Nobody believed it would ever actually happen, eight ladies going to Las Vegas, Nevada to celebrate Marguerite's 40th birthday but here are four of the eight in a taxi on the way to Heathrow to board flight BA0275 to McCarran International.
Alison and I had been so organised we were ready ahead of time and waited impatiently with our modest sized suitcases for the taxi. We got to Heathrow and met our travelling companions who all but one seemed to be going on a much longer holiday.The six bottles of duty free prosecco came in very handy as pre dinner drinks but the, now well travelled, bottle of Vodka remains unopened awaiting the next book club meeting.
After 10 and a half hours aloft in a plane with a sound system that prevented any enjoyment of the in flight entertainment we finally arrived in the dessert. On the way back I tried my own earphones and discovered that to be the problem so I got to see Argo after all (very good film by the way, highly recommended).
Following a slight delay waiting for the the second limo we set off for the Bellagio. Our driver did not stop talking from the moment we set eyes on him until the moment we shut him up with a tip. If only we had known we could have tipped at the beginning of the journey and travelled to the hotel in peace. The only time he didn't comment was when we were stopped at an intersection and (Jodie I think) mentioned that this was the intersection where a fatal shoot out had happened recently.
Everything in Vegas is geared towards getting you and your wallet into the casino - even the lift.
We managed to stay up until after midnight on the night of our arrival. We looked around the hotel, made a donation to the casino and had a snack at one of the restaurants in the hotel. This was our introduction to the enormous American portion sizes. We didn't ever seem to learn that one meal would easily feed 3 or 4 - I'm sure more food gets thrown away in America than gets eaten.
Thursday morning bright and early we crossed the road to breakfast in Paris. Not very French but delicious non the less and so good to be able to sit outside without a coat, hat, scarf and gloves.
Spot of sunbathing beside lovely pool with purple bikini clad waitresses delivering frozen margaritas as $15 each and interesting mix of American guests to eavesdrop on. Two late middle aged ladies in (very expensive looking) identical swimsuits with matching wraps and full battle makeup and a New York princess discussing the price of her bikini with her dad!
After changing and having the holiday argument with Alison over who was going to wear her gillet we got our transport for the horseback riding experience. Short drive from hotel and you are in the desert, literally in the middle of nowhere. Being English we all wore the helmets provided unlike our guides in cowboy hats. One and a half hour ride through red rock up and down narrow path in single file. Very peaceful and enjoyable, fortunately I wasn't near the wrangler, another one of those chatty friendly types who cant bear any silence or the sound of anyone else's voice.
As the sun started going down we came around a bend towards the corral and there were two ancient men with guitars standing on the top of the ridge singing 'Home on the Range' to welcome us back. They kept up the singing until we escaped for our return trip. Outsize steak and baked potato eaten we sat around a firepit outside to make and enjoy toasted marshmallows between two chocolate chip cookies (it should have been Graham crackers - we didn't get an explanation why it wasn't). I'm still cleaning bits of marshmallow off my phone.
Friday morning the four helicopter girls went to Serendipity, part of Caesar's Palace for breakfast. Nice tea served in biggest cups known to man and each breakfast was easily big enough to feed all 4 of us. Good job we ate a lot because lunch provided by Maverick Helicopters turned out to be miniscule.
Three reasons to avoid Las Vegas - fortunately there are lots of other things to do.
I wonder what Augustus would have made of Las Vegas?
Helicopter trip over Hoover Dam and on to Grand Canyon was amazing. Very noisy so you had to wear ear muffs and the refreshments were a little odd but fantastic experience. We landed in the canyon for champagne (domestic) and lunch (celery stick, few grapes, 2 Ritz crackers and small portion of processed cheese). Pilot was chatty but not exhaustingly so and having promised ourselves we would not tip due to the extortionate cost of the trip we succumbed to his charm and tipped him anyway.
Could this be the only completely square golf course in the world?
Alison, Jodie, Sara-Jane and I got back to the hotel before the Jeep girls and decided to go for a cocktail at Olives while waiting for the others.
Dinner was delicious and the fountains in the background every 15 minutes kept reminding us where we were. Unfortunately the waiter was not much of a photographer.
After dinner we went into the casino for a little flutter, very successfully in my case.
Queueing for The Bank (nightclub) is a very odd experience that seems to make no sense. Bouncer upsets Laura resulting in our fast track with free drinks, still have no idea what any of it was about.
Saturday morning back to Serendipity for breakfast. Spring Break, college football and St Patrick's day weekend meant the whole place was heaving and we had to queue for a table this time. After breakfast we went to the Mirage to and went into the zoo to see the tigers and other cats and the dolphins. Set off back for the hotel past various people in all sorts of costumes were hanging around having their pictures taken for tips.
I decided to do some shopping and got lost in the Forum shopping centre. Got back just in time to change and set off for the birthday dinner at Stratosphere.
Another waiter who can't take photographs.
Great meal in revolving restaurant that provides a great view of the whole town.
Another interesting element of the meal was the bungee jumpers going past the window while we dined. Only in Vegas!
Limo from Stratosphere to Fremont St. Helen & I play giant slot machine (without success), queue too long for Jodie to do zip wire.
On to Treasure Island for Sirens show!
Back to Bellagio.
Sunday morning arranged for an extra half day on one of the rooms then back to Paris for breakfast followed by quick tour to Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur hotels. Saw the sharks, komodo dragon and touched the rays at Mandalay Bay. Monorail between these 3 hotels then cab back to Bellagio past New York New York.
Another frozen margarita by the pool and top up of vitamin D before setting off to the airport and back to the cold and rain.
Overall verdict - brilliant venue, lovely company - 10 out of 10! Where to next?
