29th November and we boarded a flight from New York JFK to Las Vegas. The flight was great as it was during the night so we had views of bright lights for the whole journey. The Cosmopolitan was our hotel of choice and it was incredible. It was the best place I have ever stayed in. We stayed in a wraparound terrace suite with a fountain view. The room was huge with floor to ceiling windows around with fantastic views due to being on the 57th floor! We could see down most of the strip including Planet Hollywood, Paris, Caesars Palace, The Venetian and of course the Bellagio as well as the desert and mountains in the distance. Dinner on the first night was at Panda Express at the nearby Miracle Mile shops before going to bed.
I woke up to a view of the strip as I had purposely left the curtains open! Not many times in your life you can say you woke up to a view of the Las Vegas strip. Breakfast was at the miracle mile and consisted of eggs Florentine with fried potatoes and toast. Crossing back over the road we started our day of visiting Vegas's casinos. First stop of the day was the Bellagio with its elaborately decorated lobby featuring glass flowers on the ceiling. Unfortunately the Christmas decorations were just being put up so the botanical gardens were closed. Walking on through the casino past the shops and out onto the strip before going into Caesars Palace. Their lobby did have Christmas decorations up and it was mixed into the Roman theme with tinsel, poinsettias and baubles adorning the statues. This was my favourite of the casinos as it was themed but at the same time it wasn't tacky. I loved the decoration throughout with the Colosseum theatre, statues, busts, and fountains. Next along the strip was the Mirage which has a small tropical rainforest in its conservatory in the middle of the casino. The Mirage is most famous for its volcano which erupts at night (unfortunately we didn't see this) and the dolphins in the 'secret garden'. This is quite pricey so again we didn't see them! Although we did see the dolphin statues inside which were at the time sporting Santa hats. After a quick drink stop we moved on to Treasure Island which i
n my opinion is a little dated and not that interesting although the outside area with the pirate ship is nicer than the interior. Across the strip and we visited the Wynn, one of the classiest casinos on the strip. I loved the decorations inside with displays made up of flowers, plants and fake snow. It was very high end with lots of shops such as Cartier, Moncler and Louis Vuitton. After leaving the casino we also admired the fountains outside which danced to different musical songs in
cluding Beauty and the Beast. Next casino was the Venetian and I have to say it was a lot less crowded, smelly and dirty than actual Venice!!! It was great to see how similar it looks to actual landmarks in Venice, the detail is simply incredible. A lot of thought had gone it to everything! I especially loved the ceiling with its blue skies and of course the canal with the gondolas. As we eventually found the exit we crossed to Rialto bridge as the sun was setting over Vegas's reproduction of St Mark's Campanile. A quick few visits into Harrahs, The Linq and one of my favourites, The Flamingo. I thought the 80's neon lighting, the actual flamingos and the pink colour scheme were amazing! Dinner was at Bubba Gump before a dash to Excalibur and the MGM grand then bedtime.
The next day was the must-do trip when visiting Vegas, The Grand Canyon. After being picked up by coach we transferred to Henderson airport to board our flight to the South Rim. The plane was tiny with only 22 seats including the two pilots. First we had a 40 minute flight to get to Arizona. Then we boarded a trolley that took us to our first scenic spot where we had some time to look around. The spot was on the Rim Trail, there were few p
eople around and the views were incredible, we could see for miles. We were also given a packed lunch which consisted of turkey sandwiches, crisps, biscuits and a drink. After around 30 minutes we got back on the trolley and were taken to our next stop along the trail. There was a large sign reading 'Grand Canyon National Park' which was busy with tourists taking photos. This spot was obviously more popular as there was crowds of people here. Afterwards we jumped back on the trolley to be transferred back to the airport for our flight back to Vegas. Our evening entertainment consisted of the 'Vegas Strong' benefit concert. Before going to the T-Mobile stadium we had a look around the New York New York which is fantastically themed inside. The restaurant area was modelled around New York streets complete with hot dog smell. Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge towards the venue we grabbed some cheese fries before taking our seats. First on stage was Boys II Men who sang a selection of their best songs followed by Carrot Top, Penn & Teller, Blue Man Group, Cirque Du Soleil, David Copperfield, Imagine Dragons, Jay Leno while The Killers finished off to a standing ovation. Everyone who took part in the show came on at the end for a sing-a-long to 'Viva Las Vegas' to the crowds approval. The whole concert was fantastic and raised lots of funds for the victims of the awful shooting that had occurred earlier in the year.
A shopping day followed as we took the bus to the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets where we spent the day seeing what discount they had to offer. The savings here are huge if you don't mind looking for them and actually considering everyone goes to New York to shop, the prices here were considerably lower. The outlets are really friendly and well laid out and there's a good choice of shops and restaurants. Lunch was at the Cheesecake factory in between shops. Upon leaving the outlets we headed to the MGM Grand for the Cirque Du Soleil show, 'Ka'. The acrobatics in the show were very impressive although the storyline was a little hard to follow! The staging at set were incredible, so much detail, it must have cost a fortune to build. Another must when in Vegas is to see at least one of the Cirque shows! They all have different stories so you could see more than one and still be amazed! Back in my bed, I admired the Bellagio fountains before going to sleep.
Our last morning before flying home and after a wander around the Cosmopolitan we just had time to pay a visit to Freemont Street. Before I came to Vegas I was worried about the tackiness. However I actually thought the Strip was really nice. Freemont Street on the other hand...is tacky! Although it is a good place to buy souvenirs as most of them are only one dollar! Lunch was at the Garden Court Buffet at the Main Street Station. It was very cheap and the food was really good with a wide variety. Heading back down Freemont and there was some live country music playing with people dancing around as well as some scantily dressed women walking around! After swiftly leaving the street we went back to the Strip for one more time before catching our flight a few hours later.
 |
| Bellagio |
 |
| Caesers Palace |
n my opinion is a little dated and not that interesting although the outside area with the pirate ship is nicer than the interior. Across the strip and we visited the Wynn, one of the classiest casinos on the strip. I loved the decorations inside with displays made up of flowers, plants and fake snow. It was very high end with lots of shops such as Cartier, Moncler and Louis Vuitton. After leaving the casino we also admired the fountains outside which danced to different musical songs in
cluding Beauty and the Beast. Next casino was the Venetian and I have to say it was a lot less crowded, smelly and dirty than actual Venice!!! It was great to see how similar it looks to actual landmarks in Venice, the detail is simply incredible. A lot of thought had gone it to everything! I especially loved the ceiling with its blue skies and of course the canal with the gondolas. As we eventually found the exit we crossed to Rialto bridge as the sun was setting over Vegas's reproduction of St Mark's Campanile. A quick few visits into Harrahs, The Linq and one of my favourites, The Flamingo. I thought the 80's neon lighting, the actual flamingos and the pink colour scheme were amazing! Dinner was at Bubba Gump before a dash to Excalibur and the MGM grand then bedtime.The next day was the must-do trip when visiting Vegas, The Grand Canyon. After being picked up by coach we transferred to Henderson airport to board our flight to the South Rim. The plane was tiny with only 22 seats including the two pilots. First we had a 40 minute flight to get to Arizona. Then we boarded a trolley that took us to our first scenic spot where we had some time to look around. The spot was on the Rim Trail, there were few p
eople around and the views were incredible, we could see for miles. We were also given a packed lunch which consisted of turkey sandwiches, crisps, biscuits and a drink. After around 30 minutes we got back on the trolley and were taken to our next stop along the trail. There was a large sign reading 'Grand Canyon National Park' which was busy with tourists taking photos. This spot was obviously more popular as there was crowds of people here. Afterwards we jumped back on the trolley to be transferred back to the airport for our flight back to Vegas. Our evening entertainment consisted of the 'Vegas Strong' benefit concert. Before going to the T-Mobile stadium we had a look around the New York New York which is fantastically themed inside. The restaurant area was modelled around New York streets complete with hot dog smell. Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge towards the venue we grabbed some cheese fries before taking our seats. First on stage was Boys II Men who sang a selection of their best songs followed by Carrot Top, Penn & Teller, Blue Man Group, Cirque Du Soleil, David Copperfield, Imagine Dragons, Jay Leno while The Killers finished off to a standing ovation. Everyone who took part in the show came on at the end for a sing-a-long to 'Viva Las Vegas' to the crowds approval. The whole concert was fantastic and raised lots of funds for the victims of the awful shooting that had occurred earlier in the year.A shopping day followed as we took the bus to the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets where we spent the day seeing what discount they had to offer. The savings here are huge if you don't mind looking for them and actually considering everyone goes to New York to shop, the prices here were considerably lower. The outlets are really friendly and well laid out and there's a good choice of shops and restaurants. Lunch was at the Cheesecake factory in between shops. Upon leaving the outlets we headed to the MGM Grand for the Cirque Du Soleil show, 'Ka'. The acrobatics in the show were very impressive although the storyline was a little hard to follow! The staging at set were incredible, so much detail, it must have cost a fortune to build. Another must when in Vegas is to see at least one of the Cirque shows! They all have different stories so you could see more than one and still be amazed! Back in my bed, I admired the Bellagio fountains before going to sleep.
Our last morning before flying home and after a wander around the Cosmopolitan we just had time to pay a visit to Freemont Street. Before I came to Vegas I was worried about the tackiness. However I actually thought the Strip was really nice. Freemont Street on the other hand...is tacky! Although it is a good place to buy souvenirs as most of them are only one dollar! Lunch was at the Garden Court Buffet at the Main Street Station. It was very cheap and the food was really good with a wide variety. Heading back down Freemont and there was some live country music playing with people dancing around as well as some scantily dressed women walking around! After swiftly leaving the street we went back to the Strip for one more time before catching our flight a few hours later.
Comments
Post a Comment