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Decent to LAX
After 12 hours 55 minutes.Hi All,
Here is what we’ve been up to.
July 1, Day 1 - by Eric
Moet for breakfast at the Qantas Club - it really is the only way to start an around the world trip. Although in all the rush to get there I did forget to claim back the GST on the camera I bought the day before. Oh well.
We were seated in row 2 of Business Class up in the nose of the plane, Kym was most impressed. 13 hours and too many scotch and cokes (Eric) later we arrived in LA. We cleared US customs in about 45 minutes which left us sitting around for about 4 hours waiting for our connecting flight to Las Vegas.
The first time I opened my mouth in LAX the lady standing next to me says, “Where are you from?”
“Australia”, I say,
“Oh, I was going to say New Zealand”
!!!
By the time we were coming in to land at Vegas, Kym and I both had the sick bags out. It was a combination of limited sleep, turbulence and the heat on the plane. The scotch and cokes all the way from
Bad Burgers
Despite the smile the food was bad. LA may have been a contributing factor but Kym didn’t have any so I’m not sure what her excuse was.
As is the norm the taxi driver took the scenic route to the Bellagio ($25 vs $12 for the trip back) and we finally checked in. It was a long day.
July 1, Day 1 - Written by Kym
Ahhhh……the Bellagio…..!!!!! Finally we could dump off our bags, shower and grab a couple of hours of sleep.
Yes the first thing we did overseas - climb into bed to sleep !
Ok so two hours later we managed to get ourselves together, admittedly extremely weary, grumpy and looking to take it out on anyone who dared to walk into us. (One of the most difficult things to remember is to go right; walking down the street, go right or you’re in a world of trouble. )
Out of the Bellagio we go….only to be hit by the most intense dry heat… 110 degrees fahrenheit. Bloody HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We walked straight into the shops to cool down, so our first real excuse to spend some money. We purchased tickets to “American Superstars” a stage show and meal deal for
the following night. More to follow.
Realising we hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours we thought we’d grab some food….we wandered around and finally stumbled on….
Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville with 99c Margaritas!!! Think tacky, American, Beach Boys themed bistro. We took a seat, got our drinks and tipped for the first time - it’s actually weird as you don’t want to overkill or tip too little in fear of offending them.
2 minutes later this guy looks at me weird and says “you may want to move” and I kind of looked at him like a dear in headlights. He pointed above us. Right above us was a massive water slide with some bikini clad girl about to nose dive down a massive water slide and into a giant swimming cup filled with margarita’s.
Besides all this we actually had the best meals of our lives and felt pretty good by now.
Next we did some sightseeing of the Strip….where my love affair with the flickers began. Strictly fascination only but for anyone who’s been to Vegas you know what I’m talking about! !!!
We checked out some more fancy hotels and casinos and were still ecstatic
Hollywood
Smog central. with our decision on the Bellagio.
Fading relatively quickly around 11pm we headed back to the Bellagio to sleep.
July 2, Day 2 - by Eric
We arose late and went looking for food. There are either expensive restaurants or really tacky and overpriced restaurants on the strip. We ended up at the latter, some Hawaiian themed hamburger restaurant. Photos attached. It was pretty bad and most of the other customers seemed to agree.
We spent the rest of the day chilling out by the pool.
In the evening we went to the tackiest show I could find - American Superstars at the Stratosphere complete with Elvis, Christina Aguilira, Rod Stewart, Michael Jackson and some country impersonator. Loved it! The stratosphere is a big tower building with a restaurant observation deck and rollercoaster like rides at the top. The view of Vegas was pretty impressive and well worth the trek to the end of the Strip.
July 3, Day 3 - Written by Kym
The day started off quite poorly - breakfast at McDonalds!! Trying to be healthy I ordered the yoghurt and berry parfait where the lady asked me twice if “Are you sure
Grand Canyon
From the air! that’s all you want to order” as everyone else ordered supersized breakfast burgers, hash browns and unlimited refill soda’s. I said yes. Not sure if she asked me twice due to the fact that I took a little bit of time to answer (I find the Hispanics extremely difficult to understand).
We hurried back to the hotel to lather up the sunscreen and prepare for our Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour - a four hour helicopter flight to the GC inclusive of a champagne and picnic lunch at the base of the canyon.
The bus picked us up and we arrived at the airport packing our dacks (we’ll I was anyway). We watched the safety video which made me more nervous!!! We were escorted to the helicopter as a group of six - I couldn’t quite work out how we would all fit and my curious looks at the seating and helicopter during the pilots briefing interrupted him to ask “all ok?”. Very embarrassing. We get stuffed into the helicopter literally like sardines and that’s exactly how we felt when we we got out as were dripping with sweat. It was about 115 - 120 at the floor of
Hoover Dam
This would solve our water problems!!! the canyon.
Anyway the flight was amazing and the views simply spectacular - I managed to see it all but the Asian man next to me was asleep the
entire flight. I might say that we paid over $300 each for the flight - what a waste!!!
The champagne lunch was served in a cute little picnic basket and with limited time until we were due to take off, we woofed it down.
We got back to the landing pad without any hassles and I finally had my feet firmly back on the ground. We were encouraged to go through the gift shop - I headed straight for the bus and straight to sleep.
We got back to the hotel around 6pm and headed for the pool. So refreshing and great just to laze about. Later that night we again walked the strip, had a fancy meal where the waiter tried to rip us off (charging for a bottle of wine vs the glass I had) and then to a bar. We ended up at this bar as the casino was handing out free entry tickets yet after waiting over 25 minutes at the bar for a
American Dream
Kym picks a random house to steal the American Dream.
Actually it was meeting Danny's girlfriend and the parents. Hi Karen! drink we walked out in disgust.
A short walk back to the Bellagio and we were ready to gamble - that’s right we were in Vegas and we only gambled once - on the last night. We chose the table with the smallest betting expectations and Eric confidently took a seat. Out came a $100 note which was slammed down on the table. Given his playing chips, Eric ordered his first free drink then began to play. Taking coaching tips from the guy to his left (yes his competitor!!!!!) Eric nearly lost his first $100 before he even got his drink!!!! Luckily for Eric he won that hand and could get his drink. Asking the hostess (who was particularly unattractive I might add - I was expecting a little glamour) “what do I owe you” with her response “oh…whatever”, Eric gave her a $1 tip to which all future drinks were poured with cheaper scotch.
Eric was now on a winning streak and requested a further $100 in chips. He was just about even when he decided to bet 3 x $50 a hand and within 10 minutes the lot was gone.
We went upstairs and watched TV
Under the boardwalk
Overlooking Santa Monica for the remainder of the night. No guessing the mood.
Day 3 - by Eric.
That’s not how it went and I’m not allowed to edit, but the end result was the same. My recommendation to anyone gambling in Vegas, order beer, they can’t substitute it for metho when you only give them a $1 tip.
The helicopter flight was unreal. Loved every minute of it.
Jul 4 Day 4 - by Eric
I’ll keep it short. Arrived LA around midday, met my old housemate Danny who drove us back to his place. LA is all Freeways - I love it. Johnny Rockets for lunch in old town Pasadena, very good hamburgers. All of the restaurants here are all you can drink soda which is hard to get used to. You end up full with sugar before your meal arrives. And they call Mains Entrees and Entrees Appetizers. Weird.
We swung by Santa Monica pier, the one with the rollercoaster on it, to see the sights. Took some happy snaps of Kym attempting a Baywatch scene. No not the one you are thinking of, the one where the spend all day standing in front of the lifeguard tower.
We watched the July 4th fireworks from the Griffiths observatory overlooking the whole of LA. Very impressive.
Day 5 - by Eric.
Getty Centre, Hollywood Blvd, Chinese theatre, etc. Lots of photo ops and a good time. If we didn’t have Danny to show us around we would be stuffed. LA is a car city with few alternatives.
Today I’m writing this and I’m so glad I didn’t buy a laptop for the trip.
Kym here now. Today was great. Really relaxed as we spent a couple of hours enjoying some culture at The Getty Centre except most of the art, photos, antiquities were European. We hired an audio guide and used the map to see the highlights although the crowds were frustrating and with the air-con pumping it was actually quite cold. We stepped outside to thaw out and walked through a beautiful garden with stunning views over Bel Air / Santa Monica. There was a bit of smog in the air so the views not as spectacular as promised.
Next we did a car tour of Bel Air etc… to do some star home spotting. No stars unfortunately and not much viewing of their houses due to large gates, tall trees and security cameras. We did drive past the playboy mansion but only saw the gates.
We then headed to Hollywood via Rodeo Drive (from the car girls - no purchases made) and walked the Boulevard. Again no stars.
After a long day of sightseeing and car touring, we headed back to Danny’s for a fix of American TV. I had a cat nap. Danny and Karen cooked a BBQ for us with amazing salads and we were even treated to Turkey. No cranberry but a nice change from steak and kanga bangas.
Now I sit here writing whilst the boys watch an AFL football game. Yes our first Saturday night of our incredible overseas journey and we are on the couch watch Collingwood v’s Sydney. And I might add I haven’t even had a Chardy. In all seriousness it’s been nice to be at a home rather than a hotel or aeroplane! Danny and Karen have been great hosts and really welcoming - thanks guys!
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Chantel
non-member comment
EEEKKKK!!!!
So exciting Kymmie and Eric. I am loving the blog and feel like I am there with you (especially the B.C flight from Brisbane - Eric I feel your pain - Kym, think London to Athens!!). Keep the posts coming - I'll be tuning in. Love Chanxxxx