Las Vegas

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Day 1

We arrived in Vegas thinking we’d have to get our first taxi of the holiday from the airport to the strip. However, we found a shuttle bus that was slightly cheaper so we took the shuttle. Up until this point Oli was in the dark as to which hotels we were staying in but I could not keep the first hotel a secret any longer as I had to tell the bus driver where to drop us off. I had chosen our first night of the 6 to be in The Cosmopolitan. We arrived to a very grand registration desk with TV screens everywhere. We were given the option to upgrade our room to a 1 bedroom suite with living room and balcony with a view of the Bellagio fountains. We took the upgrade as we were only at the Cosmo for one night and the upgrade was much cheaper than I’d seen it for online. It was worth it, when we got in the room, I had a bath in the Japanese soaking tub whilst overlooking the fountain display. The bed was the best I’d ever slept in and we had a touch screen phone next to the bed which controlled the lights and temperature. I hoped Oli would not be expecting this type of hotel for our whole stay in Vegas as this was the most upmarket of the three hotels we were staying in over the six nights.

After freshening up in our luxury room we went to take our first close up look of the strip. To be honest we were disappointed. We expected the casino’s to be bigger, more grand and unique. However after visiting a few it was becoming clear to us that the casinos were all very similar inside. Also the slot machines were all the same, whatever logos and themes they had on them, they just needed one button press to bet. Vegas did impress us more at night, we were particularly impressed with the Luxor light beam (that can be seen from space), New York New York and Excalibur looked much better in the dark, as opposed to being cheesy like Butlins or something in the daylight. We were most impressed with the Bellagio fountains, which changed to a different song every time and looked even better at night.

We checked out a few of the main casinos - Bellagio, Caesars, Planet Hollywood and the Cosmopolitan. Caesars was the biggest by far, we were so desperate whenever we spotted a sign with Exit on it we would dive for it, although it usually ended up taking us into a car park or some back alley. We did make our first bet in the Bellagio, one dollar between us in a slot machine to win back one dollar fifty cents. We found a shop called ABC stores where Oli bought a Lime-A-Rita, I bought some orange juice and some skittles, then we went back to our hotel to watch the fountains from our balcony.

Day 2

Our stay at the Cosmopolitan included complimentary breakfast at the Wicked Spoon Buffet. I’d read before the holiday that this was widely thought to be one of the top 2 buffets in Vegas. My research was confirmed when we sat for breakfast. Both the quality and quantity of the buffet breakfast was like nothing we’d ever seen before. I don’t eat a lot of desserts in England but in Vegas I seem to have taken a liking to them a bit too much, as 2 of my plates were just cheesecakes, ice-cream and various other little desserts. We ate so much that we didn’t need to eat anything else until lunch...the next day.

The breakfast gave us the energy we needed to check out and move our luggage half way down the strip to our next hotel, the Mandalay Bay, in the Nevada near 100 degree heat. This was made more difficult as every road had to be crossed by going over a bridge, and not all the bridges had working escalators or elevators so we had to lug the bags up the stairs. We made it, still without having to hail a taxi.



Mandalay Bay still seemed very nice, yet was not quite as swanky as the Cosmo. It was more family based, with one of the best pools including a massive wave pool and lazy river, and a few other smaller pools. Luckily there was no charge for early check-in and they had a room ready for us, which was very nice with a view over MGM Grand and Luxor. We went down to the pool and got some sun loungers. We did a few laps of the lazy river and had a dip in the wave pool. We did a spot of sunbathing and I read my book. It had been at least a day Oli got burnt, so he forgot to put enough sun cream on and again got caught out by the strong sun. I also forgot to put sun cream on everywhere and I got burnt for the first time this holiday. Oli was used to it by now and topped up his burn nicely. I had a nice bath and then we went for a look at some of the hotels at this end of the strip -Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, Aria and MGM Grand. At this rate we’d visit every Casino in Vegas. Again we were not impressed when inside the casinos as they were all very similar, but the outside of them was nice.



Day 3

We spent a couple more hours by the pool today, this time in the shade. We were starting to feel hunger again after the Wicked Spoon Buffet so we went to Mandalay Bay’s lunch buffet to see what they had to offer us. We enjoyed Mandalay’s buffet but it was nowhere near as good as Wicked Spoon. Oli particularly enjoyed the salmon and I again had several dessert plates. However we still managed six plates each before hobbling back to the room to digest. In the evening we walked to see the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign and took some pictures. This was a tourist trap with many others doing the same, but we had to do it. We popped our heads into the Tropicana on the way back; it had a different feel to the other casinos, felt like I was in Hawaii.



Day 4



Today was skydive day. I had booked this before we came to USA so I couldn’t chicken out. We checked out of Mandalay and left our bags at the bell desk. I had arranged the sky dive for this day because Skydive Las Vegas pick you up from the McDonalds opposite Mandalay so we didn’t have to go far for our 7:30am pickup. We were driven to Boulder City where the skydive was to take place and on the way had to sign some scary documentation which said we wouldn’t sue them if we died or was horribly disfigured. This got my nerves going a bit. We had a demo on how to position yourself when you came out of the plane and then we got suited up. I purchased the videos and pictures go to with my skydive, Oli didn’t buy anything. Then we lined up and waited for our tandem skydiver. That’s when I discovered I was with John. John decides when the pilot is in the correct position to begin skydiving so he sits right next to the door and jumps out first. Oli was skydiving last so he was right at the back of the plane, whilst I was sat at the front, in front of the hole in the plane which I was going to be jumping out of. This hole was not closed during takeoff which scared me more than the actual skydive! The shutter was pulled down eventually and my nerves settled, but only a tiny bit. Halfway up John opened the shutter to get some pictures out of it and I nearly had a heart attack.



After 15 minutes we were in a position where we could jump out. By this point, I had got used to being 10 cm away from falling out of a 15,000 foot high plane so I wasn’t too bad when I swung my legs out of the plane and wrapped them underneath as we’d been shown. Then we were falling. We fell for a good 40 seconds before my parachute was deployed but it went really quickly. It wasn’t scary; it was a lot of fun. You feel a lot of force from the wind so I found it very hard to close my mouth, resulting in a very dry mouth. Then my parachute was deployed and we sailed down towards the ground. Oli was feeling fine up until they shuffled him to the edge, then he got very scared. When they deploy the parachute they let you steer it for a bit, which made Oli feel very motion sick. I went over to see Oli when he landed and he couldn’t believe how calm I was. He was lying on the ground shaking. Although it was scary he really enjoyed it and the company Skydive Las Vegas were great, we never once felt in danger and it was a very fun experience. A guy on the next plane up was planning on proposing to his girlfriend when they landed so we went out to watch. He had a big sign with Will You Marry Me on it. He got down to the ground first so he was on one knee when she landed. It was very romantic, we all oohed and aahed and clapped.



We took off our suits while we waited for the video and pictures to be made then got the shuttle back to Mandalay Bay. We stayed in MB for a couple of hours to use their free wi-fi to book a show for that night and Grand Canyon trip the next day. We managed to get good seats in section 2 for Mystere at Treasure Island for the 9:30pm show that night. I booked these and then booked a Grand Canyon tour for the next day with Maverick. We didn’t fancy a coach trip there as it takes 5-6 hours one way and we’ve been getting used to air transportation so we booked the Canyon Dream Air and Land tour, which would take us on a small plane to the Canyon. We decided we had used MB’s Internet for long enough, so we picked up our bags and began the mammoth trek from MB to Harrah’s, which is at the other end of the strip. I’d planned one hotel centre strip (Cosmo), one at the bottom (MB) and then one slightly north of the strip, (Harrah’s) so we could see as many casino’s as possible. We got to Harrah’s at 2pm and got in the queue to check in. There was a charge to check in early and there weren’t any king bed rooms available so we said we would wait for 3pm. We went outside to find somewhere to sit and ended up sitting on some benches near the valet drop off and return. Oli went on the laptop and I read. People kept getting confused and thought we were waiting for a taxi so they sat next to us like we were in a queue. We didn’t tell them this wasn’t a taxi line as it was quite amusing. Eventually they asked or realised and walked off. After an hour we went back in and got our room key, we were in the Mardi Gras tower with a great view of the Mirage Volcano, Caesars and Treasure Island. We were starting to get hungry again after the MB lunch buffet so we tried out the Harrah’s buffet, Flavors, for dinner. It was only 4pm so we were seated quickly. They had unlimited snow crab legs and we ate loads of them. It also had a nice selection of other seafood and the usual pizzas etc. We tried not to stuff ourselves but it was impossible. I had a couple dessert plates again. We were breaking all the normal diet rules of 6 small meals a day with our massive one meal a day. When we left the buffet the queue was out the door and round the corner so we definitely timed it well.

We got ready and went over to Treasure Island for the Mystere show. We were seated nice and early but we felt sorry for the latecomers as there is a man who pretends he is taking you to your seat but he is actually taking you in the opposite direction. We loved Mystere, the costumes were so intricate and detailed and the music was very dramatic. The acrobats were good and we thought the bits with the baby were funny. A man next to me was taking videos when he shouldn’t have been and had his camera taken off of him. Near the end of the show, the guy from the start who was showing people to the wrong seats came round the audience looking for a victim. Despite our attempts to hide Oli was chosen to go up on stage. They made him do a dance then put him in a big wooden box. Then he brought out a real chainsaw and pretended to cut the box in two. All the while there was a big spot light on me. Then he turned his attention to me! He sat next to me, put a picnic blanket over us, poured me a glass of Cava, had the lady in front hold a candle over us and put his arm around me. Then they turned Oli round so he could see what was going on. Then the guy went and got another guy in the audience to sit with me instead. It was all very embarrassing. They took Oli backstage where he got to meet some of the cast and he got a picture taken with one of the cast. Then Oli came back to his seat and my cheeks could stop being bright red. We got out of Mystere at 10:30 and we caught a Sirens show that Treasure Island put on. It was a bit weird, lots of women in their underwear dancing, with a few fireworks and explosions, a few songs and then they did some cannonball stuff where they “blew up” the other ship. Lots of people left half way through as it was a bit cringy. It was late and we had to be up early so we went to bed.



Day 5

My alarm went off at 5:15am. This was far too early. We met the Maverick bus in the bus departure area under Harrah’s at 6:20am. We made 3 more stops then drove to Henderson airport to catch our flight to the Grand Canyon. We boarded our little plane with around 15 others and took off around 8. The flight took 50 minutes and went over the Hoover Dam and the West Rim. The pilots let us go up front and have a look at the cockpit midflight which was a unique experience too. Once we landed we got on a bus with our tour guide Bruce and drove to the Bright Angel Lodge. The weather was great, it was hot but not over 100 degrees, and there were no clouds. We got our lunch from Bruce, which consisted of a sandwich, crisps, cookies and a drink and made our way to the edge of the Canyon. The view was amazing and we spent an hour walking around taking photos from different look out spots. We had made some friends on the bus, Andy and Mandy, who were from Devon, so we were able to take some pictures of them as a couple and vice versa. Then we went to the helicopter area for the helicopter ride over the Canyon. They balance the plane depending on your weight and Oli and I ended up at the front next to the pilot. There was glass all around us including under our feet so we had the best possible view. Then we flew out over the Canyon to the North Rim and back. The views really were stunning and we got some great pictures and video, whilst making sure we enjoyed the experience because we didn’t want to miss out on the view because we were too busy taking photos. The helicopter ride lasted about 20 minutes then we got a bus back to our little plane and boarded our plane back to Las Vegas. We flew back, then got on the bus back to the strip. I would really recommend the trip with Maverick, it was expensive but it was worth it not to sit on a bus for 12 hours. We felt we had enough time at the Canyon and I’m sure it would be great to stay overnight in the Canyon but we felt like we saw as much as we could in the time we had. We got dropped off at the Venetian next door around 2pm and discovered they had free wireless. Cue laptop coming out and using their Internet for a couple of hours. Oli went and bought a weird ice-cream which had 6 flavours mixed into one. I thought it tasted horrible but he loved it. Then we went to check out our pool at Harrahs as we hadn’t been to see it yet. It was a surreal experience, there was a couple of girls in the pool making out then looking around to see who was looking (us) and a lot of drunk old people jumping in the pool with a fag in one hand and a drink in the other. Not exactly the family filled fun we had at Mandalay Bay but interesting to watch nonetheless.



We had showers and got dressed and went out on the Strip. This is when we discovered Casino Royale next door – a casino with cheap drinks, $1 for a frozen lime or strawberry margarita. We had a couple of these and watched the Mirage Volcano show up close. We got some Chinese food from Panda Express next to Harrah’s. We had 2 entrees, chicken breast in a spicy sauce and jumbo prawns in a honey and walnut sauce and fried rice. It was all very tasty then we went to bed.



Day 6



We had a lie in to make up for the previous two day’s early starts. Oli wandered over to McDonalds to get free wi-fi while I got ready. He came back with the news that it was going to be 107 degrees Fahrenheit or 41 degrees Celsius today. We headed out around 10 and it was boiling. We had a wander around the Mirage. I played on the Amazing Race slot but my money got stuck, so we had to get a security guard to come get it out. Then Oli was playing on a different slot and won $8.25. This was a big win to us, so Oli quickly pressed the button to cash out. However, his printing slip got stuck, so we had the same person come over again to fix it. Then we headed to the Wynn for a gander, it is a very nice hotel with a big waterfall in it. We were debating what to do next, Oli fancied going to the Gun Store but it was 4 miles away and would require a taxi there and back. I fancied the Secret Habitat at The Mirage which has white tigers and dolphins in but Oli wasn’t up for it. So we decided to do our new favourite hobby which is eating at a buffet, or as we now call it, buffeting. Oli wasn’t hungry but thought he could manage a plate or two. We decided to use a voucher from our Total Rewards booklet to get a buy one get one free lunch buffet at the Emperor’s Buffet at Imperial Palace. We headed over to Imperial Palace from the Wynn, it wasn’t very far but the sun was beating down so much I was finding it difficult to walk in a straight line. We made it to the buffet at 1:30pm. With our voucher it worked out at $7 each all you can eat food and drink. The lady at the counter informed us that the lunch buffet closed at 2pm, the food would be left out til 2:15pm and we had to be out of there by 2:30 so they could prepare for the dinner buffet. Up until this point Oli hadn’t been particularly bothered about eating as he wasn’t hungry. However, when he heard there was a time limit on how long we could eat, his ears pricked up. In his eyes, he was being challenged to a food eating contest. We were seated then we went for a mooch around the buffet. On the first round I had scrambled eggs, sausage and some beef stroganoff. I sat down and Oli had already demolished his first plate and was dashing up for more. Second round I headed to a rotating 4 tier pizza stand which was in a heated glass box. I opened the door and was trying to manoeuvre a slice out when the whole thing came down like a deck of cards. I stood there, frozen on the spot. Oli came by to see what was going on but couldn’t stop to help as time was of the essence. Eventually a nice man came along and helped me. By this time Oli had had four rounds and wasn’t showing signs of stopping. I finished off with a final third round of fruit and I was stuffed. Oli meanwhile had 6 plates which included clam chowder, chilli con carne, perch (type of fish) fillet in a white sauce, pizza, sushi, salad, selection of meats and cheese, prawns, eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes with maple syrup and a plate of muffins and cakes, plus 3 pints of orange juice, and he wasn’t even hungry when he started. Then went back to our hotel room for a post buffet snooze.



JJCB were scheduled to be in Vegas for 3:30pm. We laid on the bed watching the Dr Oz Show whilst we digested the buffet. We met JJCB at The Venetian at 6pm, we took them to our favourite casino, Casino Royale for $1 frozen Margaritas. They gambled for a while there, Oli managed to get $40 up on Roulette and Cara was doing well on Blackjack. We went over the road to Caesar’s Palace where they gambled some more and then watched the Bellagio fountain show which everyone loved. We walked round the Bellagio then went back out for another fountain show before heading into the Cosmopolitan. We left the boys betting whilst I took Cara and Jen for a look round. They liked this casino. Then we went to Planet Hollywood, where Beano got to eat the Earl of Sandwich he has been craving since he got to America and then over to Paris for some more gambling. Then we went back to Casino Royale where Oli lost the money he’d won on Roulette earlier, but still managed to stay up overall. By this point I was fussy about which machines I bet in, they had to be 1 cent machines, allow you to bet 1c a go and have 3 spinny things rather than 5. I found one that fit these criteria and put in a dollar. I played for a while on my $1 and managed to cash out with $8.50, which I was very excited about as it meant I had won more than I had lost (we’re not very high rollers). We met a man called Leroy and his wife, who Oli and Cara got on very well with. At 2am JJCB went back to Circus Circus and I got a pizza slice before going back to the room. We finished packing as we had an early flight in the morning and then went to bed. We have enjoyed Vegas, I’m not sure it is all we thought it would be but we are definitely glad we saw it.

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