Las Vegas is a hell of a place.  I’m not sure I mean that in a good way.  The word my husband and I used most frequently was surreal.  We had an opportunity to go as my husband had a conference to attend so we figured we’d make a holiday of it.  I mean, it’s one those places you visit at least once.

We all wish for flights to be boring and once we were in the air it was but the nuttiest thing happened on takeoff.  We were first in line to barrel down the runway, we’ve been told to stay seated and now they mentioned to the crew to buckle up.  Just as the pilot “hits the gas” a woman stands up in the aisle to remove her jumper.  The flight attendent was yelling at her to sit down and she wouldn’t listen.  We were all watching in disbelief.  How she wasn’t hurt is beyond me.

The trip out gave us some incredible views once we got to the Rockies.

Amazing how the Rockies suddenly rise up.

Best view of Lake Mead!

As I heard it was crazy expensive (shocker, I know) I did a lot of research to see what I could do on the cheap.  Not easy!  A small bag of snack mix was over $7!

If you aren’t into gambling, which I’m not, it can get a bit tricky finding things.  But I did go to the Bodies exhibit and the Titanic exhibit.  Aside from spending time with my husband, these were the best bits of Vegas for me.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take any pictures, they ask you turn off mobile phones, etc.  I can understand with the Bodies as they are actual humans but definitely a shame about the Titanic exhibit.

I did try to see daylight at least once a day because this was the round the clock ambiance:

Yes, they do this on purpose to keep the gamblers at the slot machines but add this to the awful cigarette smoke it got a bit much. The pool area was my refuge in the morning while the shade lasted.

I did explore the strip, thank goodness for the bus system as the strip is 5 miles long!  It doesn’t seem it as all the resorts are massive.  You’d be amazed at the miles you can walk just staying in one resort.

I headed to the Bellagio as I heard they had a flower conservatory and a blown glass ceiling display.  Not only did it not disappoint, it was free!  The conservatory wasn’t massive but they are really creative with the display.  Well worth stopping by.

Their lobby ceiling was full of colour.

This made me want to hop a plane to Paris.

My husband was invited to an event at the top of Mandalay Bay and what a view!  I have to say that was quite something.  We chuckled as we had to go through security and they took my popcorn I got at dinner.  Because it was free I was saving it!  But I was out of luck.

To close out our stay before we headed to the Grand Canyon we headed to Fremont St and the surrounding area.  I enjoyed it much more.  No one seemed intent on emptying your bank account on a bag of crisps but you got to see the old casinos and they have the Container Park where all the shops and restaurants are made from shipping containers.  Plus you have the Preying Mantis out front.

Fremont St

At night flames come out of the antennae.

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit Las Vegas but I can honestly say once was enough.  Everyone was extremely nice but the felling of a vacuum sucking the money out of my pocket got old and stressful.  I can also honestly say it was quite the experience!