Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Up early for what was planned as our longest driving day yet.... Three Rivers to Vegas approx 350miles.... A pretty unremarkable drive for most of the morning, we got some more experience of US Freeways in preparation for our LA entrance.... but back to today.... We stopped for our second breakfast at a little place called "insert hick town name here". After a largely forgettable breakfast, i had a brain freeze and tipped about 75% of the bill (damn my shoddy maths brain!).... and wasnt phil happy i did when 19 miles down the road he discovered the bag with all his worldly possessions in it was still sat under the table..... After many rude words that wont be repeated here a suitable place to turn around was found.... Unfortunately it was blocked with traffic cones... what to do?? what to do???? We drove through them and back onto the highway..... so long driving day has now become approximately 400 miles, but thankfully Phil, his bag and his beloved ipod were reunited.....
Alright, Phil here, i am taking back over this blog now as i was going to leave that bit out!! ... luckily though when we got back to the place we had turned around the traffic cones had been replaced with Police cars and we thought we had been rumbled... turns out the highway had been shut due to an approaching sand storm (we were in the desert now after all) so we were herded off into "add another crappy town name here" and spent the next hour thinking we were going to be whisked off to Oz at any minute... the wind was literally lifting the car up and down...with us in it as well... THAT is a strong wind! The route to the freeway we needed looked like a piece of spaghetti that had been flung against a wall but we made it back eventually so our 400 mile trip had now become 500 miles (cue The Proclaimers)
We were both in need of a stiff drink by the time we rolled into Vegas... dusty, tired and a little rough around the edges... Luckily the hotel for our stay was AAAAAWESOME DUDE!!! We were staying in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and it was like stepping into heaven (for me anyway)... SOOOO much music memoribilia... Our room was amazing with a view of the pool, a huge LCD TV and a toilet thats flush had been taken straight out of a jumbo jet. Had a quick shower and a chill out and then hit Vegas... Being the boring old farts we are a pact was made to ensure we stayed out past midnight! Papers were signed in triplicate and stored in the rooms safe! ;)
Gambling Total: $0
The first thing that hit us about Vegas was that is was nothing like we expected it to be... We both imagined tackiness and cheesiness on a huge level... well, it was tacky and it is cheesy but when you have an infinite budget to spend even tacky and cheesy can be made to look amazing!
Our first stop was New York New York where we had heard there was a rollercoaster! Jacq chickened out but i jumped on and quickily wished i hadn't as my innards were soon all the wrong way up and inside out... was quite an impressive ride tho... After getting some blood back in my cheeks we went to find the Irish pub we had heard about and had a few pints whilst harrassing the local band.
We then hit the Bellagio which was as impressive as everyone says and watched the magnificent water show out the front. Popped into the casino and spotted our first bride but could see no Elvis vicar in sight so it must have been a proper wedding i suppose ;) Had a drink and a wee flutter ($1... WOW!! lost it all of course)
Gambling Total: $1
Off to Paris Las Vegas Casino now to get the elevator up the fake Eiffel Tower for a panoramic view of Vegas in all its glory... a whole lot of neon! For a city in the middle of the desert it really does get rather chilly in the evenings...
Gambling Total: $6
We managed to stay out until about 1:30 at which point the 500 miles (cue The Proclaimers again) caught up with us and it was back to the hotel for some sleep...
Day 2 in Vegas... After a well deserved sleep in we sauntered downstairs for brekkie and were a little taken back when the first thing we were offered was a bloody mary... we settled instead for a huge breakfast and headed off to Mandalay Bay Casino to see the aquarium and shark bay exhibit they had... pretty good display but the sharks were a bit small (tough crowd)... From there we walked through the Luxor Casino waving at the fake Sphinx and from this point on we must have looked lost as the Used Car Salesmen came out of the woodwork and started to try to sell us all an' sundry... we learnt quickly to tell them we were leaving in 5 minutes and were trying to find a slot machine to spend our remaining 5 cents.
Checked out MGM Grand's Lion enclousure which was very impressive. They had a glass tunnel you could walk through and the lions were playing with the keepers on top of the tunnel. MGM Grand also accomadated our first drink of the day!:)
Gambling Total: $7
Looked around the mile long circle of shops in Planet Hollywood and definately needed a drink after that so took a look in the casino.
Gambling Total: $8
Took a Gondola ride at the Venitian complete with our own singing italian punter... Jacq thought it was romantic... i take the 5th...
Took a taxi to the Stratosphere Casino (looks like the Seattle Tower) which was in what felt like a dodgier part of town so just took the time to go to the top of the tower and look at the absolutely insane rides they had at the top... it is impossible to explain how stupid they were so look them up on the internet!
As we seemed to have been taking taxi's everywhere we decided to ditch our Flashpacker image and grab the bus back to Mandalay Bay where we were going to spend the evening in a blues pub. The bus however was hell on wheels with the worlds most boring and grouchy bus driver and piles upon piles of brits all moaning and groaning about how expensive everything was... the bus took us 7 miles for $4!!! GO HOME!!
Had a lovely meal at a mexican restaurant and found a great spot in The House Of Blues ready to settle down for an evening of live music... as soon as the band came on Mr Chino's 2007 decided he wanted to be in the air i was occupying so stood right in front of me so off we went back to our hotel! We had one final drink in the Hard Rock casino and headed to bed, tired after walking, we reckon, about 8 miles!
Overall Gambling Total: $10
Winnings: $0
Stupid Vegas!
- comments