Thursday, September 6, 2007

Visit All Fifty States Of America - Nevada

Ah Nevada, the seventh biggest state in America and home of the most famous gambling city in the world. You know sometimes, when you have an instinct about something, you should really act on it? Well from booking our package holiday for our honeymoon, I had decided that Las Vegas was the least place out of the three that I wanted to go to, but as it was a package deal and the only other option was LA (I had watched a TV programme about the 200+ gangs in LA, which put me off just a tad), then Las Vegas it had to be!

Arriving at the strip early evening after a 10 hr flight from the UK, we saw the Mirage and the Treasure Island and started to get quite excited. Okay, it looked like Disney Land on acid, but hey it was better that what I had anticipated. Then we started to pull out of the main strip and away from all of the expensive hotels and into the seedier district, past the massage parlours, sex shops and hey presto there was our Hotel - I was not a happy bunny! Inside was like something out of the 1970's and our room was very basic, no drink making facilities or anything fancy to say, hey this is your honeymoon, have a good time in Vegas on us. We ordered room service that night and 2 days later the remains still stayed outside our room in 94 degrees heat. It wasn't until we went to our welcome meeting next day that we realised all the rooms were like this, designed for you to constantly stay out of your room and gamble in these glorious casinos. Ha! Well the plan failed, let me tell you! Not once did we part with our well earned dosh, not even to slip the odd quarter in a smoke infested slot machine! We did however, part with our cash in the wonderful shopping malls of Caesars Palace, so I guess they got it back from us in some shape or form, but hey, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo - who cares?
I have to say at this point, that there were certain aspects of Las Vegas that were enjoyable. The shopping obviously, the fact that we took a gondolier ride at The Venetian in downtown Las Vegas was just surreal! The helicopter ride that we took over the strip at twilight was amazing and the trip to the Grand Canyon was breathtaking.
Las Vegas, I believe, should be taken as it is, with a pinch of salt and definitely just be used for a base to travel to areas around. Glad I saw everything at first hand, but probably wouldn't go back!

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