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Unlike most days there was no UON bombardment of the local supermarket, but instead a leisurely stroll around Las Vegas strip. The strip or Las Vegas Boulevard is around 4.5 miles long and has a habit of making things look closer than they are due to their size. We discovered this on many occasions throughout the day! As well as this compared to all of the other places we have visited before Las Vegas it was very rare that an American voice could be heard through the masses of people piling through the streets. It was almost possible that you were in another country outside of America, infact outside of reality!
Las Vegas has an attraction to people of all ages due to the activities which are available; however the mean visitor age is 47.7 years old. This was seen in the casinos where there were many old people playing the slots or roulette. This seemed surprising at first as through media, such as films Las Vegas is always seen as the city of Sin or in the case of ‘The Hangover’ a stag party location. Once in Las Vegas it is obvious that money is needed and at the end of the day what age range has money to waste?
A map of Las Vegas Strip
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After eventually organising into groups we unleashed ourselves on the strip. First stop: the Venetian. This casino blew us away or rather, floated us away on a lovely gondola ride with a fake Italian serenading us with ‘That’s Amore’. Well, Mary-Anne and Luci did this while Danni and Scott got lost in the shopping plaza, who with their great sense of direction found the car park on the third floor instead of the exit! In fairness to Danni and Scott though the Venetian is designed to confuse you as it has a skyline inside that changes from daytime to evening throughout the day, so you are never quite sure where you are or what the time is!
Inside the Venetian Hotel where outside is inside.
Whilst on the gondola ride we were informed by the fake Italien man that the Venietian was built in place of Sands (this is what it sounded like) Casino where the rat pack always used to play concerts.
The fake Italien man on the inside gondola experience
After our little adventures in the Venetian we headed to the Mirage, which was themed around an oasis. The most amusing part of this was that it appeared that the flowers were fake as there was a lady dusting and cleaning them! However this is a sustainable approach for a city located in a desert where water is short. However, as information at Springs Preserve told us the day before, resorts are only using about 7% of the city’s water meaning that using methods such as fake flowers is helping reduce water usage even more. This is present in many areas of the strip including along the road where desert plants are being used which can handle a lack of water.
The Oasis in mirage which appeared to be made up of mainly artificial plants.
This sign was located outside resorts which were working in conjunction with the water authority.
At the Mirage you could go to the Secret Gardens where you could see dolphins and white tigers, yes that’s right dolphins and tigers in Las Vegas, where the dolphins don’t do shows they do ‘educational programmes’. This surreal experience was fantastic but at the same time quite disturbing as the animals didn’t really have large areas to live in… not compared to the size of the hotel anyway!
Entrance to the Secret Gardens where wildlife enclosure and dolphin habitat is located.
After the Mirage we decided to get some food (which was amazing!! Stuck on what to eat? Visit food hall in The Venetian!) and took a stroll down the strip towards New York New York. Luci was being snap happy, Scott was chatting up Elvis and Danni was feeling slightly alienated as she felt like she was a part of ‘A Bugs Life’ in Las Vegas because everything is so big and we are too little for the city.
Tall skyscrapers cover the strip enclosing you in making you feel similar to a bug.
By this point we started to appreciate the lazy American lifestyle of escalators in the street as our feet began to hurt, and we started to believe Faith’s wise words of ‘you will walk more in Las Vegas than you have so far on the trip’.
In street esculators to make crossing the road much easier and efficient.
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We eventually got to
The skyline of New York New York Casino
We took a stroll round the streets of New York along with a look at the statue of liberty where we discovered the 9/11 memorial which was a come back to reality in a city built around make believe.
A quote from above the New York New York 9/11 memorial where t-shirts of service men had been layed out in respect.
After our experience of New York, which is ‘the best city in Vegas’ we started heading back up towards our hotel, which was good news for Luci and her camera. On the way we met a real life m&m and a member of Kiss with a removable tongue. (this was freaky to say the least!)
Overall today has been filled with A LOT of walking and adjusting to the fact that people do actually exist again. The Strip is mind-blowing, the size of the buildings and the themes are sensational. The tackiness and being in a make believe area in a sense, makes Las Vegas a fun place to be. Our exploration of the Strip in Las Vegas emphasised the fact that Las Vegas can be enjoyed even if you are not gambling. There are so many activities to be done and so many ‘cities’ to visit in the 4.5 mile strip that each place is a totally new experience. However when in Las Vegas it is advised that you have A LOT of money as there are so many places that entice you in and make you want to buy things, if you have will power you will be fine but if you like designer labels... well... good luck to you!
We have now crashed and burned in our hotel room and are just getting ready to go to the baseball game like true Americans... Wish us luck in figuring out all the rules!
Sound advice for visiting Las Vegas =]
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