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Published: August 11th 2012
...but before I get to Vegas itself, here is the story of our journey
to Vegas. Unfortunately, I only get 15 minutes on this computer so I'm going to have to keep this quick!
As is the Pollard custom, we arrived at the airport outrageously early, and then spent 4 hours wandering around and experiencing the many delights of Gatwick airport. Once we finally boarded the plane, we were politely advised by the pilot that an engineer had spotted an unknown fluid dripping from the left wing. After 4 and a half hours sitting in the unmoving plane, whilst the engineers carried out investigations and attempted repairs, we were again politely advised that the flight would have to be cancelled, and rescheduled for the following day. Sad times, we thought. But as the very friendly people at Virgin Atlantic then proceeded to put us up for the night at the Hilton Hotel, and kept us fed and watered until we boarded the next plane (almost 24 hours after our original), I can't really complain.
Two preliminaries that I feel I ought to point out so as to get the disappointment straight out of the way: (1) No,
Dad and I
In one of the hotel/casinos (I've already forgotten which... it may be Encore or Wynn!)I did not get married by an Elvis impersonator (although there was a Wedding Chapel in our hotel, just passed the Florist and the Casino...); (2) No, I did not gamble all of my money away. But here's what I did do...
First mission was to pick up the rental car (it's a sexy shiny Chevy), and then head across the Strip to our hotel. We dumped our luggage and then, feeling rather tired and jet-lagged (Vegas is 8 hours behind the UK), we wandered through some of the glaring and dazzling hotels and casinos, including The Venetian, which is a sight to behold. Built to replicate Venice, it comes complete with an indoor lake, painted sky on the ceiling, and gondolas.
The following day we carried on in much the same way as the first, this time checking out Paris, New York New York and Caeser's Palace. The rollercoaster across the front of New York New York was truly awesome. In the evening we headed to the iconic Las Vegas sign, before grabbing dinner at one of the many food courts.
I doubt that there is much to say about Vegas which hasn't already been said,
but I'll add my two cents here anyway. First of all, it is HOT. As in, 40 - 43 degrees, oh-my-god-please-can-we-get-inside-where-it's-air-conditioned hot. Coming from the UK, it's an odd sensation to find that inside is cooler than outside. I'd heard that the Strip is more impressive at night, and with the bright shining lights beaming from the Eiffel Tower to the Statue of Liberty to the host of other casinos, perhaps that is true. But I found that in the sunshine the Strip looked just as incredible. I suppose that one word to sum up the place would be 'excessive', but for a couple of days that excess and OTT style was a lot of fun to experience. It's a shame that with the cancelled flight we lost a day in Vegas, as there is more we would have liked to see. But still, I guess it's just a reason to come back in the future.
Well guys, I would love to stay and chat but now I've got to go. Thanks for reading - and speak to you again soon!
Laura P
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Lynn Vincent
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Shame about the hiccup at the beginning but sounds like your having a great time already. Hope you're all managing to see all the gold medals that Team GB are still winning (I should think you are probably too busy to watch tv). Tell your parents the fish have been fed and Graham had a little chat with them. Keep well - enjoy your travels. xxx