Well, I’m back from my week-long trip to Las Vegas! Before I tell my story I want to mention a few things…
Back before social media was so significant, we took pictures on a disposable camera and then took them to a 1-hr photo printer in Walmart to put them in a photo album to show people later. Nowadays people can post them on social media for people to see without printing them out. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that (hence, me using Instagram stories). However, if I chose to put a bunch of photos every day on my trip to Vegas, then I imagine my conversations beginning like this:
Me: Hey there!
Person: Hey! How was your trip to Vegas?
Me: Oh it was so much fun and it was really nice!
Person: I knoooow! I saw your pics on Facebook!
Me (making this face in my mind): (-_-)
*conversation over*
Or something like this…
Me: Hey love!
Person: Hey! I saw your pics on Instagram! It looked like you had a great time!
Me: Yes, I did! Thanks for asking… (-_-)
*conversation over*
Unless you are following me on Instagram and you looked at my Instagram stories, I didn’t post a lot on social media. I didn’t want to give a lot of play-by-play action on what I’m doing, or where I’m going, on a trip. I guess it’s safe to say that I’m a little bit ol’ skool. I want to share my story and my photos when I get home. I want a genuine conversation about my trip and show you pictures!
I also wanted to have something to talk about when I get home. I wanted something to blog about… so here goes! Here are 5 of the most exciting things I did in Las Vegas:
Okay… one more thing…
I was gone for 9 days, which includes my time there and the travel time. Day 1 was all about traveling to Las Vegas (LV). I didn’t go out at all because I wanted to sleep. I took an evening flight there and… *sigh* the sky was so gorgeous!
Okay, I’ll quit playing! Here’s my list of exciting things 🙂
(Just fyi, all of the pictures you will see in this blog were all taken by me on my phone. I did not take them from the internet.)
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The Grand Canyon
This beautiful wonder of the world is not in the city of Nevada, so I was mentally prepared to go to Arizona. I went alone on a tour bus filled with people (from different countries and cities) to the south rim of the canyon and I loved every moment of it. I didn’t get to go down in the mountains; just the rim, and that was enough for me. I took at least enough pictures that will last a lifetime, so I’ll just show one to prevent 200 pictures from being in this blog post. I even met some people from Memphis, TN, and Toronto, Canada to hang out with! Went I made it back to Vegas, my heart was so full and I will never forget this experience.
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The High Roller
No, I’m not talking about a gambler 🙂 The High Roller is the world’s tallest observation wheel (or Ferris wheel) located at the LINQ. I had the opportunity to ride it at night, even though I’m sure it would be worth going on during the day. It goes around slow, but think of it this way – you wouldn’t want to get on a Ferris wheel that goes so fast that you don’t have an opportunity to take any pictures! I was able to see a breath-taking view of the lit city of Las Vegas, along with dark mountains in the background. It’s definitely worth going on if you chose to go to Vegas. I would go again if I get the chance.
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Minus 5 Experience
As I was mentally planning one of my days in Vegas, my cousin suggested that I go to the Minus 5 Experience Bar. She told me beforehand that this was a bar in which the whole thing is covered in ice, including the glasses; so I was all in and I went alone! After paying for the experience, I learned that the bar was so “cool” that I needed a fur coat while I’m enjoying my experience (see what I did there). Additionally, I had to lock up my belongs and my phone to prevent it from freezing and the ice from melting, which was no problem for me. The last thing before entering the bar, I got to do this really cool GIF with one of the workers. Okay, I finally got to walk in… and let me tell you that it was SO COOL (pun intended). Everything was really covered in ice! There were ice sculptures and cool-friendly lights going around the room like it was a club. At this point, purchasing an adult drink was inevitable… so I did and it was deliciously fruity. I also got to do a photo shoot around the bar, which was a lot of fun. I even met a couple of people from the east coast, and one of them went to a similar place in Japan. (Sounds “cooler” :-)). I would go again. Worth the experience.
While exploring the strip, I found this bar in two places along the strip: The Mandalay Bay and the Monte Carlo hotel and casino. I went to the one in Mandalay Bay. -
The MOUNTAINS
Okay… I have a confession to make: In addition to Italy and French Fries, I am also obsessed with mountains. There I said it! Therefore, I am sure you can guess how many pictures of the different mountains I have on my phone 😀 This city is literally surrounded by mountains. There is not one place there that you will not see mountains (unless you are inside of an apartment and buildings are in the way). Although I think they are fantastic to look at throughout the entire day, I thought they were beautiful to look at when the sun is going down.
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Resort Hoppin’
Yes, to me this is exciting. I’ve never seen hotels so big as the ones in Vegas. Looking at the inside of hotels, like The Paris and New York New York, made me feel like I’m in a different world or a different city. Although I’ve been to a lot of hotels along the strip, my top three favorite hotels to walk around (in order) were 1. The Venetian, 2. Caesar’s Palace, and 3. The Bellagio.
Even though I’ve never been outside of the U.S., The Venetian made me feel like I was in Italy. If you didn’t know, then you should know that I have a little bit of an obsession with Italy and I hope to visit one day. This hotel contains a shopping center that has a Gondola ride both inside and outside of the hotel, as well as stores to shop in and gelato! I had the opportunity of riding one… and let me just say that my heart was so full. My Gondolier was born and raised in a city in Italy, and she had a beautiful voice. I rode on it alone, along with my gondolier, and not once did it ever feel weird. It motivated me to want to go to the real country. It’s on my unwritten bucket list 😉
In addition to the beautiful place of The Venetian, Caesar’s Palace was also a sight to see! If you haven’t figured it out by the name, then I’ll tell you that the inside of the palace appears to be celebrating the glory that was Greece and the magnificence of Rome. This is also a sight to see and it has the most amazing shopping mall that I’ve ever seen! It made me feel like royalty like I wanted to go into every store and shop! Let me also mention that it had the most amazing H&M store that I have ever seen! It made me want to buy something just because it looked so amazing! It even had a show every so often inside of the mall about Atlantis.
As I walked into the Bellagio resort, I realized that it was also inspired by another city in Italy. This hotel has more high-end shops, along with the infamous Bellagio fountain (beautiful at night by the way) and the best gelato that I’ve tasted on my trip. (I got the mango gelato, which was tangy and sweet. So good!). What stuck out the most was that it had a botanical garden inside of the hotel for all to admire. I thought it was beautiful.
Even though these were my favorites, I won’t exclude New York New York, Circus Circus, and the Paris resort from my list of cool resorts! Their names should speak for themselves. New York New York has Coyote Ugly as well as a really cool roller coaster inside of the resort! The Paris is a beautiful replica of Paris with an Eiffel Tower look-a-like as well as beautiful scenery to walk through. Circus Circus has an amusement park inside the resort with two roller coasters!
I also enjoyed walking through The Mandalay Bay, which I spent the most time and it was never boring. Inside of the hotel has a lot of cool places, like the House of Blues, an Aquarium (Shark exhibit), Minus 5 Experience, and Fat Tuesday’s. Additionally, they have a really nice buffet that has the best soups that I’ve ever tasted (along with other food of course)! If you walk long enough you’ll find yourself in yet another shopping center; but what I loved the most was noticing stores that I’ve never heard of before as well as an art gallery. When you continue walking you’ll find yourself into The Luxor hotel, which was inspired by Egypt.
Reflection | Las Vegas was not on my list of places to go because I honestly thought that all Vegas was good for was gambling and the strip. Nevertheless, I went anyway and I was curious to see if there was more because I don’t gamble and I wasn’t starting on my trip. I am happy to say that I got to see more! Thanks to my cousins, I got to experience different local food restaurants. Since I’m not from the west coast, I didn’t know there was a place called Nekter Juice Bar that serves healthy juices and smoothies (so yum). In addition, they took me to an authentic Mexican restaurant called Casa Don Juan, which was so much better than El Rancho Grande (if you’re familiar with this place). Also, there was a small BBQ place called Jessie Rae’s BBQ that had some delicious brisket, ribs, chicken, etc. This trip to Vegas was good overall and got to experience tourist sites as well as non-tourist places, like northern Las Vegas.
My summer is turning out to be the best one in a while because it involves traveling. It started with visiting my Uncle in Atlanta, then I went to the Newport Levee… and now Las Vegas. My next trip will be Chicago with my mom, and I’m so excited.
Okay, that’s it! Thanks for reading. Take care!
~Live Laugh Love~
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