What happens in Vegas....

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Las Vegas. Sin City.

A city which should need no introduction.

Upon arriving at the airport, I jumped on a shuttle that was supposed to take me to my hostel. Except there was a bit of confusion, and I was taken to the wrong hostel. Apparently, despite there being only 3 hostels in Vegas, this is a common occurrence. However, as I was the last person on the shuttle bus the driver just turned around and took me to my actual hostel, all the while telling me about how he drove himself from his native New York to come and work in Vegas, a story that was just screaming Mid-Life Crisis.

My hostel turned out to be an old motel, recently converted into a hostel, so each room had a private bathroom and kitchen. It was a ok place, tho it was pretty shabby for a recent renovation, and cleanliness left a lot to be desired. Not that I spend much time there. After chatting a bit to my roommates I went to bed, my body struggling to adjust to Pacific time, 3 hours behind Eastern time.

This meant that the next morning I awoke way too early. Tho my early rising meant I had plenty of time to enjoy the day. First thing was to arrange the Grand Canyon tour I was going to do the next day. As I only had 2 full days in Vegas I was determined to get the most out of my time. Next I jumped on the bus. $5 dollars gets you a 24 hours pass, to use as much as you want. Even tho my hostel was on the Strip, it was a few blocks down from the main action, and given the heat, I opted for the bus! It was only 10am and already it was getting hot, tho the desert in Nevada isn't that humid, just hot and dry. I wanted to go and check out this company which offers discount tickets to same-day shows - Vegas being well known for all its different shows. I didn't have a set idea on what I wanted to see. Chantal had recommended Cirque de Soleil, but if that wasn't available, I was also thinking of seeing Mamma Mia. As luck would have it, there were tickets available to Cirque de Soleil's Mystere at a reasonable price. As I was buying them, the cashier started talking to me about the dinner deals available to people who buy show tickets. And as I was quite hungry by that point... well lets just say it was an easy sell!! I think she had me on the word buffet. The buffet ticket I ended up buying was in Paris, a little way down the strip. So I made my way to Treasure Island first of all, to exchange my discount ticket for the show for a real one. I then made my way down the strip to Paris. Some hotel/casinos are linked by tramways, mainly to help the guests stay inside, in the air-conditioning. Needless to say, where these were available, I made full use of them!!
Paris was easily recognisable by the miniture Eiffel Tower sticking up into the skyline. The casino itself was built at the foot of the tower, with the tower legs breaking into the roof and all the slots machines and card tables neslting around them! I made my way to the food area at the back of the casino. It was easy to tell which was Le Village Buffet: the one with the massive queue. I thought about going somewhere else for lunch and coming back for dinner. But as there would probably still be a queue then, I decided to just wait it out. Whilst waiting in line there was a copy of the menu, listing all the different things available. By the time I was seated, after about 30 mins I was near salivating. I proceeded to take a culinary tour of France. There was the obligatory Salad and Desert bar, but on top of that there were regional kitchens. I sampled food from Brittany, Normandy, Savoie, Alsace and Burgundy. Needless to say, my eyes were a lot bigger than my belly and by my *ahem* 4th plate I was not only totally stuffed, but feeling pysically sick...
And what better way to overcome a baut of nausea than by playing the slot mahcines?! I had already told myself that I wasn't going to go crazy, and I just stuck to the 1cent slots. I actually ended up winning about $6 dollars... which I proceeded to lose immediately! When my winning ran out, I took a wander around, and ended up in the gift shop, facing a sign saying $10 to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower... so I did! Whilsy nowhere near as tall as the original, it was still pretty high, and there were some decent views. Obviously the views would have been more spectacular at night, with the whole strip lit up, but as I couldn't guarantee being able to do it at night, it made sense to do it then. Luckily the heat haze wasn't too thick, and I was able to see quite far into the desert. After going back down to Terra Firma, I timed it just right, that I was able to cross the street over the the Belaggio where from 3pm onwards, every half hour there is a water show. It was pretty impressive, and worth standing in the heat to see!! After that I just wondered further down the strip. I did a bit of shopping in the H&M sale, as I was getting bored of wearing the same clothes over and over! I did visit New York New York, and partook in some more penny slots. But when I couldn't find a change machine that would change my $5 bill, I took it as a sign that I should move on!
I decided to jump on the bus to go back to the hostel to freshen up, but it wasn't that simple... after waiting over 30 mins 2 buses went past without stopping as they were already full. 3rd time lucky as the next bus to pull up let us on. And we proceeded at snails pace up the strip. The more people that got on the bus, the more annoyed the driver got. What had started out as amusing anecdotes about the area turned into arsey comments. Needless to say I was happy to get off the bus. The delay in returning to the hostel meant that I had no time to go for a swim in the pool which had been my plan. Instead after a shower I went back out. First tho, I actually put on nice clothes and even put a pair of proper shoes in my bag, as the dress code on the tickets said no tanktops and proper shoes only in the theatre.
It was then back on the bus (after another 20 min wait) for the ride down the strip. I decided to eat first, and found a food court next to the hotel, which was a lot cheaper than the food in the hotel!! The show itself was amazing. I was mesmerised! My seats were in a brilliant location, but even still I didn't know where to look as there was stuff going on all over the place. I don't really know how to describe the show, but to repeat that it was mesmerising. Words don't really do it justice. All I can say is I fully recommend the CdS to anyone who gets a chance to see it!
When the show finished I decided to head straight back, as I had an early start for the Grand Canyon the next day.

And how was the Canyon? Well that's another story....

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