Friday, July 6, 2012

VIVA LAS VEGAS BABY!!!!!

Our arrival to Vegas was anxiously anticipated by my sister, as apparent by the assault of call and texts received on the journey from Death Valley! I hadn't seen my family in a year, the longest by 7 months I had ever been away! So I couldn't wait for my reunion with my sister Nicole and her husband Tom especially. We ran into their hotel, rushed through the lobby to the pool, pushed past people and in the doorway and just hugged and cried our eyes out!!! The puffy eyes just enhanced the "not having showered for 7 days look." It was just wonderful to finally be together, and felt like we had never been apart. They bought us drinks and we sat in the pool. Tom and Nicole had the most amazing view of the strip from their hotel room, and we were finally able to shower at theirs, and get ready for our night!

Amy and her sister Nicole
Having been to Vegas a few times, my brother-in-law Tom warned us about the strip: 1. You are allowed to carry open bottles of alcohol around the streets and 2. There will be a people every meter shoving cards for prostitutes into your hands. Thomas decided to make it into a game and he collected as many cards as he could.

The Strip

Hitting the strip in style we took occasional stops  to either gamble, grab a drink or just take a look at the extravagant casinos. We were just blown away by the crowds of people, the lights and the energy. It was all a bit much for Thomas who ended up not really liking Vegas much, but I was just mesmerized by it all. There were street performers with unbelievable performances, one group made up of 4 young African American kids, doing the most amazing break dancing routine! It was   awesome!

The Luxor Pyramid Hotel
We stopped into Caesar's Palace (he actually lived there right?), the Venetian, the Mirage, and finally gambled at the Bellagio. With the fountains erupting in the front, I felt like we were in Ocean's Eleven, just minus the large payout. I gambled once and put $20 on a roulette table only to lose it immediately, but hey when in Vegas!! Tom however was throwing round stacks of twenties thinking that he was actually going to end up on top. Naat!

Another reunion  for Saturday, with my mummy! Again, the reunion was amazing, with hugs and tears. She couldn't stop touching me and saying she couldn't believe I was actually there in front of her! Staying at the Luxor Pyramid hotel, this was to be the first of our beautiful accommodations while traveling with my mom for the week!!! The inside is pretty spectacular with a humongous sphynx, and other Egyptian statues. We road our elevator up to our room, and to our discomfort felt a weird shaking sensation. Thomas was the brilliant one to point out, this must be our elevator making the awkward journey up to our room on an angle of the pyramid! Crazy!

New York, New York Hotel



We were impressed with the New York, New York, the Eiffel Tower and France themed Casino, and we got completely lost within the monstrosity which is Caesar's Palace. Every hall we went down led to another fountain, statue or painting.

Amy and her sister Shannon playing slots


We took a  wander down the "Old Vegas Strip,"  saw a sexy pirate show, with sinking ships and all, and a volcano erupting at the Mirage, the night had finally arrived.


Shannon, Thomas and Amy outside Beatles LOVE
The one thing Thomas and I wanted to do most in Vegas, was to see the Cirque du Soleil Beatles LOVE show. We were completely blown away with the spectacular, and we loved the music, acrobatics and theater. I sang along with every song, and the effects, dancing, costumes and performers was just fantastic.

2 comments:

  1. You guys had such an amazing time. So how many prostitute cards did Thomas actually collect then?

    ReplyDelete