So after going slightly mad over 30-something too many hours of travel (three planes are too many) I finally got to Vegas and met K at the airport.
After the hair-raising turbulence in the itty bit plane from LAX, combined with the two British tourists’ lengthy discussion of beer and prostitiutes (their preferred pastime in the city of sin, as they informed the whole plane) I was a bit taken aback by the vast tracts of slot machines at the airport, as soon as you disembark from the plane. I’d realised that gambling was the raison d’être, but not that it was part of the airport too!
Nevertheless, I avoided making eye contact with the flashing lights,a and found my bag, and K before heading to our hotel. The taxis here all seem to have a very generic DVD playing, with what sounds like a voiceover from a motivational speaker telling the passengers the sights they shouldn’t miss.
The hotel has pretty nice rooms and comfy beds (oh how I wanted to collapse into one, but not yet) and even though outs was one of the cheaper room types, we did have a (distant) view of the pool and part of the roller coaster which surrounds the hotel.oh, and of course the car park next door.
First up we needed s e food, as I’d not had proper lunch yet, so we went for a wander through the restaurant section of the casino downstairs. As the name of the hotel (new York, New York) suggests, the restaurants are ny themed, with pizza places, steak restaurants, burger joints (including one which had a Gluten free menu, but actually didn’t do gluten free bread or buns; the gluten free menu was of burgers without buns!) we eventually settled down at a Mexican place which was great – including large margaritas!
We also stopped by Ben & Jerry’s to pick up so e icecream to take up to our room, eliciting envious looks from all those around us on the lift!
After scoffing the icecream, it was time to head off to the Treasure Island casino to see Mystere, the Cirque du Soleil show we’d booked. Wow, it was amazing! I’d never seen Cirque du Soleil live before, and I’m a complete convert! This particular show was a showcase of different physical acrobatic skills, the very best being a pair of guys who were doing a strength/agility demonstration, with one of them balancing the other on his hands etc while both moved into different positions. Amazing – a real mix of acrobatics, strength and amazing technique. The other fantastic sections were the pole climbers, the suspended banner dancer and of course the trapeze artists. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone!
Instead of taking a taxi, we decided to walk back to the hotel along the Strip. It seems that half of Nevada had the same idea, so there were huge crowds, but it was a pretty carnival atmosphere, only slightly muted by the tens of people on every corner handing out strip club and escort cards, slapping them lasciviously against each other to attract attention. Ugh!
There’s also a LOT of luxury here – we wandered into a mall with basically Prada, Tiffany’s Jimmy Choo and all the horrendously expensive brands in the magazines. Fun!
Tomorrow is a quiet(ish) day of mooching around a bit to recover from the long haul. We’ll certainly sleep well tonight!
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Two Weeks Away 