Where We Have Been - USA - Las Vegas

We initially arrived in Las Vegas at the end of our road trip from San Francisco and stayed a night at Paris, before heading to the Grand Canyon. We  then returned for Christmas staying at the Park MGM.

After the stress of driving into Vegas in heavy traffic at the end of a long day we decided, once we had checked in, to go looking for a place to grab a cold beer, hey we did arrive from Death Valley which is famous for holding the record for the highest ambient air temperature ever recorded on Earth, and a burger. We found the first floor Beer Park and grabbed a seat at a leaner overlooking the Strip. Unbeknown to us we were in a prime spot to watch the Bellagio Water Show courtesy of the fountains. It is pretty spectacular and was a fitting welcome to Vegas.

After a quiet stroll up and down the strip marvelling at the extravagance we had an early night as we were heading to the Grand Canyon first thing the next day.

On our way back to Las Vegas from the Grand Canyon we were feeling pretty tired so decided to take a night en route to recharge. As we had a multi-night booking at Park MGM and as it was Christmas we dropped them an email to tell them we still wanted our booking but wouldn’t be arriving until mid-morning the next day. We also told them we would pay for the night we weren’t staying as we had booked it. So mid-morning we arrived and, after waiting for quite some time as it was checkout time, we were told we had been classified as no shows so our booking had been cancelled. After more than an hour, talking to multiple people, showing them the email we finally got a room allocated but were told it wouldn’t be available until mid-afternoon. It was at this moment that we realised that in the scheme of things being a guest in their hotel was not a highly rated part of their business, we were simply a number. Not really surprising when Park MGM in Las Vegas reportedly has 2,993 rooms and when it opened, in 1996, 2,200 slot machines.

We explored Vegas with visits to Caesars Palace, The Venetian, Mandalay Bay which is a little different to the others with the beach theme (we rode the Luxor Tram to and from), and others, rode the Monorail many times and even visited the local Indian Motorcycle Dealer where David purchased a couple of shirts.

One thing we learnt very quickly was getting anywhere involved walking a long way through entertainment and gaming areas, which surprised us as there were very quiet.

We got over the long walk through the MGM Grand to get to and from the Monorail although it did provide the opportunity for us to spend some time at a nice small bar and enjoy the entertainment.

You probably shouldn’t go to Vegas and not try the slots, which we did having our $20 each swallowed in no time, or attending a show. The stars didn’t align for us to get to see U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere but we did get to see The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage, which has since closed but will arise after a makeup for sure. Carolyn really enjoyed the show, David not so much.

We departed Las Vegas, vowing never to return (we have changed our minds since), via a plane to Memphis.

Tip: We found Las Vegas a hard place to find a takeaway Coffee, well really Tea as David doesn’t do Coffee, but eventually, after much looking, found a place offering them in the massive foyer of Caesars Palace.

Closing Thought: Las Vegas, what a madhouse, one we said we’d never go back to but have changed our minds about since as we have learned of the places we missed. Carolyn has on her wish list a conference she wishes to attend in Las Vegas, this will present David with the opportunity to ride Death Valley on a motorcycle and therefore tick off something on his list. With luck we may just be able to catch the Formula 1 which is around the same time.