Las Vegas

We finished up at our Irvine apartment on Sunday 26th June and headed for Las Vegas. When we return to Irvine after our 6-week trip we will move into a different apartment for our remaining 6 weeks in Southern California. I managed to find a fully-furnished sub-lease where the dates happened to work perfectly for us.

Vegas is crazy. The whole time we were there it felt like living in an alternative reality... We stayed at The Signature at the MGM Grand, which is one of the three big standalone towers in the huge MGM complex. I had got a brilliant deal on a deluxe balcony suite for 4 nights. We were on the 18th floor (which is only about half-way up!) and had nice views looking out to the strip, or down to one of the several pools in the complex.

It was 45 degrees every day we were there, which was bit of a shock to the system! We really appreciated having a kitchenette, and therefore a fridge, as the majority of rooms in Vegas don't. We would freeze bottles of water overnight then take them out and about with us during the day, giving us a constant supply of cold water. We did have bit of a popcorn 'incident' in our kitchen... The first bag started smoking, so we (and by that, I mean Will!) grabbed it and threw it onto the deck and chucked water over it before it caught fire. The second bag decided to explode all over the microwave which was rather impressive really!

The hotel really was lovely. Definitely one of the nicest places I've ever stayed. It's the first time in our lives we've had valet parking which was a real treat (funnily enough, it doesn't usually come as standard in the backpackers and cheap hotels we usually choose to stay at!). The bathroom was also awesome. This is what happens when you let your husband loose with your bath soak in a jacuzzi bath! 

The bathroom even had a TV, because you wouldn't want to miss any of the ball game while you're doing your teeth or taking a shower...

There must have been a hen party using our room before us, because we kept finding 'interesting' sparkly confetti in various nooks and crannies!

The pools were great, a very welcome way to cool off in the heat. I'm sure some people spend most of their Vegas holiday just lounging in the water and drinking. The waitresses would even serve people in the pool, so there was no need for them to get out...

We spent one very enjoyable afternoon hanging out at the lazy river, a 1000 foot long circuit with a gentle current. It was lovely just floating along, and you can also hire tubes to float on if you wish. A lot of people were just walking it with their drinks. In the pic below I'm about the most chilled I've ever been in my life! I think a year off work is good for me...

Neither Will or I have much interest in gambling, so we didn't end up spending any money in the casinos, we weren't even tempted by the 1 cent pokies! Will enjoys his Texas Holdem poker, but it would've taken too much time to play one of the tournaments, plus the buy-ins were pretty steep. We did watch a few poker tables at various casinos which was interesting.

We did enjoy the sports books at the casinos. Numerous giant screens showing live sport from all over the world, what's not to love??! When we got a bit tired from walking around or needed a break from the heat, we'd find the nearest sports book and sit down and catch a bit of sport. The photo above is England losing to Iceland in the Euro 2016 football. Pretty much everyone was cheering on England apart from a couple of people who obviously had money on Iceland. Sure enough, as soon as the game finished they went up to the counter to collect their winnings... There were some gutted Englishmen around who no doubt spent the rest of the afternoon/evening drowning their sorrows...

Our original plan was to drive to the Death Valley National Park on the Tuesday, but temperatures there were over 50 degrees Celsius, so we decided it wouldn't be the best idea. Commercial tours don't even run in June and July. Instead, Tuesday night we took in a show. We went to 'Zumanity', Cirque Du Soleil's R18 show which was playing at New York New York, just across the road from the MGM. The show was fun, much more a burlesque/cabaret type show than what you'd usually expect from Cirque Du Soleil. It seemed very appropriate for Vegas however... The waterbowl act was impressive and amazing to watch. You aren't allowed to film or take photos during the show, but they then encourage you to get your cameras out for the encore.

After the show we spent a bit of time exploring New York New York. A lot of the casinos are themed, and they pull out all the stops. It wouldn't be New York without the Statue of Liberty or the Brooklyn Bridge...

 

This is just part of the casino floor at New York New York, and this is just one of the numerous casinos in Vegas, all open 24 hours. Because everything is brightly lit up and all go, 24/7, it is easy to lose track of time. We got into some really bad habits, getting to bed after 1am most nights, and we weren't even gambling.

 Excalibur looked very cool from the outside, but we didn't go in.

 Paris has a half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower...

 The Bellagio has its famous fountain set to music show outside...

And an underwater-themed botanical garden and aquarium inside...

Caesars Palace has a Roman theme throughout, and a rather odd rendition of 'The Fall of Atlantis' using moving robotic statues...

  

However, our favourite casino was the Venetian, which is why it gets the biggest photo allowance! They've recreated the canals, inside a shopping mall, complete with gondolas, and gondoliers belting out Italian classics. It is definitely one of the more surreal places I've ever visited... With the painted sky you almost feel like you are outside in the middle of Venice.

On our last night we caught the bus that runs up and down the strip to the Downtown area to visit the Fremont Street experience. It is a covered mall with the largest LED screen in the world. Every hour there is a spectacular sound and light show up on the curved screen. 

I'm a big 'Imagine Dragons' fan so we made sure we caught their 10 pm show. I recorded a short snippet below.

If you like that, somebody has recorded the whole 3-song show here.

The people you see whizzing past up near the roof canopy are on the Slotzilla Zipline. There is a great GoPro video here. This looked like loads of fun, but not at $45 for less than a minute of entertainment! There is a $25 option where you are lower and in a seated position, but that one is an even shorter ride.

In the pics above and below you can see the famous 'Vegas Vickie' neon sign on the top left. She 'married' Vegas Vic who you can just see on the right hand side, in a ceremony in 1994.

Fremont Street is a fascinating entertainment precinct, full of buskers and performers working for tips, as well as several stages with live music in between the hourly sound and light shows. Lets hope the old adage 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas' holds true for these folk below...

We had a walk through the Golden Nugget, one of the oldest casinos in Vegas. We were allowed into the swimming pool complex for a look. This was pretty cool... The pool has a huge aquarium in its centre, complete with fully grown sharks. There is a water-slide that goes right through the middle of the aquarium. Only in Vegas...

So, that was Las Vegas done and dusted... I actually enjoyed my time there much more than I thought I would, it is such an interesting place. It is full-on and in your face however, and I don't really feel the need to go back anytime soon!