Las Vegas

Monday 11 July 2016


Vegas Baby 

My biggest regret in life is under appreciating Vegas. It had so much to offer, but it was the last place I visited whilst on my travels. On my final day in LA I got the most horrific sunburn - I'm talking practically third degree burns, which no joke, took months to heal. By the time I got to Vegas, I wanted to hide indoors in a cold bath for the whole 5 days. 


We had an amazing room. We stayed in Tuscany Suites, which is not on the strip, but sooooo much cheaper and better value. The strip was walkable if you like heat. Or it was like 5 mins in a taxi. My travel mate made me walk once. It was horrific. It only took about 15 mins but the heat was unbearable. 
The room we were in was ridiculously cheap - cheaper than the hostel we stayed in whilst in LA, and it was amazing. It was literally a suite. We had a little kitchen area, a sofa, a desk/place to spread out my make up everywhere, and the biggest bed! Me and my travel partner shared a bed, but it was like we didn't - it was so big I forgot she was there. 
Whilst we were in Vegas, we went to the hotel some of our friends were staying in. They were on the strip, and there room was tiny. They didn't even have wifi and they had paid about triple what we paid!! 
Tuscany Suites had 2 pools, one for fitness and one for relaxing. There was a gym, and a few restaurants. And of course, a massive casino, because this is still Vegas. There was a 7/11 just around the corner too which was pretty handy. I could walk to that without feeling like I was going to die. 


Let's talk about that heat. I warn you now. It is like a heat I had never felt before. I have been to Spain/Miami/LA etc which were all hot. But Vegas was extreme. I totally understand why it has such an amazing nightlife. Because people don't want to go out during the day.
I spoke to lady who was working on the Chanel counter in the Mall. She told me she was from the UK and had moved to Vegas after marrying an Elvis impersonator - I know right, coolest story ever. She told me that she hated living in Vegas. She had been living there for years and said you never get used to that heat. 
When I first got off the bus - Greyhound. Amazing. Totally another story, it was kind of like I couldn't breathe properly. Obviously I got used to it after a few minutes, but the air was incredibly dry. I did go in August, so I'm not sure if it's always that hot. I am totally aware I sound like the most dramatic person ever right now. But it really is hot. 


The best thing we did whilst in Vegas was watch the Cirque du Soleil at Treasure Island. It was incredible. We had front row seats and I sat with my mouth wide open in awe throughout the whole thing. I believe we paid around $70 for tickets. But it was the best $70 I spent whilst in America. It was slightly terrifying throughout because the acrobats were literally throwing themselves around, and I was a bit concerned they would fall and land on me, but they didn't so all was okay. You're not allowed to take pictures in the show, so unfortunately I don't have any to show. 


One evening we walked to the famous Las Vegas sign. It was the longest walk ever. The heat wasn't too bad in the evening so it was bearable. We had an idea of where we needed to had to see the sign - because obviously you need a picture with this sign when you go to Vegas. We walked, and we walked and we walked. Everything looks a lot closer than it actually is on the strip. Eventually we made it to the sign. It was a lot smaller than we had imagined. By the time we got there it was dark, so our photos weren't as clear as we would have liked. We did cheat on the way back and stop at the first hotel and get a taxi. 
Note: Taxis are not allowed to stop on the strip, so you have to go into the hotels, or side roads if you want to get one. 


The strip is amazing. It is basically made up of hotels, but all the hotels are very extravagant. Some of them have themes such a New York New York - which you guessed it, has a New York Theme (it also has a roller coaster built around it). There is also a hotel called Paris, which is French themed with the Eiffel Tower built into it. There are other famous hotels such as The Bellagio, The Venetian, MGM, Planet Hollywood and The Wynn. Each hotel is like a little shopping mall when you go inside. They all have huge casinos, bars and restaurants, and anyone can go in. You don't have to be staying in them to visit.
The strip also has loads of shops. There is designer stores, and many more such as The Coca-Cola store and The M&M store. 
Whilst walking along the streets there are fans that blow water lightly over you, which is like heaven in the heat - did I mention that it's hot? There is also escalators that take you up onto the bridges to walk over the road. I like to believe it's because it is too hot to walk up stairs. 


On one of our days we got a taxi out to the Outlet Mall. I didn't really have enough money to appreciate it. There were outlets for store such Michael Kors, Pacsun, American Apparel and of course sunglasses and perfume shops. We also went to a normal mall, which was located on the strip. It basically had every shop you could want. There were a good selection of restaurants - we went to Johnny Rockets - very entertaining when the staff just break out into dance. There were a good selection of clothing stores, and a few souvenir stores too.


We also visited an all you can eat buffet as we heard they were pretty good in Vegas. We went to one at Planet Hollywood and it was amazing. Pretty much any type of food you could imagine and some super scrummy desserts. At one point, whilst sat alone eating a piece of cake, a man sat on the table next to me starting laughing and said 'you're facial expressions are telling me that's a good cake to choose' - awkward. It was a good cake though. 


On a night out in Vegas, we went to Marquee nightclub. We had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for. When we were stood in the queue, two men came up to us and said they needed two women to walk in with them get into the club for free. So we followed them to the front of the queue and sure enough we got in for free. I'm not sure if that's normal. I don't really know what happened there.
The place was massive! I can't even remember what the layout was. It was dark and I had a lot of wine. I do remember that a single vodka and coke was about $15. So we didn't buy many drinks. 
The place was packed and by the end of our night it was hard to move, so we left. 
We also went on a night out to an ice bar - Minus 5 Ice bar, which was also pretty cool. Not any different from any other ice bar I have been to though. You can pay extra to have bigger coats and hats though. You can see the cool hats below.


I have so many regrets from Vegas.....
  • I regret no taking more photos. For some reason I barely took any! 
  • I regret not going to a pool party. I think it's a must whilst in Vegas. Unfortunately my leg was too burnt, and getting in a pool or sitting in the sun were just not an option 
  • I regret not going to 'Old Vegas' - I'm not sure what is there, but I have heard it is pretty cool 
  • If I had more money I would have love to have done a helicopter ride, because that would have just been the coolest. 
  • I regret not going in and looking around every hotel. I expect there is so much to see in each! 
  • I regret not going to In n Out Burger - WHY WHY WHY 
  • And finally I really wish I had done a bus tour because I am such a fan of bus tours these days

Basically I am going to have to go back one day. What a shame. Or not. 















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Philadelphia

Sunday 10 July 2016


"In West Philadelphia born and raised, in the playground where I spent most of my days..." 

Philly was one of my favourite cities. It is so pretty. 

My visit was part of a day trip whilst doing Camp America. Each week we had a day trip out, it was usually to small towns to go to the cinema or Wal-Mart. However one of the final trips was Philadelphia. 

We spent the day doing a hop-on hop-off bus tour so we could see all the sights. We only got off the bus for the Rocky Steps, as we didn't have enough time to keep getting off. Everyone was super excited to see the Rocky Steps, and I had no idea what they were until we got there. I was expecting to see some crumbling steps - awkward. For any one else that may not know - although everyone probably does - it is the steps Rocky runs up in the Rocky films. Makes sense now huh? 

The view from the top of the Rocky Steps was awesome. It wasn't high, but there was just a road that went straight down, with a park area in between (see pic) and it looked very pretty. There was a statue of Rocky that you can have your photo taken with, and a nice fountain at the top of the steps. 

Also whilst there we had a Philly Cheesesteak and OMG YUM. Obviously you can't go to Philadelphia and not have one. Weirdly it was quite hard to find a suitable place to eat, but we did get there in the end. I'm sure it was more a case of we were in the wrong area. There is a picture below, it doesn't do it any justice though. I promise it tastes so much nicer than it looks!! 

Whilst on the bus we also saw The Liberty Bell, the LOVE sign and Philadelphia Zoo. Unfortunately my photos from the trip completely suck and I didn't get any. 

If you're looking to go shopping whist there, the city centre area isn't amazing. There were some basic stores such as H&M and Victorias Secret (they are pretty much everywhere in the States) and a couple department stores. But the best shopping would be at the mall which was out of town - we didn't visit. 

On the bus tour, they pointed out lots of cool things, such as spots from movies, famous home and a building that blends in with the sky. One of the cool things I remember seeing was the street where some scenes from The Sixth Sense are filmed. 
We also saw some parts of their university and a sorority house. 

Philadelphia is a beautiful place, and I would love to go back and see more. 1 day was enough to see everything - but not enough to explore everywhere. There are some incredible building and some lovely park areas. I would definitely recommend a visit. I'm not sure it there was enough to do there to go on a whole holiday there, however if you're nearby, or planning on going to a few places then definitely go there. 



















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