Travel

Viva Las Vegas!

I had never been to Vegas before this April and what a great place it was. My sister and I had booked a mini tour of the South West USA and Las Vegas was a stop over place for us.

You really have to go if you haven’t been before. Yes Las Vegas is a little tacky but it is a party town and certainly the place to go if on a “hen” or “stag” weekend.

We flew into Las Vegas, Nevada airport which is in the middle of the desert and took a short taxi ride to our hotel – Excalibur. It looked like a castle from the Magic Kingdom. The taxi driver thought we both were going to find our “princes” in the Excalibur Castle hotel. The taxi ride took about 20 minutes and it cost $15.

We flew Virgin Arlines from London, it was very good, especiaially if you are only flying economy. Total cost of flight was about £520 each, including taxes.

When we arrived at the hotel, my sister and I wasted no time in walking down Las Vegas strip and stopped off at the Bellagio hotel – featured in Oceans Eleven. The fountains of the Bellagio are famous and so is the interior which includes the Fiori di Como, a vibrant flower petal chandelier by glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.

It was April but still warm and sunny – up to 25 degrees Celcius. How refreshing after coming from cold London. My sister and I continued our walk down the strip into the Paris hotel, Venetian, MGM, Treasure Island and then the Luxor on our way back.

Las Vegas has to be the city that never sleeps as there was still people gambling, playing black jack, poker, slot machines at 4 am on a Thursday morning!

One thing we didn’t do which I regret, is to walk down or take the bus to downtown LV, the old town of Las Vegas. You get to see the stylish neon lights and there is an evening light show that covers the entire street. The shows are hourly after dusk every day. You can also buy lots of cheap souveniers down Fremont street and as well as on the rest of the Strip.