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We’d read about Las Vegas and we’d been told by all kinds of people what it’s like and what to expect, but nothing could have prepared us for the riot of indulgence that is Las Vegas.
Needless to say, having done our homework and prepared our route thoroughly, we maintained our track record of mucking up the final leg of the journey courtesy of the fact that two thirds of the roads surrounding our hotel (the Monte Carlo) have been dug up to make way for a new – and presumably enormous – Convention Centre. We therefore ended up making a grand entrance via a hole in the fence of the New York New York hotel (next door) and getting a nice security man to move a traffic cone to let us in the back way!
Anyway, we arrived last Saturday afternoon and, within the first hour of arrival, had seen 5 wedding parties in our hotel alone. I can’t go in to the kind of detail one would normally in a face to face conversation because the authorities would shut this blog down, but suffice it to say that the people and the dresses were not to be missed. And the good news is you don’t have to. Log on to the hotel’s web site www.montecarlo.com anytime and you can see the web cam!!
There are so many things to say about this town and they’ve all been said many times before. The sheer scale of everything is mind-blowing. And all geared towards generating shed-loads of money. It’s therefore magnificent and grotesque at the same time. It’s totally possible to enter one of the hotel lobbies and emerge two days later having never seen daylight - but having shopped till you drop, gambled your life savings away (no danger there), made all kinds of new friends (ladies of the night) courtesy of the glossy cards you keep getting handed by strange men, been to a top flight show and eaten in outstanding restaurants from every continent.
We set out on our first full day at 8.30 am - yes, after lattes and bagels -intending to walk as far down the Strip as possible and popping in to each hotel on the way to see what they were like. We couldn’t believe the sheer numbers of people playing the tables and boozing at 8.30 on a Sunday morning. What was even funnier were those people still staggering home from the previous evening, trying to remember where they were staying – no mean feat with at least a mile between each hotel!
10 hours later, we limped back to our room having been to three hotels only – the Bellagio (where Jackie wanted to stay but had to be reminded of our budget!), Caesar’s Palace and the Mirage. The next day – unable to move after the day’s walking before - lounged by the pool in the morning (actually MGM Grand’s pool. Monte Carlo’s is by the building site and permanently in the shade) before visiting the Wynn (fantastic), The Fashion Mall, the Venetian and Treasure Island. After that, we gave in and got a taxi back to our hotel for the ‘all you can eat’ buffet – the quality of which surpassed any we’ve tried before. Fresh giant prawns, fresh prime rib (eat your heart out Ian!) and just about anything you could wish for. If it wasn’t there, they’d cook it for you!
Highlights would have to include: the world’s largest chocolate fountain at The Bellagio – because of the Italian glass, not the chocolate of course - as well as the hugely impressive water fountain display at the front of the hotel (which we had to see both at day and night); the Forum shops at Caesar’s Palace – that place is enormous!; Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden at The Mirage with it’s amazing White Tigers, lions and dolphins; and the whole indoor environment complete with canals and gondolas at the Venetian.
We haven’t done very much in the casinos, partly because we have no idea how to play anything other than Blackjack (thanks to Richard Denny earlier this Summer) and partly because we want to keep enough in our pockets so that we can keep travelling. However, we are proud to say that we did put a single dollar in one of the Blackjack machines and, due to some brave and innovative play, came away with $4. This, much to Jackie’s embarrassment, was changed back to cash so we couldn’t waste it….
Have we enjoyed Las Vegas? Absolutely. It’s been a fantastic experience - especially with the trip to the Grand Canyon that we did on the final day. Although, for us, four days was definitely long enough.
previous travel blog entry
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