Vegas

Oh my God it was hot. Not one day whilst we were in Las Vegas did it drop below 110! This really limited how much walking we could do and how much in general we got done during the days because the heat really made it hard work.


However we did get up and down the whole of the strip and visited 80% of the hotels. We were staying at the Imperial Palace which is perfectly located in the middle of the strip and has its own monorail station, but to keep costs down we paid for convenience with a pretty grotty room and one of the most run down Casino's on the strip. Whilst the older hotels are all undergoing renovation the Imperial Palace is like going back to the late 80's early 90's which coupled with the relaxed laws on smoking made the whole experience very strange and not particularly nice.


It was OK though since we spent the majority of our time else where, eating at 7 different buffets, gambling (and winning sometimes!) in various different Casinos and getting to see various shows, including:


Cirque De Soleil's KA (MGM Grand): Amazing...both agree it is the best Cirque De Soleil show we have seen and is worth checking out to witness the unbelievable set design alone.


David Copperfield (MGM Grand): Average...I’m no expert on magic shows but I like to think I know a thing or two after various previous shows that I’ve attended and the odd ‘Top 100 Magic Tricks’ show on Channel 4. Copperfield is the worlds most lauded illusionist and holds a Guiness world record for most awards won by a magician, but he left Jenny and I very disappointed. His prediction routine we’ve seen Derren Brown perform better and his illusions weren’t up to par with Lance Burtons just down the strip at the Monte Carlo. Even his best tricks were performed with such a lazy ‘I did this at 10 last night and I’ll be doing it again tomorrow...and the next day’ attitude that they came across as stale and sterile. The Yanks wooped and cheered, lapping it up when he made 13 audience members ‘disappear’ but I left feeling the biggest trick was making $200 disappear from my wallet!


Rihanna (Mandalay Bay Events Centre): Amazing...this is where Jenny's second letter of complaint came to fruition as the staff checking tickets, bags, etc... before entering the arena refused to let me in with my fairly modest digital SLR because they class it as 'professional' (apparently anything with a detachable lens is classed as professional). Therefore not only were we unable to take any pictures of Rihanna's incredible show but by sods law the one time we see celebrities (actually sitting 7 rows behind them) we can't get any pictures of them either! The celebrities in question... Wayne and Coleen Rooney! Although due to the fact we didn't have a camera and was unable to stand by word after exclaiming if I ever met Rooney (after his displays at the World Cup) I would refuse to shake his hand!


On our final day we headed down to the end of the strip and went up the Stratosphere Tower to take in the views of the city. I even managed to drag Jenny on Xscream, a ride that hangs you 800ft high over the edge of the tower, she volunteered us for the front seats, being the dare devil she now is!


This morning we lost our car in the parking lot for a few minutes but after managing to locate it we set off for a complete change of scenery; Zion National Park. The drive through the canyons to get here was incredible, we've never seen landscape like it before. It's so picturesque it is hard to believe it's real (it probably doesn't help we have been staring at themepark theming for the last few weeks). Our hotel is also lovely and the whole area is just very relaxing and inspiring, with views unmatchable by most five star hotels. 


Tomorrow we were supposed to be doing a sky dive but they were unable to book us in for the morning so we will be checking out a few of the hiking trails before setting off for Bryce Canyon in the afternoon. Our sky dive will have to wait for a later date!