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Luxor
The pyramid and pool at the LuxorAnother year down, another whirlwind weekend birthday trip for my mom and me. This year’s stop, the sunny and neon glow of the Las Vegas strip.
Arriving in the 24-hour town around 11pm Vegas-time (about 2am EST…jet lag!) we hopped into a cab for a short ride over to the Luxor Hotel, an Egyptian-themed, pyramid-shaped hotel on the South Strip. A little hotel exploring and then bed is about all we were up to on our first night.
Saturday in Las Vegas was spent walking up and down the South Strip- from the Luxor up to Caesar’s Palace and back on both sides of the street. It doesn’t seem like very far on a map, but it’s a lot of walking, taking us 30 minutes just to walk through our hotel through the Excalibur, New York New York, to the monorail stop at the MGM Grand.
The Excalibur is a kid-friendly castle/Medieval Times themed hotel which is looking quite dated. After checking out the Excalibur, we walked across one of the many connecting outdoor walkways to the New York New York hotel and casino which is appropriately shaped like the NYC skyline complete with an overpriced roller coaster.
The highlights of the day’s walking tour were the Lion Tunnel at the MGM Grand which was located amid the slot machines on the casino floor. E ach day, a pair of lions spends about 6 hours in their glass casino habitat .
I was less impressed by the Paris and Venetian than I thought I’d be. Having been to both cities, it is a good representation, but the overall feeling just isn’t as nice or as cleverly designed as the Luxor or the MGM.
We had picked up tickets for Elton John’s Red Piano concert at Caesar’s Palace that night with a special online code for discount seats. The seats and the show were fantastic. Having seen Elton John for my birthday 13 years ago, it was a nice to spend another birthday.
On Sunday we hit the North Strip where the older hotels the Sahara and the Stratosphere are located and caught a bus to Fremont Street to take in some of Old Vegas. Although run-down and a little bland during the day, we stocked up on cheap souvenirs and delicious snacks like deep fried Oreos and frozen bananas for .97 cents.
After
Rachel in the Luxor
Just like being in Egypt again our stop in Old Vegas, we visited Seigfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage. A nice break from the flashing lights and noise in the casinos, the dolphins and the big cats were a welcome break. A few of the cats were out and about, pacing in their cages, sleeping in the shade, or tearing up the sod in their habitats. The Mirage is a nice hotel and we returned here for dinner before our Cirque du Soliel show Mystere at the Tropicana.
Having never seen a Cirque du Soliel show, I was quite impressed. The show was fantastic, and even funny at times. After the show, we caught the fountain show at the Bellagio in which the water fountain dances about in choreographed routines to popular music every 15 minutes.
Monday was our last day in Vegas and we finally had a moment to relax out by the pool at the Luxor and play a few slot machines. The Luxor had a fabulous buffet- the best hotel buffet we ate at. After some more wandering around in the various hotels including the Flamingo, we opted for a Mexican dinner out on the Strip
before catching out midnight flight back to Toronto.
All-in-all, a great birthday weekend and a trip I enjoyed much more than I had expected to. Since neither mom nor I are real gamblers, there was more than enough to do, and still lots that we weren’t able to fit into our weekend getaway. I would definitely go back to Las Vegas again.
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