US TRIP PART 3 : LAS VEGAS

Since I'm on a roll, sorting through my photos, I can share with you the final instalment of our fabulous holiday.  I thought this would take days, but it's amazing what one can achieve when ignoring the housework!

Our trip ended in Las Vegas.  I wasn't keen to go there (I expected I'd hate it, as I'm neither a drinker nor a gambler), but agreed to it so I could at least say "been there, done that".  Well, was I in for a surprise.  I LOVED Vegas!!  It's a bit drab during the day, at least on the outskirts of the city, but it comes alive at night, and is surprisingly clean.  We had only 2 full days there - one was spent travelling to the Grand Canyon by helicopter, and the second was set aside solely for shopping (and boy, was the shopping good!).  We had half-days either side, which allowed for lots of walking around, and taking photos, and, oh, did I mention shopping?

The hotels on the Las Vegas strip are incredible.  We stayed at the Venetian (not great timing, since 140,000 convention attendees descended on the hotel for a Consumer Electronics Show ... but, as you'll see, we struggled through).


Take a look at the roof of the front entrance to the hotel:

The outside of the hotel, at night:

This shot was taken INSIDE the hotel.  Gondolas (and singing gondoliers) move through canals inside the hotel.  The ceilings are painted to look like the sky, and the light changes depending on time of day.

We flew by helicopter from Las Vegas, to the Grand Canyon (a 45-minute flight, at 300 km/h).  Not easy for me, being rather unhappy with heights and not liking to be 'not in control'!  However, our rather dashing pilot put my fears to rest, and I was able to relax and enjoy the return trip.  Here we are, landed in the Grand Canyon, about to enjoy breakfast set up by the pilots of the three helicopters landed at the same time:

We were delighted to see tiny rock squirrels (told you I love squirrels!), scampering up the cliff face.  They came very close and weren't afraid to steal crumbs from the pastries being eaten by the human visitors.

This shot was taken as we were flying through the Grand Canyon.  Incredible experience (once I got over the major discomfort of being in a helicopter), and awesome views.

This photo was taken on approach to Las Vegas:

We played "how the other half live", enjoying breakfast in the Penthouse Suite at the Venetian hotel.  Our friends had upgraded to the penthouse suite for their stay, and we were allowed to visit :)

Nearing the end of a big day of shopping at Premium Outlets North, Ethan agreed to mind our bags while we browsed at watches and bags.  We came back to find the poor little guy fast asleep (I thought he was mucking around, but he wasn't).

These are just the SHOPS at Caesar's Palace!!!  The opulence that gambling money pays for!

And that, my friends, concludes my summary of our trip.  We created a lot of great memories, and weren't really ready to come home, but I am looking forward to getting settled back into our usual routines (apart from the relentless running around for cricket training and games!).