Honeymoon Part 1: Vegas, Baby!

I’ve never stayed in a city quite like LV, and it’s absolutely mesmerising to see so many walks of life staying up 24 hours a day to eat, drink and gamble. Crazy! It would be 9am and there would be people walking up the strip with yard-long cocktails already. We got up super early one day for a coach trip to the Grand Canyon – a 5am start and eight-hour round trip was well worth it. It was breath-taking, even just travelling there! We drove over the Hoover Dam, and stopped off at a railway-side buffet for a bite to eat. For about $160 each we were quite surprised at how much this day trip cost – especially as this was one of the cheaper options! But it was definitely worth it. My parents visited Vegas the following year and I said that they HAD to do it – but they went that bit further and paid for a helicopter to take them down actually into the Canyon for a champagne breakfast at sunrise. Gorgeous. 

The Grand Canyon - just your average day in the desert!

We tried as much as Vegas as we could. We saw a show – Rock of Ages – in The Venetian hotel. I’ll admit I’ve seen better stage shows, but for something that is performed twice a day, every day, for months on end, I could see how the actors get a bit bored and fluff their lines a bit! Still, I love the soundtrack, and we had a great time there! We said that the hotel is so beautiful in its own right that if we ever came back then we’d stay there! With its glorious sky-painted ceiling, it literally feels like you’re walking through the streets of Italy. The night we came here was our ‘official’ anniversary – 9 years together! So we treated ourselves to a Gondola ride and dinner in “St Mark’s Square” before the show started. How romantic! 

Rock of Ages- a show that encompasses an amazing 80s rock soundtrack from the likes of Bon Jovi, Journey, Foreigner, Whitesnake etc!

The thing about most of the hotels in Vegas is that they’re room-only – and thank god! The amount of restaurants, cafes and bars we wanted to experience on the strip was insane, and being there for 5 days meant we only got a taster of them. The shopping is ridic, there’s the Fashion Show mall at one end of the strip, and clearance outlets just a short bus-journey away. We opted for the North outlet centre, where the bus route conveniently also passes by the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas!” sign – perfect for a sunset Insta snap! 

It's not a trip to Vegas without an Instagram snap in front of the famous sign!

There is literally SO MUCH to do in Vegas, we barely did any gambling! We checked out the zoo at The Mirage hotel (which housed rare white tigers, lions and you could catch a dolphin show!), saw the fountains at The Bellagio, lounged by the pool at our hotel while the rollercoaster screamed above our heads (which I had to go on by myself, as J is a pussy and won't go on rides! We were all dolled up for a night on the town, too, so I rocked up in heels and a minidress and sat with a bunch of other English lads instead - wahey!), and took a stroll down to Fremont Street, where there's a whole host of shows and street performers for entertainment!

We both said we’d love to go back, but we’d wait a few years before doing so. It’s just so lively – literally a city that never sleeps – and with such a party atmosphere it’s the sort of place you would have to go with a group of friends just to let loose for a weekend! But for a quick city-break start to our honeymoon, it was fabulous.

KEB x