So a few months back I mentioned in my What I Got for my 30th Birthday post, that I had been lucky enough (seriously lucky) to be gifted with a trip to Las Vegas. It seems like two minutes ago that I was opening said gift, however last week, the time finally arrived to jet off!
After a lovely experience in the Premier Airport Lounge, with all the breakfast food and champagne we could consume… fast forward 12 hours and we were in Vegas! Our flight landed at about 9pm, meaning we had just enough time to check in and have a little explore of the hotel, before it was heads down to catch up on some sleep ready for the excitement that lay before us…
To me Las Vegas was almost like a toy town – albeit a really, really big one – but what I mean by that is that nothing seemed real… the place was extremely clean at all times, we were constantly gifted with sun and blue skies, and everything was so big, shiny, new and OTT in the most wonderful of ways… I literally felt like I was on a film set half of the time.
We kicked our first day off with breakfast at Hash House a Go Go, where we indulged in Chicken & Waffles (my sister had a pancake bigger than her head x 3) and S’mores Mochas. The S’mores mocha was one of the nicest things I’ve ever drank – EVER. If you go to Las Vegas I highly recommend trying one of these, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since… It’s almost worth flying back just for that! The chicken & waffles were also pretty amazing, however I only managed one and a half waffles and one piece of chicken, and I thought that was pretty good going – I’d love to know if anyone’s actually finished a full portion here before.
After that we went for a stroll around the LINQ promenade. This was probably one of my favourite parts of Vegas, just off the main strip. It contains loads of amazing food joints, and lots of pretty little shops, if you wanted an escape from the norm.
If you do go down here, In n Out Burger is a must – just a really good quality burger, for a small price, especially compared to everywhere else in Vegas (it’s really expensive over there), and so it’s a good option if you want to save a bit of money too, but still enjoy something nice.
Another must if you have a sweet tooth like me, is a visit to Sprinkles. This place does the BEST cupcakes… they’re nothing like the ones we get in England, I think they’re 10 x better, and would happily petition to get them to open over here too. They even have a cupcake ATM that’s open 24 hours… and if they ever want to bring that addition to the corner of my street, I can single handedly guarantee it won’t ever go out of business!
In the evening, we went for an explore of some of the hotels (everything is close by and linked in Las Vegas, so you can hop from hotel to hotel exploring), we enjoyed a Cirque du Soleil show. Again, this is something I’d highly recommend – I’m not that into theatre and shows etc, but I loved this – it was probably one of the best things I’ve ever seen. We went for the Michael Jackson One show, but did contemplate O as well. From speaking to others, I think you’d have an amazing time no matter which one you saw, it’s certainly an unforgettable experience.
It goes without saying that a visit to the Bellagio Fountains is also a must when in Las Vegas. We went to see them both in the daytime and in the evening. Whilst you’re there, a stroll around the Bellagio Hotel itself is also a good idea. Both the fountains and the hotel offer some free entertainment that you won’t forget.
They have the most incredible botanical gardens inside, that you can spend a while gazing at in awe. I’ve never seen anything like it… and hidden away at the back is the most magical shop ever… a beautiful Christmas shop! I’m not sure if it carries Christmas stuff all year round or not, but the majority of the shop was Christmas decor, so I’d expect so. Anyway, I was like Elf when I accidentally stumbled upon it, and obviously then spent the next half an hour picking out special Christmas decorations to take home – much to the dismay amusement of my boyfriend…
By day 3 we were pretty exhausted from all the excitement, and so decided to enjoy a day by the pool. The good thing about Las Vegas is that everything is open until at least midnight (even the shops), so you can relax in the daytime, and not worry about missing out. In the evening, we went off to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to enjoy afternoon tea in their stunning Tea Lounge.
I’m going to do a separate post all about this, so won’t go into too much detail here; but it was again one of the most memorable experiences, and one of the best things I’ve done. I love afternoon tea, and this is one I won’t be forgetting in a while.
After that we went off for more exploring of the hotels and casinos, and also paid a visit to Milk Bar for some cereal milk soft serve. I always grab one of these whenever I see them after discovering the place in New York.
After living the high tea life, the following day we decided we wanted to go for some really American, traditional food… so what better than pizza? But in typical Las Vegas style, we didn’t just go for any old pizza, we went for a Giodarno’s pizza pie and oh. my. god. what a pizza it was – I think I’m still getting over it. They take 45 minutes to cook, and I managed to finish just one and a half slices (so get one to share!). Thankfully, they were happy to box it up for us.
After recovering from our pizza coma, in the evening we headed off over to dine at The Wynn, upon the recommendation of a friend. Well what a recommendation that turned out to be! I keep saying the same thing, but it was one of the most unforgettable experiences… this is another one I’m going to do a separate post on, so be sure to check that out over the next few weeks.
To celebrate one of our final evenings in Las Vegas (without being shattered – exciting next day planned) we took a trip on the High Roller. The High Roller is the big (big) wheel that was featured in my photo of the LINQ further up. It takes 30 minutes and gives 360 panoramic views of the whole of Las Vegas. It was such a lovely way to finish off one of our final days in this magical town.
Our final day was spent doing something that’s completely unrelated to anything on here I blog about… but we went on a full day trip to see Area 51. It’s something I’ve wanted to do forever, and was up there on my top 5 bucket list to do’s, I still can’t believe I finally got to go.
We spent a full day out and got to drive right down the Extra Terrestrial Highway, explore a dry lake in the dessert, and even eat at the famous Little Ale’Inn, before heading down to Area 51 itself. It was such a fantastic day, and I’m still pinching myself that I got to enjoy such a wonderful experience.
After all that excitement, it was sadly time for home the next day… however there was one more piece of magic still to happen. On our route home (Las Vegas to Philadelphia) pretty much as soon as we took off, we flew over the Grand Canyon, and had some of the most spectacular views of it you can get. I was sat on the right side of the plane, but it’s worth looking into this when you’re flying home – as it was a pretty special view due to how low we still were. I took a picture, but it doesn’t do it justice really. What a stunning way to bring out adventure to an end.
