Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

The short:

Las Vegas in one word = ridiculous. It is the most over the top insane place in the world. It is so manufactured and sterile that it's amusing; the hotels; casinos; clubs; restaurants and people all compete to be the biggest and brightest. There is no shame in Vegas; go all out or don't bother. But, if I'm honest, it's tacky in the most wonderful way and is seriously good fun for a couple of days; I would definitely go back, I just don't know how anyone can live there! Last time I came I asked someone what they liked about living in Vegas and they said "if you wanna get a drink at 3 in the morning, you can get a drink" - I don't really think that qualifies as a reason, but each to their own! 

I absolutely loved people watching as there really is the biggest spread, ranging from the uber glamorous to the desperate gamblers. Vegas caters for everyone and every price range, which is what I guess makes it so popular. 

The long:
Tuesday:

We began the sat nav's 4 and half hour drive to Vegas at just after 10:30pm, so were pretty stoked when we arrived just before 2am. Having split the drive and sleeping between us, we were both very much ready for bed when we got there but could not help getting excited when we started nearing Las Vegas and saw all of the ridiculous buildings popping up out of the middle of nowhere.

We couldn't wait to explore the following day. Having checked in to our hotel we headed up to our room, and I almost fell over when we opened the door, because it was one of the nicest bloody hotel rooms I have ever stayed in! I have no idea why because it was very cheap (comparably), but clearly neither of us were about to complain; I just couldn't believe our luck.

Vegas, see you in the morning. 

Wednesday:

Thomas and I left our luxurious room and hit the strip for a bit of exploring.

^ Don't you just love Paris?

We made sure to pop our heads in to all of the top hotels and have a snoop around, 

with the Bellagio probably being my favourite. I love the famous art they have on the ceiling in their lobby and I generally think it is quite beautiful inside versus, for example, Caesar's Palace, which unsuccessfully tries to transport you to Venice!

We walked through all of the hotels casinos and I have to say I just found it so depressing. I actually got claustrophobic towards the end because the lighting and noises just drain the life out of you; I hate the idea of sitting inside in the dark all day when the sun is beaming outside just a few metres away. 

Thomas and I headed back to our hotel late afternoon for a quick turnaround as we had tickets to see O by Cirque du Soleil at 7:30pm, which we were both extremely excited for. Obviously they don't allow you to take any pictures of the show but it was the most mind blowing thing I have EVER seen. I was totally speechless at the end. It is a water show and so incredibly beautiful that you can't actually believe what you're seeing is real. The stage, or pool, rather, was so versatile and changed in an instant but with no signs of how it did so; it would go from being a huge deep pool to very shallow water to dry land once more. The live band and costumes were, as always with Cirque du Soleil, absolutely phenomenal. I will never get over how the music and lighting is able to change the mood so dramatically and effectively. Thomas and I shared the same two favourite acts, one of which had the performers in white body suits with different coloured neon stripes doing a combination of synchronised swimming, flipping, rolling and diving; they reminded me of nymphs and were so smooth in their movements that they didn't even look human. It was beautiful. The other had 3 swings stationed at various points around the pool on which 5 people could stand and use their body weight to gain momentum and, once the swing reached the highest point, the first person would fly off doing all sorts of tricks and flips in the air, sometimes one-by-one and sometimes in unison; it was so cool! I thought that the show had the perfect balance of fast-paced upbeat acts, slow and fluid acts, tribal/jungle acts and comedy. It was by far the best Cirque du Soleil show that I have ever seen and I URGE anyone and everyone to see it. 

Once the show finished Thomas and I went in search of a late dinner to line the stomachs for the big night that we still had ahead. We settled for Cafe Bellagio, it being the only reasonably priced establishment in the entire hotel. Thomas had a burger that was pretty good; I unfortunately had a pretty rank Asian chicken salad (how is that even possible?), so our lucky streak of good meals has finally come to an end, but we had a pretty good run so I can't complain. Plus, the cafe was tucked behind some fairytale land that I thoroughly enjoyed papping on our way out. 

Incredibly random but, then again, it's Vegas; why the bloody hell not? I have to say that I also really enjoyed the fairy lights, so was a pretty big fan of the pop-up.

Thomas and I had an hour or so to kill (get drunk) before we were due to see Lil' John at Surrender club in the Wynn hotel, so we took a cab over to Tower Suites in the Wynn, which is where I stayed when I last visited Vegas, for a little trip down memory lane. We went to the bar where I was first introduced to my beloved Cosmo and, obviously, had to relive the moment; just as delicious as I remembered.

We watched a fair share of "working girls" doing their rounds. I asked the bar man if they get a lot of them, as there were some there last time I was in the bar as well, to which he said that they did and a lot were regulars, some of which he even parties with. He avoided answering my question as to how much money they make though so that is still a mystery to be cracked, but I would imagine it's a fairly hefty sum at a hotel like the Wynn. 

A little later than planned we rocked up to Lil' John. Surrender is an outdoor club with a pool in the centre and tables and trees dotted all around it, making it a fairly unique venue and a good club for both talking and dancing. Thomas and I shook our bottoms around to Lil' John and befriended some black people that turned out to be dancers for the Michael Jackson show, so that was pretty fun.

Too many drinks later but with big smiles we left. I was on a mission to get some food. It's Vegas, so clearly my prayers were answered. We ended up in a proper sit down restaurant at 4am with me eating a "basket" (BUCKET) of fries, which I thoroughly regretted in the cold light of day the following morning. It was such a fun night, having done so many things. I couldn't believe my eyes when we crawled into bed and my iPad said 4:55am though, I was not looking forward to waking up. 

Thursday:

Thomas and I were a bit naughty and slept in till 12pm. I hate wasting the day but tried to excuse us with the fact that everyone sleeps the days away in Vegas; it's part of the experience (right?). We dragged ourselves out of bed but didn't make it very far as we spent the afternoon by the hotel pool. I caught a few rays whilst Thomas snoozed in the shade. At about 4pm we went up to the room with the intention of strolling the strip some more before dinner, but once we got upstairs the plans somehow flew out of the window with me having a relaxing bath (with Coldplay, of course) followed by us watching a few episodes of "Orange is the New Black", which I've never seen before and am now totally hooked on. It had been a very lazy day, but a much needed and thoroughly enjoyed one. 

We got ready for dinner and walked over to Hakkasan, which was located in our hotel so one would think would be nice and close by. A 15-minute walk later we arrived, only for the front desk to tell Thomas that they have a "no shorts policy" so he would have to change. See you in 30 minutes then! He returned in a strop, which I soothed by ordering him a seriously great lychee martini and some top notch dim sum to share.

I had the crispy duck salad for main course, which I had last time I went so knew was going to provide with me a flavour explosion; I was not disappointed!

I pulled my usual trick and reserved the table on the pretence that it was my friend's birthday, so free macaroons were served; thank you very much Hakkasan!

We wanted to go on a bit of a bar hop, so walked the strip towards some of the other hotels, taking in Vegas in all its glory at night. 

^ I cannot believe there is a Hooters hotel!

We walked past an o2 (oxygen) bar, which Thomas decided that he wanted to try, so bought himself a 15-minute hit of flavoured pure oxygen, which he sucked in whilst being massaged by all sorts of weird gadgets.

He claims to have felt great afterwards, so we'll go with that! We had our first drink at the Cosmopolitan hotel in the Chandelier Bar, for the sole reason of getting Cosmo's. 

Next stop was Hyde at the Bellagio. Just as we were approaching the entrance we were given passes for free admission and 1 drink, so were very chuffed about that. The club was awesome, with completely open blocks in the far wall letting in the night air and providing perfect viewing of the infamous Bellagio fountain show. 

The show is impressively good. God only knows what it must cost for them to play every 15 minutes, but it is definitely a sight to be seen and I watched it through twice without being able to tear my eyes away. Free drinks had I had to be honest and admit that I was utterly exhausted and really craving my bed. Thomas thankfully was in the same mind frame and we happily skipped back to our hotel. Thomas picked up a few contact cards en route for next time he's in town though.

Good night Vegas.