We set off
from Gatwick aboard a DC10 on the long flight to
Minneapolis/St Paul (the twin Cities). We had a really good
flight with only a little turbulence. Leaving behind snow
showers in England. We were amazed of the amount of snow that
lay across the land in the USA. The snow was piled up high
alongside the runway as we landed in Minneapolis, goodness
knows why we complain about a few snow showers when the
Americans seem to get it so much worst than we do, you don’t
hear them complaining about the weather, they just get on with
it.
About 2 hours later we boarded our
next flight to Las Vegas, which was running about an hour
late. We didn’t mind as it was so relaxing in the airport and
we soon found that the American people loved talking to us and
asked all about England.
The E-tickets were easy to use we
could have checked ourselves in if we wanted to on the self
service computers but we chose to go to the desk as it was our
first time.
As we approached Las Vegas in the dark
we could see the strip and the casino’s all lit up in this
vast city, we circled the airport. It was totally amazing.
Security is tight as you land in the USA, fingerprints are
taken and also a photograph of your eyes. The security people
wear guns, which I wasn’t expecting but don’t let this put you
off visiting America, as we found the Americans are some of
the most friendliest people we have come across.
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There is a lot
more to Las Vegas than gambling, in the themed casinos, there
are mazes of shops boutiques shows and entertainment.
We were often offered free shows, but
don’t fall for this trick as they turned out to be timeshares,
although as soon as they found out we were British they didn’t
seem to pressurise us with timeshare offers.
Shuttle buses, taxis and Limousines
all run from the airport to the hotels and casinos, or if you
fancy driving yourselves there are plenty of car hire firms.
If you are thinking of driving a car make sure you have your
full driving licence and credit card with you, as both are
needed.
The traffic in
Las Vegas is very fast and some of the driving rules are
different, so its best to check up before you drive.
Pedestrians must cross only on crossings as it is against the
law to cross just anywhere. There was a fatal road accident
outside one of the casinos while we were. We heard it was the
13th one in a year.
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In the five
nights we spent in Las Vegas we only ventured off the Strip
once, this was to take a helicopter ride up the Grand Canyon,
across the Hoover Dam, then back to Las Vegas to hover along
the strip. We landed in the Grand Canyon in old Indian
Territory and had Champagne and Lunch. We were allowed to do a
little bit of exploring too. We saw a couple of lizards and
some ground squirrels. Had it been further into the season we
may have seen snakes, scorpions and other creatures. We paid
for a DVD of our helicopter trip, as there were cameras inside
the helicopter and underneath, they will mail to us when it
had been edited in a couple of weeks time; I am really looking
forward to this as when we flew over a ridge, the other girls
and I screamed at the drop. The pilot was having a bit of fun
with us and nose-dived down into the canyon. It was a bit like
a white-knuckle ride. We could have been dropped off for some
White Water Rafting, but I thought Id give that a miss, as I'd
had enough excitement for one day. Goodness knows why I was so
worried about going in a helicopter it is a wonderful
experience. I think this experience has cured my fear of
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Another good
place in Las Vegas to take a birds eye view is The
Stratosphere. An amazing tower. You reach the top by going up
the lift at 22mph. At the top is a revolving restaurant, bar
and lookout gallery that goes all the way round. They have a
roller coaster and a ride that hangs you over the side looking
down over the Strip. It looked really scared, so we went for a
drink in the bar instead.
The food in Las Vegas is delicious,
the portions are huge and the prices are really reasonable. We
ate out all the time. The service was fantastic. But you cant
diet out there, I tried watching my weight, but it was
impossible, so I gave up and came back home at least half a
stone heavier. I had a slice of 7 layer chocolate cake that
took 3 attempts to eat before I finally gave up and left it. I
love chocolate cake and this slice was to die for! It was like
I had gone to chocolate heaven. Mind you all the free drinks
in the casinos didn’t help. One morning I was drinking
Champagne at 7am while playing a poker machine. We didn’t
gamble a lot we limited ourselves to $10 a day for gambling.
That usually lasted us for 2 hours on the gaming machines. We
didn’t play on the tables, but did watch others losing
hundreds of dollars at a time.
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One evening
while I was in the hotel room, Trev went down and had a go on
one of the gaming machines and on the next machine was Steve
Martin, actor from such movies as “Cheaper by the Dozen”, “Sgt
Bilko” and “Father of the Bride”, he said he was chatting to
him like he had known him all his life. This was the only
account of meeting someone famous we had and I wasn’t there.
Just my luck!!!
We went to See “We will Rock You” at
the Paris casino, to see if it was as good as the London
Version, it was great, although the audience didn’t seem to
participate as much as they do in English Theatres, I think
they were a little more reserved. Although one of the staff
said it could have been because it was an afternoon matinee.
We didn’t really know what time of day it was as there are no
clocks anywhere in Las Vegas. Good job I bought a watch from
Duty Free on the way out.
Vegas Casinos are best seen at night
when you can experience the wonderful lights and displays. One
of my highlights was the dancing fountains outside the
Bellagio. Every 15 minutes or so there is a display set to
music in the huge pool. Crowds gather to take photos and video
the display, its totally awesome.
Outside Treasure Island
a battle goes on between pirate ships.
I loved visiting “The Venetian”;
inside there was a canal on the second floor with Gondolas
taking people for a ride. The ceiling in the casino is painted
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We stayed in
“The Mirage” you could spend a week in this wonderful complex
and still not see everything. Our Hotel/Casino boasted White
Tigers, ran by Seigfried and Roy with a breeding program.
There were dolphins too, and a huge aquarium full of wonderful
tropical fish. We could wander around the lush green
vegetation and listen to the tones of the waterfalls. We took
a dip in the swimming pools and drank cocktails by the pool, a
tall dark stranger started chatting me up when Trev went to
fetch more drinks, he made me blush, until Trev returned, then
told Trev he loved me. Personally I think he was drunk!!! We
had a good laugh about it.
No wonder
visitors go back to Vegas for another visit, I didn’t want to
come home and if I could have took all my family and friends
over there I should be happy to stay there myself. The only
thing that was missing was more time, there was so much more I
wanted to do before we left.
On the flight home as we flew beneath
Greenland and Iceland we were lucky to see the Northern
lights, what a spectacular sight that was and when the sun
started rising and the red hues appeared it was a wonderful
sight.
This fantastic
prize has whetted my appetite for more travel.
My life has been totally transformed since Ive been comping
with Dotcomper, Good Luck to
everyone else and remember your next win is only just around
the corner. So keep at it!!!
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