14/10/08
Having mastered the subway we decided to save some money and catch it to JFK, it was surprisingly quick and easy. We arrived and were promptly deemed dodgy as we were highlighted for extra security screening! The flight was cool as we were flying away from the darkness and into the light. It felt a little like Independence day or something where we were trying to escape from the Apocalypse! We arrived in Vegas at 8ish local time (3 hours behind New York) and had quite a wait for our bags. We grabbed a cab and dropped our bags off in the enormous bedroom before heading to Fremont Street (the old strip, downtown) for the light show which happens every hour in the evening. After craning our nexts to see the enormous screens (the biggest in the world ) we headed back to our hotel, the Stratosphere.
15/10/08
American style buffet for brekkie which was a mixture of everything imaginable then a trip to the top of the Stratosphere tower for panoramic views and pant-wettingly scary rides which Greg obviously skipped (due to a full stomach - definitely not the vertigo!)
Headed on the 'Deuce' bus down the strip to the Venetian which was amazing - it was decked out with canals and all, we then popped into Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio, where Joy's tummy took a turn for the worst - at least she has good taste in toilets though! Greg waited outside where there was a collection of expensive art and overheard the salesman commenting on the price of one piece - It was fair to say that Greg's jaw dropped! After a swift recovery we headed outside to watch the fountain before heading to Excalibur for our 'Tournament of Kings' show and meal. Shouting 'hazar' for our Emperor of Austria we watched him jousting and fighting against other nations and eyeing up the serving whenches! We enjoyed our medieval banquet with our hands but without flagons of beer unfortunately! After seeing the lions in the MGM we headed home for a spot of gambling (once we were explained some of the rules and etiquette) at which Joy fared much better than Greg!
16/10/08
A 6am start for a flight to the Grand Canyon, over the Colorado River and Hoover Dam to the West Rim where we landed and visited an Indian Village, there wasn't much to do apart from gaze on in wonder at the views so we ate a spot of lunch with the spectacular backdrop. We survived the trip back to Vegas in the tiny aeroplane, and had an hour or so by the pool before heading out for beers with Joe (Greg's mate from Burnham) the highlight being the Ghost Bar on the 55th floor of the Palms Hotel which must have the best view of any bar in the world.
