seconds. He came in, reset the light and then it came on, job done!! Thank you very much :)
Day Three
After a call this morning making sure everything was working from the clerk at the front desk after last nights handyman call (we are not used to this, hostels don't do that!) we headed out down the road to the Welcome to Vegas sign! We were very excited and even more when we realised the ambulances were yellow...how weird!
It was so hot, these picture do not justify how bloody hot it was! haha. Absolutely sweltering. It was 42'C and 107'F. The desert is hot! When we got there we came across a massive and expected queue all waiting to get pictures. We decided to pop to the side and get some other people to get a picture of us, and then I'd take one of them. Everyone's a winner. Also there was a woman at the front of the queue with a top on saying basically she takes pictures for tips. When about 20 meters further back there was a sign saying people do not have licences to operate near the sign.
At the side there was the Las Vegas Airport and there were ALOT of rich people in Vegas based on the amount of private jets!
On the way back we caught a sight of the back sign.
Due to the sign being on the bottom of the strip, we had to pass our hotel, Luxor to get further up. This gave us a good chance to see the exterior bits in the daytime. It really is a funky building, I'm really glad we chose to stay there.
We had made ourselves a ham and cheese wrap to have for lunch but due to the weather and heat the cheese had actually melted!! Crazy! We had also drunk all of our water we'd taken too, so we decided to go back to the room and sit in front of the amazing view eating our lunch and making sure we were drinking enough!
These shelters, which have fridges and also a 'private' area cost per day. Not much, only $1500 ... a day!!! True!
We headed down and had a gamble. I won 50 cent!!!
I am so happy with little wins :)
(notice the . after the dollar sign!)
Using our M Life cards we collected points as we bet, whether you win or lose. As you get certain amount, you get gifts. You of course need to bet a lot to win anything decent but here's hoping we hit the jackpot...then we'd get a keyring! Oh Yes!!
It got late and so we headed back upstairs, this was due to us staying up and watching the Tour de France. We don't usually watch it however tonight was when they would be riding through our home city! The stage we were watching was starting from York Knavesmire and would make it's way past where we live. Not outside the house but pretty much :) Also our family would be watching so we were on the lookout.
It was on at 3am and guess what...thanks to the ridiculous amounts of adverts the USA have, they completely missed the first 5 minutes and also had a break exactly where our parents and grandma were standing...brill! We had watched it from 3am to 4am so upon this disappointing result we headed to bed. Oh well, it was fantastic to see York hosting the amazing event and they did a great job! :)
Day Four
Today we were wanting to explore Fremont Street. The place is one where you want to see it during the day and also when it's at its prime, at night! Therefore we bought a day pass ticket that mean't we could get the bus right up to Downtown Vegas this morning and also take a visit up tonight to see it on the night time. We were about to realise how a place was have two personalities, day and night! (both good!). We caught the bus and headed north!
Our Grandma and Grandad visited Vegas on their Silver Wedding Anniversary and they stayed at Golden Nugget so we wanted to go in and experience what they experienced.
I won a dollar, I got a 4 of a kind...and won a dollar! Oh well a wins a win!
As we walked around we were reminded of the Tour de France (the blue type!) due to seeing these bikes. They were funky and really reminded us of home <3.
There was a restaurant that has been on the news many many times. But not for the good reasons. But isn't what they say, bad publicity is good publicity. Basically it is called the 'Heart Attack Grill' and they encourage the fact they have a 9000 calorie burger, yes 9000!!!. I could explain all day but I'll let you have a look at the menu and you'll see for yourself.
Yes you wear hospital gowns. And yes somebody has had a heart attack in there!
They have coke and water for non-alcoholic drinks, and don't be silly...they don't do diet coke! haha!
Yes they have a OCTUPLE BYPASS BURGER (8 burgers), ouch! There is also a rule that you CAN share anything under a single bypass burger but anything above it is a rule that you cannot share! Also its cash only, which was actually quite annoying but they made a joke out of it saying it was cash only due to you maybe not being alive when the cheque clears!
Get a glass of wine....it comes in a drip!
Get a shot of alcohol, it comes in a pill bottle with your name on!
Us with the owner of the restaurant :)
We then let our hotdog (which we shared!) lie and digest as we caught the bus and got off at the Stratosphere!
We were going to go on the rides but after eating we weren't so sure. 100% not fear of rides...we promise!
We then nipped into Trump Tower which was CRAZY POSH. There isn't a casino that we saw ourselves but we had a look upstairs and it was so posh!
No door notices needed here just press a button for the light to come on!
After having a look in a shopping centre opposite Trump, we found the Godiva chocolate shop and us and our brilliant methods got a great big tester of the chocolate truffle drink they had for sale. Much to my convenience Nat didn't like it, she was seconds from returning the tester back to the lady and then I pounced, 'I'll have it!'.
Then we headed further down the Strip :)
Then we went into the Bellagio in which we played the Wheel of Fortune. Our fortune was absolutely rubbish so as a result we both lost $10. Bugger!
Then we saw Carlo's Cake Boss shop in the Venetian. The first thing we noticed was the massive queue outside the door which is pretty crazy as you queue up for ages and you aren't even sure what you want to buy. The cakes did look yummy but we weren't paying them crazy prices!
We then saw the gondolas! Those things aren't cheap, if you want a 2 passenger ride it's 90 dollars!! what?!
We saw some chocolate strawberries...yum!
We then decided to catch the bus back up to Fremont Street to see the nighttime view! It was absolutely amazing how much of a contrast there was in terms of lighting (of course) and the amount of people there! It was crazy busy!
We were then given a FREE personalised grain of rice, probably to show what he could do (to drum up business). It was so impressive and he did a couple of orders from our freebies, that's fine by me!
There have been a few people demonstrating this amazing skill but this guy was amazing and so speedy!
The noise at Fremont was pretty loud but it was only when we got closer that we realised that it was a concert going on. We still aren't sure who the band was but EVERYBODY was singing the lyrics so they must be big :s
After nipping into a casino we got a members card which came with another freebie (normally its $5 in freeplay) but this time it was a slice of pizza. We needed dinner so we were pleased! We headed straight over :)
Then we were welcomed home. By the ... light!
Then we saw these lights! Mental shoes!
On that note...
Day Five
We wanted to go see Elvis and chose this morning to do this. It was in Downtown and we still had our valid bus ticket, running out at 12.12pm. We were pushed for time but decided we would just walk south back if our bus tickets ran out! We arrived and actually saw a couple getting married!! Elvis was spreading the love!
We then caught the bus with LITERALLY 2 minutes to spare. We jumped on and made our way back. We were so pleased as we really didn't want to walk in the boiling Vegas heat. In Luxor, we had bought tickets for the 2 exhibitions they have, Bodies and Titanic. Both were very different to one another but we were very interested as to what approach they would have taken in order to exhibit some pretty sensitive subjects.
The first was Bodies, neither exhibition allowed photography so the outside is all we have. But honestly, I loved it. With me completing a Sports Science degree I have a huge interest within that sector already and with it being nearly a year since I finished university this made me realise how much I want to work within the area. They were real bodies, donated and respected, and gave such an enlightening impact to how we all look inside. I thankfully understood all of it and remembered all the muscles, bones and all the vast subjects the exhibition featured. It really was interesting however at first it was a little disturbing these body parts were actual people who have donated their bodies to research.
And then I won $18, not bad.
Yesterday we had bought some Cirque de Soleil tickets for Mystere (Treasure Island) so we were so excited to see our first Vegas show. We got ready and headed on our way to see the amazing show. Nat was so excited she didn't stay still for this picture! Hyperactive girl! :)
We saw this gorgeous rose on our way, a giant rose!
We had plenty of time to wander up the strip to get to TI, but with the slow moving crowds, the regular coachtrip group we seemed to always come across this made a relatively long walk even longer!
We finally made it with 20 minutes to spare until show time!
The show was absolutely spectacular. Absolutely speechless as to the acrobatic amazement...I just can't put into words as to how amazing it was. I'll leave it there!
The show sadly came to an end and so we headed on our way back and consequently came across several distractions from a 'speedy walk back'. You just can't when you're in Vegas! We came across the Treasure Island Volcano Show just as we left which was convenient. Other than the fact my top makes me look pregnant, I look pretty brown! Wow...
Then Caesars and the reoccurring muscle speedos man stood outside hehe!
Just before we got back we came across somewhere we'd wanted to see for a few days now, M&M World! Like Hershey's it was really expensive but we got a few testers :) The lady gave us some and was telling other customers off due to them literally sticking their hands under the tubes and grabbing a hand full of m&m's. How obvious can you be though? At least get a load of testers and you can actually enjoy them!
Excalibur was on the way back so we chose to have a wander through there as you can access Luxor by a walkway (connecting the two).
We also have a story about Luxor soap. Upon arrival we were provided with a pyramid shaped soap in our bathroom. Ideally we wanted one each so on an occasion when we were in our room when the maid came Nat asked her a question. She literally just said, 'I was just wondering is there any chance of getting another soap please?'. To which the maid said, 'Of course, 5? 6?'. With this and us in shock, she reached into her 'pot of treats' and got an absolute handful (2 hands straight in!) and gave us 6 soaps. She was so sweet, she asked if we wanted our beds making to which we said, 'It's okay'. We don't want her working too hard, have a rest lady!, she must have really appreciated this and therefore gave us a load of soaps. Least Nat can wash now ha!!
With our soap numbers rising we headed for bed for some shuteye!
Day Six
After having our breakfast and grabbing hold of the packet of Salt and Vinegar Pringles in tow for snacks we headed down in the lift. Being an Egyptian of course! Had to be done!
With our welcome check in pack we received a few vouchers for a number of things around the hotel and other MGM casinos. This included 2 free carnival games at Excalibur, as a result we got a load of tickets and also a flower which is now our travelling mascot which is attached to each of our backpacks.
I then asked a lady how much money each ticket was worth to which she replied with, 'This is kids area, they don't gamble'. She wasn't serious but upon this response we returned to the 'adult' area where money could actually be won...and lost.
Talking of winning, Nat won another $35 on a Hangover machine.
She was on a winning streak, Go Nat!
After the fun and games of gambling we then went to the Titanic Exhibition which we'd purchased tickets for already. Again, no pictures were allowed but I so would have loved to show you the amazing artifacts and objects they have collected from the Titanic wreck. Again, it was a very sensitive subject of course but we were given a ticket with a passengers name and profile on. At the end, there was a wall with all names of all saved and lost and their classifications, so we would see if 'we survived'. I personally found this slightly disturbing as this wasn't just a character, this was a real person who experienced one of the worst disasters in history. I might be boring but I don't know how I feel about it.
What I can say is that all the aspects of the exhibition were respectful and gave the passengers, saved and lost, all the credit they deserved. A highlight of the exhibition was 'The Big Piece'. Here is a link to a website that explains the process of recovering one of the prevalent artefacts collected from the Titanic. It is gigantic and can be seen here: http://www.titanic-titanic.com/big_piece.shtml.
We were at the exhibition for about 2 hours, similar to Bodies and as we left we went to the gift shop. I bought a bracelet which had an actual piece of coal used on the Titanic which was something I really felt I wanted. It was $15 and you could buy 'poshly boxed' larger piece of coal for $45 but a small piece is exactly the same as a big piece. I was pleased I bought this and looking back it's a reminder of the day that we were privileged to experience the Titanic, its passengers and it's story.
On our way across the casino floor, we saw a strange lady. This strange lady gave us the impression she was strange as she was walking around with a bottle on her head. This made us laugh and we ended up stalking her for a little bit to see how she did with her balance. She did very well!
And now for some amazing food!! Another voucher we received was $20 off a meal at one of a few selected restaurants and cafes. To say we paid $140 resort fees, this voucher really was paid for already but hey ho unavoidable resort fees. We settled on a restaurant and due to the cost of ANY of the food in these casino restaurants we ordered dessert. We didn't need any of this main food!! I chose a New York Cheesecake and Nat got a 4scoop ice cream dessert. We were excited. As we waited we were provided with an ice cold glass of water from the lovely bartender. Bless him, we just felt like saying, 'this is all voucher' but whose he to know! hehe!
Then it arrived, the heaven that was about to be eaten so fast was placed in front of my eyes! The melted chocolate smeared on the plate, the raspberries placed on the corner of the plate, the blowtorched caramel on top and the cheesecake centre with the biscuit base...OHMYGOD!!!
Then Nat's ice cream arrived! I didn't have it but I was told by Nat that it was 'delicious'. Vanilla, coconut and sea salted caramel flavours, she wasn't keen on the sea salted caramel one, in terms of ice cream you can't be fancy. Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry are the best and safest options. But the cheesecake....don't get me started again!
We polished all that off and then it was tea time!! Nat's ice cream didn't cover her half of the $20 so she got a 'hot tea' as it said on the menu. She did not realise the process that would occur. Upon ordering the bar tender left the bar, and came back with a gigantic black box. He opened it as if he was in a Bond scene where millions of dollars are revealed. But it was tea. All kinds of tea, green tea, earl grey, and a load of others. She was typical British and picked English Breakfast Tea. Oh Natalie!! Push the boat out! Be adventurous!
Saying that it was adventurous because it wasn't your regular PG Tips and Yorkshire Tea, it was a teabag made out of bamboo. Yes bamboo. It really looked really nice to use. Sadly she used it, but she absolutely loved it. It tantalised the taste buds as she has just said. Normally she leaves a little bit at the bottom, unintentionally, but on this occasion she drunk all of it!!
After this we headed back into the casino and played a couple of dollars on the Wheel of Fortune machine again, to no avail.
And on the way up, we took some pictures.
Now this is a story, this is the ice vending machine which we used that made such a noise. Basically the cooler that we'd been using, the ice had melted so we needed to replace the ice. We chose to do it at like 2am of course and it made a hell of a noise :S Oh well everyone's out anyway! We had given the cooler back earlier tonight as we were leaving tomorrow :( It was nice to see him again and we thanked him so much for all he'd done to help us in Vegas.
We then went to bed...but before we end this day I found this picture that made me laugh. Nat is so happy!! Love it! :) Goodnight!
Day Seven
Today was our last day and we going on a roadtrip!!! We were soo excited but rather scared at the prospect of driving on the right side of the road...starting in Las Vegas. What a place to do your first drive on. We were collecting our car which we'd have for 2 days, doing hundreds of miles in and would trust with our lives! Other than them thoughts we were excited!! We packed up, said goodbye to the beds and the amazing room and headed off. We didn't have enough change to give the bus driver but based on all the bags we had and the short distance we had to go (fine walking but not with bags in that temperature!) the driver was so kind and understanding we had a free ride. Thank you!
Next stop...ROADTRIP!!!! :)
Hope you have enjoyed this blog, a lot of it was basically casino casino casino lights shiny casino but basically that is what we did :)
Stay tuned!
Rach xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment