Our next stop after Zion was Vegas, this was also our final stop in the roadtrip. Time to let loose and splash the cash!
This was the city I was really looking forward to, but not because of the lights, casinos and clubbing, it was because after a year and a half I was finally going to be reunited with one of my closest friends from Australia; Pike!
His real name is Andrew, and he's an awesome magician currently working with the amazing comedy magician Mike Hammer. Our first night there Pike got us VIP tickets to see the show, and to be honest we weren't expecting much as it's on the old vegas strip in the Four Queens Hotel, but it was actually amazing! It was so incredibly funny my sides ached from laughter, to the point I had to deep breathe to try and stop my ribs from hurting so much! I'd definitely recommend taking a trip downtown to see his show, check out some of his videos on youtube and you'll see why. Also downtown have an awesome music show in the street at 9pm every night.
The music and light show on the roof over downtown.
We stayed in Vegas for four nights, right on the strip at The Palazzo, which is the nicer, newer, sister hotel of the Venetian. Although I loved Vegas, I found it really difficult being there with my family. It really is somewhere you need to go with friends, I felt so restricted and hated that I couldn't just join in with the parties and go and investigate the clubs (sadly Andrew isn't much of a clubbing boy). I did have some time away from my parents on our last day though; Pike (Andrew) and I went to the Fashion Forum shopping centre, and then to the Wynn Hotel and Casino for some Blackjack. We always used to go to the casino back in Perth, so it was great fun to go gambling again! I gambled and lost a whole dollar, while Pike sadly lost quite a lot more... :/
The Venetian gondolas. We didn't go on these as they were really expensive, and all they did was take you up and down in front of the hotel!
The circular escalator in Ceasars Forum. Loads of the shopping centres are themed. Ceasars Forum was all Roman themed, whilst The Venetian's shopping center was all Venetian themed.
Ceasars Forum; my brother, mum and I, and my childbearing hips&thighs. |
We saw the Bellagio fountain show twice, and it really is worth watching as it's totally free, and you just stop on the pavement and watch it! Each night is different, but my favourite one was the Michael Jackson Billie Jean show!
There's also a free show at Treasure Island. All of these free shows are fantastic if you're on a budget and can't afford to go and see any concerts or theatre productions while in Vegas. They give you the feel and buzz of Vegas, without the hefty price tag.
This photo took me so long to get! |
One day we ventured out to Hoover Dam, as it's only an hours drive from Vegas and as we were roadtrippin' we had our hire car to get us there. We saw a lot of tours offering excursions to the Dam, and they were really expensive! It's much cheaper to just hire and car and drive yourself! On the way we had to stop off at Hard Rock Cafe to get my brother's drumsticks. He's a drummer and collects drum sticks from every Hard Rock Cafe we go to around the World!
We left quite early in the morning to try and beat the rush and tourist coaches, so stopped off for breakfast at this amazing diner/cafe on the way to Hoover Dam at Boulder City. They did the biggest pancakes ever, complete with sausages and eggs!
Hoover Dam was busy despite the fact we got there early, and it was much much smaller than I thought it would be, but still something everyone needs to visit.
On our way back to Vegas we drove through the other side of Vegas, and drove past all the big hotels the other end of the strip to where we were staying. I loved the New York hotel below, how awesome is it!
We also drove past the Harley Davidson Cafe! After we got back to the hotel, we had a bit of a gamble in the casino, went for lunch, then went up to the swimming pool to relax. The great thing about the Palazzo and Venetian, is that if you stay in one they're both connected, so you're allowed to use the facilities in all of the other hotel. So even though we were staying in the Palazzo, we could use the swimming pools in the Venetian too.
They had sunbeds in the swimming pool! How cool is that!
One of the Palazzo swimming pools. They had so many, all various sizes, from small pools to large ones.
The Venetian shopping center with the gondolas going up and down. One of my favourite things about Las Vegas was the entertainment on the strip, the whole way down was full of entertainers. From singers, to mime artists, to musicians, they are everywhere. I could spend hours just walking up and down listening to them all.
On our last morning in Vegas we noticed this. Only in Vegas do you get an intimacy kit amongst your Cashews.