If you asked me to sum up Vegas in one word it would be… Crazy!
Everything is crazy… From the architecture (there’s a mini Eiffel Tower and Empire State building), interior of the hotels, how bright everything is at night, the geological history and dramatic landscapes, the people, the food, the shopping and last but not least the gambling! And that’s what’s so great about it!
When we drove to Vegas from San Diego you could really get a feel for the terrain we’d be seeing as we were towards the edge of California. The rocky mountains/canyons towering above, the sand and tumbleweed on either side of you, and roads that have come under strain from the heat and been repaired on several occasions! It was exciting!
We’d planned to stop at the “Ghost Town” of Calico on our way in. We thought it would be really cool to visit an old, empty mining town and experience that chilling feeling of abandonment and being completely alone in the dessert. However when we arrived we were informed that you pay to get in, and it also plays host to restaurants, gift shops and shows (not quite what we had in mind!) It kind of ruins the feel of a ghost town when you see lots of other tourists with Calico Souvenirs!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico,_San_Bernardino_County,_California
When we arrived in Vegas we dropped our car off at Caesars Palace, and I got my first little glimpse of Vegas. Walking through the hotel/casino all I could think of was the episodes of Friends that were filmed there, and I wanted to see Phoebe getting frustrated with the old lady lurking on the slot machine! Obviously we didn’t witness this, but we did see a Friends slot machine!
We stayed in The Palazzo Resort (which is part of The Venetian), and oh my god it was AMAZING. Our suite alone was incredible, we were on the 42nd floor with amazing views of the hotel/strip below and beyond into the dessert. We had the Fortuna Suite which was 940 square feet of luxury, and I was in love! I’ve never stayed in a room where there’s an Italian Marble Foyer, a sunken living room and has a dining table… My heart nearly burst when I saw the beautiful bathroom, complete with huge shower, and bathtub with a TV. Now I faced a problem… I was excited to see what Vegas had to offer, but I also didn’t want to leave the nicest suite I have and probably will ever stay in!
With some gentle persuasion from James I did leave the room, and apart from suffering some mild separation anxiety (joking) I was glad I did. The Venetian is beautiful! Once again (it’s happened many times since being in the US) it felt really surreal walking around this place, like I was in a dream. From seeing the Grand Canal and the Gondolas, all of the designer shops, approaching St Marks Sq and then the casino itself. It’s a completely different world in Vegas…
As it was dark outside we went for my first walk down The Strip (eeeeeeeee!) I love the bright lights of Vegas. Don’t get me wrong it’s nice during the day under bright blue skies, but it really comes to life when the sun goes down and everything is illuminated. We checked out the Volcano Show at The Mirage, which was so cool (you could feel the heat from the flames on the other side of the street!) This show reminded me of where I’d read that Vegas is like Disneyland to adults! To then cool down we went and watched the iconic Bellagio Fountains in action, and they were also pretty impressive! We then went inside the Bellagio to check out it’s seasonal lobby display which was pretty incredible (currently the displays are for the Chinese New Year), and I got to see the beautiful glass floral ceiling that I’ve read about..Yay!
The next day we went and grabbed breakfast, and although it was alot calmer there were still people drinking and gambling at 9am. If you have ever watched the Louis Theroux episode where he goes to Vegas (if you haven’t, it’s on Netflix!) You will understand that some people will literally do nothing but gamble during their time in Vegas (with the exception of sleeping and eating.) One lady even moved to Vegas just so she could gamble every day!
When I went to Budapest last year I found a Pinball Museum… As you’ve probably guessed it’s a room filled with Pinball Machines and other old arcade games (and they’re extremely cheap to play-it’s great fun!) James was jealous of this, mostly because he never went whilst in Budapest, so when we saw there was one in Vegas we had to go! Compared to everything else we’d seen in Vegas so far the Pinball Hall of Fame is nothing fancy, it was pure pinball (152 pinball machines to be exact, they list them all on their website http://www.pinballmuseum.org/) There were Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Mario, Simpson, Twilight Zone, Jurassic Park and even Kiss and Metallica Machines (just to name a few!) We spent a good hour or so playing these, and then another hour playing some very competitive ice hockey against each other. At one point the hockey puck left the table and hit a child-oops! James was the overall winner, and I sulked…
One of our favourite parts of Las Vegas was the Neon Museum which features signs from old casinos and other businesses displayed outdoors on over 6 acres. We went on an evening tour to see the signs lit up, and it was really interesting learning about each one. The guide did a great job of explaining the back stories and history of not only the signs but of the people, places and events of Las Vegas. They also have a giant fiberglass skull that used to be part of the Treasure Island Hotel! The museum is a visual feast and a great photography opportunity. You must book your tour in advance though, they don’t accept walk-in’s, and it books up quick! http://www.neonmuseum.org/ After this we went straight to Fremont Street to continue the theme of Old Vegas and it’s bright lights…
Fremont Street was the original Vegas, before it moved to the strip in the 1980’s. The abundance of neon signs, like cowboy Vegas Vic, earned the street the nickname of Glitter Gulch. There are famous casinos there still… Binions, Golden Nugget and Four Queens to name a few. It now plays host to the Fremont Street Experience which is a covered canopy above the casinos in which you can zip-line down, and it also has light show every 90 minutes or so (the one we saw was crap though!) It is also home to the famous Heart Attack Grill (as seen on Man vs Food), we really wanted to go but it was full inside ans queuing out the front :(. If we go back to Vegas, we will be trying this again http://www.heartattackgrill.com/heart-attack-grill-menu.html! I definitely recommend Fremont Street though, even if you don’t stay for long. It’s cool just seeing the old style lights, and looking at everyone in hospital gowns eating burgers!
The first couple of days were great! There’s so much to take in, but I made sure there was time everyday for a nice relaxing bath 🙊!
An adventure..? Alpacamybags!! 
Oh my – you drove??? We did (part) of that journey a few times. Vegas – you have to see it to believe it! The desert terrain is amazing, but it gets a bit boring after a few years – give me rain and green grass 🙂
Loving your blog commentary as much as the photos. T xx
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Yep we drove, I was still catching up on sleep from being poorly so I did sleep for a little bit of it 😊🙊. Thank you T 😘xx
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