A Weekend In Las Vegas, Nevada

During our time living in Utah, we were lacking the bright lights (and nights out!) of a big city. We are good time girls and like to eat, drink and be merry(!) which is something that we struggled with in Utah due to it being a majority Mormon state and therefore pretty sparse in terms of nightlife. Therefore to satisfy our cravings and have one big blow out before we went home, we decided to take the hour flight straight from work on a Friday evening to spend one weekend only in Viva Las Vegas!

Vegas is not like anywhere I have ever been before. It truly is as crazy as everyone says and the plethora of bright lights, colours and extravagant buildings can’t help but encourage you to look up as you wonder the strip. In fact, walking the strip was probably my favourite part of Las Vegas as it was just so fascinating. So over-the-top and fake, but that’s what makes it so fabulous, right?!

So, on one incospicious Friday at work in Utah we took our overnight bags into the office and dead on 6pm finishing time drove to Salt Lake City airport to get the flight to Vegas. The flying time was only an hour so it would have been rude not to take advantage of the situation, and we ended up arriving at our Vegas hotel at around 10pm. We stayed at Circus Circus (would not recommend) because it was cheap, but next time I’d rather splash out more and have a more central location. What you probably spend extra dollar dollar on the room you probably save in taxis up and down the strip from the grotty Circus Circus to the main bars, casinos and clubs.

After slapping on some makeup and having some prinks (pre-drinks) in the form of a duty-free bottle of vodka bought at the airport sipped from plastic hotel room cups, we were ready to go. We started off the night in the MGM casino where we enjoyed a couple of overpriced drinks. Right in the middle of the strip, this hotel seemed like a pretty good place to start the night and a central location to meet. Plus, the rolling casino floor was certainly an assault on the senses and a firm introduction to Vegas life.

After a couple of drinks at MGM we seemed to walk the strip for ages. In high heels. Not our finest or most enjoyable moment trying to navigate Vegas in stilettos but heck did we try. In hindsight, it probably would have made sense to plan a route in advance or at least pinpoint some casinos to visit – however we had intended the first night to be a rather chilled one having just got off the plane and not having much time to get ready. But a chilled one it was not…

After a fair amount of wondering around aimlessly we finally ended up settled at the Aria and, well, things get a little hazy from there on out. Vegas is not for the shy and retiring type and we ended up chatting to all sorts of people, including two Canadian business men who told us they were $30k down at the casino. For us mere peasants who were bettering just £1 a time, gambling that amount of money was incomprehensible. After a while, the drinks were flowing and several shots of double-sized tequila later we ended up staying out until 6am. They say they pump oxygen into the clubs in Vegas to keep you awake.. That must be the reason.

The next day (well, later on that morning) most of the girls rose from their slumber around lunchtime, but Rachel and I couldn’t face it and ended up waking up for a McDonalds breakfast at 4pm. Yes, really. I’m disgusted at myself too. Somewhere inbetween our drunken and hungover state we both managed to walk the whole length of the strip (from Circus Circus to the Eiffel Towel, which must have been miles!) and bought 15 tacky Vegas shot glasses between us. We must have still had alcohol in our system!

Although Rachel and I only got up as the sun was setting, it was actually a really lovely couple of hours having a nice quiet time exploring Vegas. Luckily for me, Rachel had visited before and so gave me a whistle stop tour of the best sights, including the faux canals of the Venetian and the incredibly patriotic water show at the famous Bellagio fountation.

Before long, it was time to head back and don our heels again for Saturday night out in Vegas. This time we had been given free tickets to attend the Omnia Club at Ceaser’s Palace. Whilst the size of this hotel totally blew my mind, the club just wasn’t for me. It was too full of grabby men, people who were high as a kite and too packed to enjoy yourself. I would have preferred to stay for quieter drinks at the Chandelier bar at the Cosmopolitan. So, in Vegas terms, it was a relatively early 3am finish for myself and half the other girls that night.

 The next day we spent some time shopping in the Vegas North outlets and the magic mile, but I have nothing truly interesting to report apart from a story involving an illegal taxi ride as we tried to innocently get a lift back to the airport to fly home to Utah. But that story is for another time…