Vegas baby! This time we had a pool in our hotel so we made the most of that. We’ve never had a “pool holiday” where we spend time lounging, and suddenly that seemed very attractive! So we attended our first Pool Party in Vegas, which sounds very glamorous but basically seems to comprise standing in a swimming pool listening to dance music while lifeguards shout at people to get out of the pool with their drinks. We stayed a while but preferred the quieter pools!
My BF also sought out a “Flowrider” machine at Planet Hollywood. This was slightly weird as it was on the 6th floor and there were no signs. But my BF will always manage to sniff out an opportunity to spend his money on “awesome” things, so we found it.It was $25 for 30 mins but my BF had a $10 off voucher which helped! 🙂 To be honest, 30 minutes was enough as it was pretty exhausting for him and the heat from the sun was relentless, but he managed to master the technique of standing on the board and surfing! (the trick is to start off standing up, holding hands with the instructor, and then let go of his hands; if you start learning forward bent double holding the edge and then have to stand up, it’s much harder to balance. It may sound obvious but man-up and ask to hold the instructor’s hands!)
In the evening we played snooker (or pool?) in the Cosmopolitan, and then worked our way up and down the strip perusing the casinos and wondering where we should plonk our bottoms down and have a drink.
It turns out Lady Luck was smiling on us as we stumbled upon a barman who was pretty crazy and kept topping up our margaritas with tequila – for free! His colleagues also finished their shifts and joined us around the bar, and he kept the free drinks rolling (for them). I even saw him do a comedy-style manoeuvre, where you turn sideways and pretend to pour the drink into your mouth, but instead pour it behind your head, so it goes on the floor. It felt wrong for good tequila to go straight onto the floor! It felt like we were in parallel universe… either he was drunk or trying to get fired? Either way, we loved it and we loved him! In fact his boss came out and had a word with him, but then joined in the drinking too! Party town, baby! 🙂
Las Vegas was full of people wandering around with massive “yard of ale” type drinking receptacles. We of course got in on the action with massive green plastic glasses. One of the things I love about Las Vegas is there are no pesky rules like you’d have in normal life. I’m used to “No drinking in the street” “No outside food or drinks in the hotel” etc etc. In Las Vegas, anything goes. It is one big party and everyone can take part – it doesn’t matter what you wear, or even how much money you have. I love it!
Of course you have to know where to draw the line. The gambling can suck you in. We tried the slot machines as on a previous trip we won about $20. Each slot machine advertises the minimum bet on the top of the machine, and we only played the slot machines that are 1 cent. That’s right, we are big spenders! 😉 But, I must warn you, some machines are a con. The machine had a sign on it saying 1 cent. We put in 1 dollar, expecting to have 100 goes on it. But on our first spin it took 40 cents off us, so it seems there was a 40 cent minimum bet, even though it was advertised as a 1 cent machine! So out of our dollar we got 2 spins instead of 100!
There are also other temptations that can draw you in (well, not me, but some) – I heard a man approaching a single guy offering him a free limo ride to a strip club. This sounds like a recipe for extortion to me! There are also men handing out cards for call girls on the street. Each to their own, but I think you need to know where your line in the sand is, and stick to it unless you want a Hangover-style experience!
Eating
There is a plethora of places to eat in Vegas. The first thing we did was pig out at Panda Express – we love it! If there was one thing I would import to the UK, it’s Panda Express. It’s yummy and inexpensive Chinese food, which is just what we like!
We tried Guy Fieri’s restaurant, which was nice but I think we have had better meals in some of the actual restaurants in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, ironically. The portions were way too big also, and I still feel raw about that, as I hate to waste food. Normally my and my BF can handle a big portion, but we could only eat half. Maybe it was the heat of the day and we had less appetite? My BF had also picked up a little heart-stroke from his surfing in the midday sun earlier, so he felt a bit ill. The couple next to us shared a main course, and I would do that if I went back.
We also took advantage of the buffet on offer, which was good as usual. My BF almost got us kicked out when he leaned on one end of the table and the whole thing tipped up! Plates and glasses everywhere! Awkward!! Luckily the staff were very nice and I apologised profusely.
So, overall, you can still have a good meal and a good night out in Las Vegas! It is still the capital of hedonism which is why we love it! 🙂 It was a lovely break from reality.
Next blog: Public Toilets in the USA.
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