Las Vegas...

Amy describes Las Vegas as a grown up Disneyland!  So much to see and do - but not suitable for kids!  All the action is on one road (The Strip), and we spent much of our time walking in and out of the hotels and lobbies.  It's not ancient architecture, but it is pretty awesome!  Hotels based on some of the worlds most famous sights - Venice, Monte Carlo, New York, Paris, etc, etc!  The famous Ballagio Fountains are brilliant!! Another of our favourites was the Luxor - the hotel in the shape of a pyramid where hotel rooms look out over the inside of the hotel, all the way to the top!  This was also the hotel where we visited The Bodies Exhibition - a museum of real life bodies!  Using dyes & cuts to display the amazing intricacies of the human body - which was both fascinating & also gross! 

We ate out at different hotels, and when monies were running low we headed to McDonalds!  We spent a full day at an out of town discount retail outlet, spending some birthday and Christmas money on new wardrobes.  Clothing is much cheaper than in NZ and much more varied!  The little we did use on the Black Jack tables was money spent on entertainment - as we spent more than we came away with. There were plenty of shows we could have gone to, if we wanted to pay premium prices!  There was also the sleazy side of Vegas, but if you're wise - it's a fun place!

On our final day we headed to another of the wonders of the world, The Grand Canyon! We treated ourselves to a helicopter ride (saving hours on a coach) and for both of us a New experience!  We chose a large company as we presumed they'd have the most experienced pilots - but we ended up with early 20 something Kate!  She actually turned out to an awesome pilot and the views were pretty awesome!  It's hard to actually see the Canyon in all its context, but we flew down into one area, took some photos, had a picnic, then flew back!  Pretty special.