By Layla
Neither Roz nor I have ever harboured a great dream to visit Las Vegas. But with my father's birthday approaching, and my parents' trip to visit imminent, the subject was shyly broached by them. Las Vegas for my father's 60th birthday? If he dreamed it, we could make it come true! And so one chilly Wednesday my parents and I waved goodbye to Roz (who was joining us the next night after work) and boarded a plane, Las Vegas bound, and ready for a proper Las Vegas experience!
When our taxi dropped us off at our hotel, it was clear we weren't in DC any more. Nor, despite the name and theme of the hotel, were we in New York New York. As soon as we set foot in the lobby our eyes were assailed by the neon whirl of a thousand slot machines. We fought our way through to the reception desk, gratefully picked our key, and wound our way round gamblers and diners and revelers to the elevator. Ah, serenity (apart from the roller coaster directly outside our window...). I had no sooner leapt into my pajamas when the birthday boy looked at me, aghast. "Aren't we going to explore?"
Outdoor clothes back in situ, we wandered around the hotel, through a fake Greenwich Village street, past a bar with dueling pianos and up onto a walkway across the Strip. In one direction: The Eiffel Tower. In the other direction: an Egyptian pyramid. In every direction: neon. It was quite a sight. We then approached the machines and distinguished ourselves as the only people in Las Vegas who couldn't master a slot machine. We did manage the roulette machine though, which was fun, and I vowed to try it on a real table before the minibreak's end. Duly sated, at 3am DC time, we retired to bed just as the party was getting underway.
The next day, fueled by a tasty breakfast in an American diner-themed restaurant, we hit the Strip. First stop: Excalibur Hotel for some gambling lessons. However, the hotel was quite sad and dingy. It wasn't the Las Vegas glamour we were hoping for. And so we didn't stay for the lesson. Instead we crossed the road and walked up the Strip, past people dressed in cartoon or sexy costumes, seeking photographs for tips, and a lot of people trying to sell dad women for sex, despite him clearly being with his wife. I mused how depressing a job it would be to stand on a street corner wearing a t-shirt that promised to deliver a girl to your room in under 20 minutes. It was a bit like Blackpool or Magaluf set along each side of a motorway. We really hadn't got a grip of Las Vegas...
Luckily we soon came upon some of the fancier hotels and popped in to take a look. They're massive, glamorous, and have various attractions to entertain the masses. First up, the famous Bellagio. The fountains don't start dancing til about 3:30 so we had coffee in an Italian cafe, admired their conservatory which had an impressive Chinese New Year botanical display, and peeked at their high-limit gamblers... But other than scantily clad waitresses and some classy decor, the main focus was the casino which was not dissimilar to the casinos everywhere else. Next door Caesar's Palace boasted an impressive exterior and a pleasant sea horse aquarium inside, but otherwise, yup, more semi-identical casino action. Though they had a roulette machine with a 25c minimum. Much fun was had! Next door was the Mirage, which was quite nice. Another identical casino. And a nice little coffeeshop where we had a pleasant little lunch and grumbled that the hotels weren't as dazzling as we'd expected. Then we crossed the road to the Venetian, and took it all back. They have a brilliant reconstruction of some Venice streets with a canal running through them, complete with gondoliers under a convincing blue sky. We were impressed. Also exhausted, so we wound our way back down the Strip and through New York for a pre-dinner lie down.
Revived, we headed on a free tram to the Mandalay Bay hotel, and a cool bar (The Mix) on the 64th floor. We got there for happy hour and sipped cocktails while gazing right down the Strip. In the dark with all the lights below, it looked stunning and crazy and exciting. But dinner awaited. We dashed down to an Irish bar only to find a 45 minute wait for tables. On a Thursday night? We tried somewhere else. Same story. We wound our way round about 1000 people standing in line for a show. And had to surmise Las Vegas doesn't depend on weekends for its business! We ended up in Luxor, a hotel which has some fun themed stuff outside, a bit more downtrodden inside, but is home to one of the famous Las Vegas buffets. We decided to go for it! The less said about my consumption there, the better!
On our return to New York New York we started playing the blackjack machines, and were both impressed and bitter that the woman next to us won $800! We won $0 but we looked like we were having more fun... Then my parents went to bed, Roz arrived, and we finished the evening with prosecco at the central bar in the hotel casino - as you do - and a stroll to see the lights of the Strip.
The next day we were up at an ungodly hour for my father's birthday and the pinnacle of the trip: a visit to the Grand Canyon. After lots of research we'd decided to go with a company called Grand Adventures to the West Rim and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Only a few hours of driving in total and we got to see the Hoover Dam, go on the Skywalk (overhyped bit of glass sticking out over the canyon) and visit two different, absolutely spectacular look out points. The views were amazing and we were duly impressed with the Grand Canyon. We capered about taking silly photos, and Roz and I climbed a little hill. The freezing weather suddenly got sunny and nice. The different light reflected off the rocks. We sang a birthday song mum had written for dad, with the best backdrop in family song history. And on the way home, we stopped off at the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign. A brilliant day trip.
Of course the evening was not over! We dolled up and walked up to the Paris themed hotel and had an excellent birthday dinner at Mon Ami Gabon - highly recommended. And then crossed the road to watch the famous dancing fountains at last. Which were really cool and impressive and worth seeing. I marched everyone up to the Mirage to see the 'volcano' exploding but sadly it was further than I remembered and we missed it. So instead we took Roz to see the Venetian and had an uncanny prosecco in St Mark's Square before we got a taxi home.
Breakfast in the America diner, a little digital roulette (we won $21!!) and them it was off to the very nice Lemongrass restaurant in the Aria hotel to meet a family friend and have a tasty Thai lunch. Afterwards, we hopped in a cab to Las Vegas's arts district, in pursuit of where the cool locals hang out. We had a drink at the Arts Factory and bought some jewelry in their arty little shops, before proceeding up to what's known as 'old Las Vegas', or Fremont Street. We admired the neon over Starbucks, pottered into a couple of casinos (same as all the rest), and I steered us to an empty roulette table where a very grumpy croupier tolerated us, we won none of Dad's $10 back, but we had a fun if intimidating time... Luckily then Roz found us another casino with an old fashioned horse derby with plastic horses, that not only took quarters but paid out in actual cash instead of uninspiring coupons. We settled down and placed our bets. And every time we won something, quarters clanked pleasingly into our winnings bucket. Very satisfactory. And then we leapt up and back into the street for the hourly light show. Essentially the street has a roof made out of a television type screen and they turn off all the external lights, everyone looks up, and you get a 6 minute or so show to music which is hard to explain but quite lovely and impressive and odd and Las Vegas-ish. We were very happy to have seen it, even as we bundled poor dad into a taxi with a fever afterwards.
Dad didn't make it to the Italian dinner in our hotel, but he did revive for our show, Zumanity - the sensual side of Cirque de Soleil. I must emphasize that this was my parents' show of choice. But while quite saucy, it was funny and very impressive, with some brilliant acrobatics, and we all really enjoyed it.
The next day we had a breakfast buffet and pottered around the hotel, with a last sneaky bit of roulette before it was time for Roz and me to go to the airport, and my parents to settle in at a cinema nearby to see the Wolf of Wall Street as Roz and I soared homewards.
So, we did Las Vegas. It was odd. Exciting. Exhilarating. Funny. Sad. A bit weird. A bit out of my league. And a very appropriate way to spend my father's 60th. Though I feel no personal need to ever return. Another US icon conquered. Thank goodness my parents were there to protect me in the chaos!
Neither Roz nor I have ever harboured a great dream to visit Las Vegas. But with my father's birthday approaching, and my parents' trip to visit imminent, the subject was shyly broached by them. Las Vegas for my father's 60th birthday? If he dreamed it, we could make it come true! And so one chilly Wednesday my parents and I waved goodbye to Roz (who was joining us the next night after work) and boarded a plane, Las Vegas bound, and ready for a proper Las Vegas experience!
When our taxi dropped us off at our hotel, it was clear we weren't in DC any more. Nor, despite the name and theme of the hotel, were we in New York New York. As soon as we set foot in the lobby our eyes were assailed by the neon whirl of a thousand slot machines. We fought our way through to the reception desk, gratefully picked our key, and wound our way round gamblers and diners and revelers to the elevator. Ah, serenity (apart from the roller coaster directly outside our window...). I had no sooner leapt into my pajamas when the birthday boy looked at me, aghast. "Aren't we going to explore?"
Outdoor clothes back in situ, we wandered around the hotel, through a fake Greenwich Village street, past a bar with dueling pianos and up onto a walkway across the Strip. In one direction: The Eiffel Tower. In the other direction: an Egyptian pyramid. In every direction: neon. It was quite a sight. We then approached the machines and distinguished ourselves as the only people in Las Vegas who couldn't master a slot machine. We did manage the roulette machine though, which was fun, and I vowed to try it on a real table before the minibreak's end. Duly sated, at 3am DC time, we retired to bed just as the party was getting underway.
The next day, fueled by a tasty breakfast in an American diner-themed restaurant, we hit the Strip. First stop: Excalibur Hotel for some gambling lessons. However, the hotel was quite sad and dingy. It wasn't the Las Vegas glamour we were hoping for. And so we didn't stay for the lesson. Instead we crossed the road and walked up the Strip, past people dressed in cartoon or sexy costumes, seeking photographs for tips, and a lot of people trying to sell dad women for sex, despite him clearly being with his wife. I mused how depressing a job it would be to stand on a street corner wearing a t-shirt that promised to deliver a girl to your room in under 20 minutes. It was a bit like Blackpool or Magaluf set along each side of a motorway. We really hadn't got a grip of Las Vegas...
Luckily we soon came upon some of the fancier hotels and popped in to take a look. They're massive, glamorous, and have various attractions to entertain the masses. First up, the famous Bellagio. The fountains don't start dancing til about 3:30 so we had coffee in an Italian cafe, admired their conservatory which had an impressive Chinese New Year botanical display, and peeked at their high-limit gamblers... But other than scantily clad waitresses and some classy decor, the main focus was the casino which was not dissimilar to the casinos everywhere else. Next door Caesar's Palace boasted an impressive exterior and a pleasant sea horse aquarium inside, but otherwise, yup, more semi-identical casino action. Though they had a roulette machine with a 25c minimum. Much fun was had! Next door was the Mirage, which was quite nice. Another identical casino. And a nice little coffeeshop where we had a pleasant little lunch and grumbled that the hotels weren't as dazzling as we'd expected. Then we crossed the road to the Venetian, and took it all back. They have a brilliant reconstruction of some Venice streets with a canal running through them, complete with gondoliers under a convincing blue sky. We were impressed. Also exhausted, so we wound our way back down the Strip and through New York for a pre-dinner lie down.
Revived, we headed on a free tram to the Mandalay Bay hotel, and a cool bar (The Mix) on the 64th floor. We got there for happy hour and sipped cocktails while gazing right down the Strip. In the dark with all the lights below, it looked stunning and crazy and exciting. But dinner awaited. We dashed down to an Irish bar only to find a 45 minute wait for tables. On a Thursday night? We tried somewhere else. Same story. We wound our way round about 1000 people standing in line for a show. And had to surmise Las Vegas doesn't depend on weekends for its business! We ended up in Luxor, a hotel which has some fun themed stuff outside, a bit more downtrodden inside, but is home to one of the famous Las Vegas buffets. We decided to go for it! The less said about my consumption there, the better!
On our return to New York New York we started playing the blackjack machines, and were both impressed and bitter that the woman next to us won $800! We won $0 but we looked like we were having more fun... Then my parents went to bed, Roz arrived, and we finished the evening with prosecco at the central bar in the hotel casino - as you do - and a stroll to see the lights of the Strip.
The next day we were up at an ungodly hour for my father's birthday and the pinnacle of the trip: a visit to the Grand Canyon. After lots of research we'd decided to go with a company called Grand Adventures to the West Rim and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Only a few hours of driving in total and we got to see the Hoover Dam, go on the Skywalk (overhyped bit of glass sticking out over the canyon) and visit two different, absolutely spectacular look out points. The views were amazing and we were duly impressed with the Grand Canyon. We capered about taking silly photos, and Roz and I climbed a little hill. The freezing weather suddenly got sunny and nice. The different light reflected off the rocks. We sang a birthday song mum had written for dad, with the best backdrop in family song history. And on the way home, we stopped off at the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign. A brilliant day trip.
Of course the evening was not over! We dolled up and walked up to the Paris themed hotel and had an excellent birthday dinner at Mon Ami Gabon - highly recommended. And then crossed the road to watch the famous dancing fountains at last. Which were really cool and impressive and worth seeing. I marched everyone up to the Mirage to see the 'volcano' exploding but sadly it was further than I remembered and we missed it. So instead we took Roz to see the Venetian and had an uncanny prosecco in St Mark's Square before we got a taxi home.
Breakfast in the America diner, a little digital roulette (we won $21!!) and them it was off to the very nice Lemongrass restaurant in the Aria hotel to meet a family friend and have a tasty Thai lunch. Afterwards, we hopped in a cab to Las Vegas's arts district, in pursuit of where the cool locals hang out. We had a drink at the Arts Factory and bought some jewelry in their arty little shops, before proceeding up to what's known as 'old Las Vegas', or Fremont Street. We admired the neon over Starbucks, pottered into a couple of casinos (same as all the rest), and I steered us to an empty roulette table where a very grumpy croupier tolerated us, we won none of Dad's $10 back, but we had a fun if intimidating time... Luckily then Roz found us another casino with an old fashioned horse derby with plastic horses, that not only took quarters but paid out in actual cash instead of uninspiring coupons. We settled down and placed our bets. And every time we won something, quarters clanked pleasingly into our winnings bucket. Very satisfactory. And then we leapt up and back into the street for the hourly light show. Essentially the street has a roof made out of a television type screen and they turn off all the external lights, everyone looks up, and you get a 6 minute or so show to music which is hard to explain but quite lovely and impressive and odd and Las Vegas-ish. We were very happy to have seen it, even as we bundled poor dad into a taxi with a fever afterwards.
Dad didn't make it to the Italian dinner in our hotel, but he did revive for our show, Zumanity - the sensual side of Cirque de Soleil. I must emphasize that this was my parents' show of choice. But while quite saucy, it was funny and very impressive, with some brilliant acrobatics, and we all really enjoyed it.
The next day we had a breakfast buffet and pottered around the hotel, with a last sneaky bit of roulette before it was time for Roz and me to go to the airport, and my parents to settle in at a cinema nearby to see the Wolf of Wall Street as Roz and I soared homewards.
So, we did Las Vegas. It was odd. Exciting. Exhilarating. Funny. Sad. A bit weird. A bit out of my league. And a very appropriate way to spend my father's 60th. Though I feel no personal need to ever return. Another US icon conquered. Thank goodness my parents were there to protect me in the chaos!
