Last weekend was Thanksgiving weekend here in the U.S. Families get together over delicious oven roasted turkey with cranberry sauce and scrumptuous casserole, creamy mashed potatoes and sweet and delicious pies to express their gratitude for the blessings of the preceding year. The past two years we were fortunate to celebrate Thanksgiving with cousins the American way but this year it was Vegas calling!
This weekend is also every bargain shopper waits all year for with the awesome door bursters that start with Black Friday and continue on to the wee hours on Saturday and with a couple of deals trickling into Sunday.
So, as I was saying, the husband and I finally packed our bags to go see Vegas! It was a six hour (421 miles) drive all the way to Vegas from Salt Lake City and the route there was super boring, with rocky mountains and arid grasslands. It didn’t help that the husband decided to brush up on his high school geography and started quizzing me on the names of the rock formations on either sides of the road.
The moment we hit the state of Nevada we started seeing casinos on either sides of the road and huge billboards of clubs that specialise in “love” on them but those were just the tip of the ‘SIN city’ iceberg.
We checked into the MGM Grand right on the Las Vegas strip. It was a funny start to our stay at the MGM, when after lugging three suitcases from the parking lot, standing in queue and finally getting the key to the room, we were greeted by the previous guests who were only just checking out of the room ..totally awkward situation right there… but, the staff at the reception apologised profusely and upgraded our rooms to a higher floor with a great view of the strip and so inspite of the initial hiccup ‘alls well that ends well’ we thought.
The next day we hooked up with our friends who had also come away from SLC and we walked the strip sight seeing and feasting our eyes on the colors and grandeur of the Casinos (and the people) on the strip, and we got to catch a glimpse of the fabulous Bellagio fountain.
It was lovely to see the Prada and LV offerings and the cutting edge architecture of their showrooms but couldn’t help feeling tickled by this new ‘LV’ on the block.
Planning is essential if you are going to Vegas and to make the most of your time there because you kind of feel overwhelmed by all the entertainment the city has to offer and if you are only there for a weekend you find that you end up not doing half the things you got there to see.
Justin Timberlake was performing at the MGM when we were there and then there was the Cirque du Solleil – at the CA theatre within the MGM, but kids below five are not allowed so we couldn’t go with Ems just having turned three last month.
No, I did not gamble in Vegas. I tried a hand at one of the slot machines and stopped by the time the machine had gobbled up five dollars (yes, you read correctly five dollars…thats how gamble shy I am)
All in all it was a fun trip ..the stay at the MGM was awesome- rooms, staff all excellent, we got to try some new albeit expensive food ( yes, dining out in Las Vegas especially on the strip can be expensive), and the weather was perfect – a nice break from Salt Lake City…
Las Vegas is just the place to go if you are single or even as a couple without kids, though there are things you can do with children at Vegas like the Arcade at the Excalibur or the Gondola ride at the Venetian or even the dare devil rides at the Stratosphere… then again this is not a city for the faint hearted or the innocent and Yes, your cards and your wallets better be loaded people!
Now I start foraging for topics to write about for the new week…Until next…Have a great week guys!
The Showcase 
Welcome back, Nishi. Sounds like you guys had fun in Vegas. So you tried the fruit machine with five dollars and won nothing? Well, when I was in Vegas in September last year I managed not to gamble anything but I watch my niece gamble on a card gaming machine and she came away thirty five dollars better off. She was on a winning streak (so she said) but we had to leave to catch our flight back to the UK.
Did you see any Vegas Bride and Grooms? We must have seen at least six a day if not more.
Hey Hugh! Nice to see you too! Yea had our share of watered down fun…only so much to do when you have a three year old along… Oh so thats what the machine was called?..yes, I literally just watched the machine eat up the note and decided this just wasn’t for me..maybe I should touch base with your neice if I ever go to Vegas again I would’ve been happy even if I came back with 10 dollars..I did see a couple of Vegas brides to be – bachelorette party I think..
I walked past the high stakes room one day thinking it was a kind of restaurant, only to find out it was the room where the really serious gamblers went to play poker with, you’ve guessed it, really high stakes (I think the minimum was something like $500). Didn’t matter what time of day it was, there were always people on those machines and at those tables.
Well, welcome back to Planet Blog, Nishi.
Oh my! They must’ve thought you were there to join them and put in your stakes…Thank you so much Hugh!
Sounds like you guys had a great time in Vegas…awesome!..loved the “I’m not listening to you” cartoon…😝
😉 haha..thank you dear!
ahhh brought back some nice memories 🙂 so glad you had fun!
oh yes.Im glad we took a break and finally got to go!