Bright lights, sin city

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Geo: 36.0846, -115.172

We had the air conditioning on all night, at a refreshing 50 degrees. By the time we woke up, the room was merely comfortable. Not cold in the way that hotels rooms usually are after a night with air con at full blast, but bearable. This did not bode well for another epic drive across the heat soaked-desert. Stepping out onto the balcony, the temperature had already climbed to be reminiscent of midday in the Mediterranean in August, but without the cooling sea breeze. It was certainly going to be another scorching day and so we decided to take our leave of Death Valley early in the morning to beat the heat and arrive earlier at our next destination - Las Vegas.
Today was my turn to drive, a daunting task on the snaking roads of Death Valley. However, without the need to change gears at every turn, the drive was a pleasure. Driving an automatic is a lazy way to drive, but it does mean that, when you are driving through some of the most scenic areas in the USA, you can appreciate your surroundings more. I even got brave enough to overtake a slow moving caravan at one point. While driving, the road stretched out in front of me, and with American tunes on the radio, it really did feel like we had undertaken an epic road trip.
We pulled off as soon as we saw some activity by the side of the road, and were so glad that we did. We pulled into a dusty car park, surrounded by slopes of vivid red rock. An information sign told us that we had arrived at the entrance to the Badlands, an area of Death Valley famous for its beautiful scenery. From here, you could undertake hikes. The main hiking trail was only four miles round trip, but to do so would have been almost certainly a death sentence. We hiked for around 30 metres from the car park to the top of the rocks for a better vantage point. On arriving at the top, I was dizzy, breathless and gasping for water. However, the view from the top was exquisite; miles upon miles of rock formations lay before us. Lit up by the morning sun, the yellow, red and orange hues gave an other-worldly impression. The rocks ranged from narrow ripples on the valley floor, to huge undulating structures that resembled massive sand dunes frozen in time. The mercury had hit 108 by the time we left Death Valley and this was 10am, giving us a clear insight into how this area gained its name!
After a brief stop at the amazingly named Pahrump, we were on the home strait and heading towards Sin City. Originally a small city, founded by the Spanish invaders who then converted the local Native American tribes, the city has taken on many guises over the years. After the Spanish catholic invaders came the Mormon missionaries, who also tried (and failed) to convert local tribes. Finally, with the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s, and the prohibition of both alcohol and gambling in the city which housed the workers, the conditions were perfect for the Vegas that we know and love today to be born. Local mafia, who had made millions on the black market during prohibition were looking for a new way to make money following the the reintroduction of legal drinking. When gambling became legal in the state of Nevada, their opportunity arose. Hoover Dam workers in nearby Boulder City heard that Vegas was a place where gambling, drinking and loose women abounded and so headed out for long nights of blowing off steam. Soon the mafia had built the first themed casino, the Flamingo, with the vision of creating a city full of themed casinos, and the rest really is history.
Compared to the incredible journey we had just undertaken, Las Vegas is not such a pleasurable place to drive or navigate around. Traffic is awful and the roads are a confusing network of wide, busy freeways, smaller local side streets and jam-packed intersections where traffic seemed to go in all directions at once. And, on first impressions, I have to admit to being a little disappointed. Las Vegas in the daylight, from a car, really wasn't the jaw-dropping awe-inspiring view I had anticipated. Still, we kept an open mind, knowing that the bright lights of Vegas are obviously best appreciated after dark.
After a disastrous attempt to locate our drop off point for the car we eventually found ourselves wandering through the Rio Casino, backpacks and all, amazed by the cacophony of sounds and vibrant colours around us. Scantily clad women in bikinis and feathers were handing out drinks to the die-hard gamblers feeding dollar after dollar into the hungry slot machines. Over the loud-speaker, casino employees dressed in black tie,were enticing punters to part with their money to win a luxury car. With our backpacks on, sweating from the exertion of unloading the car and navigating the strip, we looked completely incongruous with the luxurious and opulent surroundings.
A short hop on the shuttle bus and we arrived at our hotel, the Paris Las Vegas. One of the most recognisable hotels on the strip, the gargantuan Eiffel Tower protrudes from its roof, while the Arc du Triumph greets arriving visitors outside the front lobby. For us CSI fans however, the most iconic part was the hot air balloon emblazoned with the name of the hotel right off the strip. This makes up part of the title credits for the hit TV show and the excitement for this city suddenly began to build. We checked into our room, and were delighted to have been given a corner room. On one side, the view was uninspiring, but on the other, just past the other wing of the hotel, we had a direct view of the Bellagio fountain display! Every half hour or so, these incredible jets of water arc and curl up into the air, in time to a series of music. Naturally, we couldn't hear the music, but enjoyed watching the fountains as they danced and swayed, sparkling under the Nevada sunshine.
By the time we had checked out the room and readied ourselves for the madness of Vegas, it was around 5.30 and absolutely time for dinner. On a recommendation, we decided to try the buffet at the Paris, reputably one of the best in Vegas. On our way down in the elevator, we were treated to the Jersey Boys soundtrack, a blatant attempt to entice you to watch the show that performs every night at the hotel. Had we not already enjoyed the show on Broadway, we would have been sorely tempted, but for now, food and gambling called!
The Paris hotel and casino is themed, as you would expect, around the boulevards and avenues of Paris. Shops, bars, restaurants and cafés all follow the theme being entitled, "le buffet" or "le petit bar" - not non-American enough to be indecipherable, but French enough to give an impression of the city of romance. The lighting inside is designed to resemble am afternoon in Paris; clouds dot the bright blue ceiling, and charming Parisian windows, arches and street lights give a real sense of location. In the casino itself, the four iron legs of the Eiffel Tower arch up to the ceiling, where a waiting elevator will shoot you straight up to the observation desk high up in the tower itself, from where panoramic views of the entire strip can be enjoyed.
We headed for the buffet and were seated in the Alsace section of the restaurant. The whole buffet was decked out like a Parisian square, with different outlets being given the names of French cities, regions or businesses. The selection of food was absolutely vast. From soups to salads, bread to burgers, chicken to chocolate gateaux, you could have sat in there and gorged until you popped. There was a bbq, seafood counters, a carvery, a salad bar, a pasta station, a creperie providing made-to-order pancakes, and the piece de resistance? A French style patisserie, windows upon windows serving desserts from the finest of French tradition. There was an entire window display dedicated to macaroons, two soft-serve ice cream counters with waffle cones, meringue, creme brûlée, creme caramels, tarte tatin. You name it, the food was there and was available. It was gluttony and excess in, well, excess!
Fortunately, we were British enough to have some self restraint, and after..... Enough...... Plates of food, we headed into the Casino to treat ourselves to a little flutter. We found the roulette table, which detained us for a short while and managed to leave the Paris $10 up on our initial bets, and a couple of vodkas and gins down, headed for the bright lights outside. Out first stop was to gaze, enthralled up at the lit-up versions of the views that had delighted us previously. Now it really did look like the opening scene from CSI! From our vantage point, we could also see the fountains of the Bellagio, lit up and even more enchanting than before. Caesar's palace dominated the view to our left, while Planet Hollywood stood out on our right, huge moving advertisements for Britney's residency at the casino. With tickets selling for over $200 dollars, we decided to try our luck at the Bellagio instead.
One of the most famous and notorious casinos in a Vegas, the Bellagio is instantly recognisable, not only for its dancing fountains, but also for being the setting for the hit Ocean's Eleven franchise. Similarly, Caesar's Palace, right next door is recognisable for its role in another hit movie, the Hangover. Vegas is catching up with New York for its instant recognisability due to its frequent appearances ins films and TV shows.
The Bellagio casino is accessed via a pedestrian bridge over the strip, as it sits over the road from the Paris. Once on the bridge, you have an excellent view of the casinos, their lights flashing to entice the tourists from all over the world to spend their hard earned wages within their themed walls. It's no wonder that Vegas is known by locals as Lost Wages! Everything here is designed to part you with your cash, be it grand buffet dinners, huge oversized soda cups themed towards the different casinos, the various side shows, world famous musicians and performers selling tickets to their shows, and of course the casinos themselves. However there is also no place that is more renowned for pure hedonistic fun. Shops, bars and restaurants are open all hours, djs and musicians complete with the constant jangle of slot machines, food and beverage portions are oversized, barely-dressed waitresses bring round a steady stream of free drinks whenever you're at a table or a machine and of course, this is the home of legal gambling, drinking and prostitution.
We entered the Bellagio via a series of designer stores - Hermes, Tiffany, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, the rich and newly wealthy are all catered for here in Vegas. Dazzled by the rings on display in Tiffany, we hoped for a lucky win in the a Bellagio - well either that or a vault bust a la Danny Ocean and co. We hit the slots on the casino floor and two machines took our fancy particularly. Not only were they nearest the bar, and thus a steady supply of free drinks, but they seemed to pay remarkably well. I'm not going to tell you which machines they were, as I don't want the secret to get out, not when we've got two more nights here! Stacey managed to turn $20 into $80 and I turned $10 into $40 4:1 odds ain't to be sniffed at!
We left the casino and headed for the famed lobby and conservatory of the Hotel. The lobby itself was a grand affair, but not quite as grand as I had expected. However, the conservatory was great fun. Oversized gaudy artificial flowers, reminiscent of those in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory or Munchkinland towered over the path, while a huge aviary full of birds nestled within a garden full of brightly coloured real flowers, among them sunflowers, hydrangeas and lavender. It was like stepping into Wonderland and I half expected to see a white rabbit dash by, or a Cheshire Cat grin from the branches of one of the overhanging trees.
After enjoying the illuminated Bellagio fountains dancing to "One" from "A Chorus Line," we had a quick glance around the Cosmopolitan (I'm not sure what the theme was here to be honest). It was a rather forgettable experience but for the notable exception of the huge glittering car parked on the lower floor. Covered in thousands of rhinestones, it was one of Liberace's prized possessions. An even briefer glance around Planet Hollywood confirmed that we will be focusing on the big, famous themed casinos in future and then it was back to the comfort of our room ready for a long day tomorrow - our anniversary present to each other, the Ghost Town Explorer.

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