Epic Round The World Trip Adventures! Stunning Photos & Articles - A fascinating gap year travel journal covering every stop of their journey.

Las Vegas - USA
Gap Year Travel Journal

(24th and 28th-31st August) Las Vegas
Well, if you've read our entry below about the Grand Canyon being one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, then Las Vegas has to be up there as one of the Seven Man-Made Wonders. There are not enough superlatives in the world to describe this place and once again it is one of those places that you must see at least once in your life just to understand what everybody is saying about this crazy place! It is bigger, brighter, brasher and bolshier than any other place we've ever been in the world. The Americans certainly know how to do BIG! And such opulence and luxury everywhere you look. This is Disneyland for adults - on speed!
Our first night here we stayed at the Imperial Palace - an old hotel in need of a face lift but the cheapest one we could find on the Strip and near to the Venetian Hotel where we had booked tickets to see Phantom of the Opera. This was an extravagant show in a purpose-built theatre which formed the perfect backdrop to the storyline. The chandelier dropped over the audience right in front of us and the staging was breathtaking. Afterwards we walked around the Venetian Hotel to St Mark's Square - along the waterway with Gondoliers singing to their clients as they punt along. Quite bizarre!
After returning from the Grand Canyon we stayed at Caesar's Palace for two nights. Another jaw-dropping hotel. The foyer is so light and airy - all Roman themed - and larger than most hotels in the UK in their entirety! A lovely big room for £65 per night - a bargain by Vegas standards. We had a huge Roman themed bathroom with a TV! We met up with Jo's godmother Sue and her brother Gary with his girlfriend Julie at their hotel - the Monte Carlo. And it was Sue who lead Jo astray by teaching her how to gamble on the slots - naughty fairy godmother. After our stay at Caesars and wallowing by the fabulous pool surrounded by columns (in the shade cause it was 110 degrees!!), we moved to the Paris Hotel where we ascended the Eiffel Tower to watch the Bellagio Fountains and admire the Strip by night. The photo of Jo toasting a glass of wine was taken outside one of the restaurants in the Paris - all themed like little Parisian back streets with the ceiling painted blue to look like the sky. Mike is shown standing on a replica of a bridge across the River Seine.
We spent an evening in Downtown Vegas which is the older more subdued (or so we thought) part of town. Pretty ordinary street by day but the vast canopy that runs the length of the street is actually a monster TV screen - apparently its the largest display screen in the world. They show digital video with a loud soundtrack once an hour. Everyone piles out of the casinos to stand and gape upwards in amazement. Back in the Golden Nugget, one of the oldest Vegas casinos, we had been playing penny slots for a couple of hours but Mike decided to be adventurous and went on a dollar slot instead - the Wheel of Fortune (see photo). He quickly watched his money dwindle away until down to his last dollar - and then he won $264 = £130!! How excited was he? Sadly the slots don't pay out in coins but with a printed slip of paper which you take to the cashier and exchange for notes - you can see him fanning his money out in the photo.
There is just so much to do in Vegas that it's impossible to do it all in one short trip but we did our best to cram in as much as possible. The main hindrance was the heat though. It was like being in a hairdryer - Jo really struggled and had to regularly retreat to aircon to cool off before braving the walk to the next hotel. And because these hotels are so huge it can take 15-20 minutes to walk from one to the next - incredible.

Here is a summary of our favourite casino/hotels:
:
New York New York - Brooklyn Bridge replica out front and a roller coaster that thunders through the hotel and out onto the roof.
Bellagio - the fountains immortalised in the final scene of Oceans 11 dancing like ballerinas to music every 15 minutes.
Caesars Palace - gorgeous pools with a snack bar called Snackus Maximus, the Forum shopping mall, Trevi fountain, Atlantis show (robotic statues)
Mirage - volcano that erupts every half hour, Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden with white tigers and a dolphin show
Treasure Island - pirate ships out front and an hourly pirate and mermaid show.
Mandalay Bay - Shark Reef aquariums
MGM - lions
Luxor - Giant pyramid shaped hotel/casino, looks amazing from outside but average inside.
The Venetian - Gondola rides and go shopping on the paved streets with the fake sky above.
Paris - Eiffel tower replica (Half the height of the real one) and french streets
Circus Circus - circus acts and fun fair (see photo of Jo with the toys and cushion Mike won her!)
Stratosphere Tower - observation deck at top - amazing views down across the Strip. Scary thrill rides that dangle you over the edge of the tower.