Well, I just returned from a wonderful trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Many awe inspiring sites were seen in the Grand Canyon and many kookie visions were viewed in Vegas.
In Vegas, there is a pretty neat museum where the retired neon signs go to live after they have finished their duties lighting up the strip. We visited the Neon Museum (known as the "Boneyard") and here's some fun shots from the tour:
I'd love to share some quick hints about Las Vegas, so here's a list of my top eight Las Vegas tips and tricks (from what I learned during my stay):
8. Don't go to the Neon Museum tour at 2:00 pm (far too hot). Book a tour at noon and bring an umbrella to hide under.
7. You can smoke and drink almost anywhere. This is a challenge for non-smokers and you soon get sick of the smell. The MGM Grand is the WORST! - they pipe some kind of floral smell into the casino to cover up the smell, but that's just even more nasty. Planet Hollywood's casino seems quite well ventilated and smells the least offensive.
6. The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace are totally awesome. All of your basic mall stores seem to be there, plus rare and pleasant surprises like Shanghai Tang (nicest smelling room spray and perfume I've ever smelled and cool bags and clothing too). A Calvin Klein store made for a very happy shopping girl.
5. The Las Vegas Premium Outlets are another great place to shop with my favourite stop being Cole Haan. The best time to go is after dark when it is cooler outside and fewer fellow shoppers.
4. DO NOT order the all you can eat sushi at Paris Hotel's sushi restaurant "Ah-Sin". Totally disgusting pre-made sushi that they nicely did not charge us for (after one bite we were flaming mad and flagging down the waiter). But that bad experience lead us to stumble upon the best dinner EVER...
3. ...Todd English's Olives at Bellagio. Here we had the BEST dinner of the trip. We had the pan seared halibut and the pan seared scallops with a chocolate yogurt tart for dessert. Absolutely wonderful food.
2. Stay at the Signature at MGM. A five star hotel that is the only non smoking hotel in Vegas. It was beautiful and we almost didn't want to leave our room. We stayed on the 36th floor with a view of the strip. The room had a kitchen, spa tub, tv in the bathroom, balcony, the works. It is a bit of a walk from the strip, but it is linked to the MGM Grand by walkways, so you don't feel too isolated from the action.
1. Take the trip to the Grand Canyon. It is only 4ish hours and is more wonderful and breathtaking and fun than anything you will see in Las Vegas. There is a cute little town called Tusayan that is one mile away from the south rim entrance to the canyon and we stayed there. Most of the hotels are pretty crappy; we stayed at the Canyon Plaza Resort and I found it charming.
The trip was great. I am well rested and looking forward to getting back to blogging, sewing, etc. I hope to open an Etsy shop in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that... ♥
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