Las Vegas - Nevada

My most recent visit to Las Vegas was in June last year. This was my 3rd visit and I was getting married in Vegas!!!! Myself and my hubby love Vegas, after our previous visit in 2001, we always said we would come back and if we were ever going to get married, we would do it here. We did as we had promised in June last year (2007) at the Graceland Wedding Chapel. We did loads of research before deciding on Graceland as the little white chapel where all the celebs get married has a great reputation but they are all divorced!!!! (Noel Gallagher and Meg Matthews, Joan Collins - not sure which hubby!!, Demi and Bruce, Chris Evans and Billy...need I go on!!!!)


Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Ray Cyrus got married at the Graceland. As neither of of us are religious, we opted for a civil ceremony rather than a religious one. The Graceland were really helpful and we booked the wedding package on the Internet from home 5 months in advance. They arranged everything for us from flowers to limo to and from our Hotel. We chose an Elvis themed wedding as we wanted it to be fun, and it was!!!! Our wedding package cost $299 or approx £150 and included a video, photographs and certificate holder. Our Elvis (Brendan) was actually invited to compete in a TV programme for ITV called World's Greatest Elvis last year. He didn't win but the host Vernon Kay travelled the world to try and find the best Elvis Impersonators to compete.





We flew to Las Vegas with Delta via Atlanta, there are direct flights with British Midland, but they were a lot more expensive. We found the cheapest fares by booking direct on the airline's own website. We had booked into the Excalibur Hotel, as we had stayed there before and managed to get a good deal booking on their website. We booked a deluxe room with a strip view and plasma television. We had to go to the Court House in Las Vegas to get our wedding licence as you will be unable to get married without this.





People say Vegas is tacky and brash and it is!!! But it is still a fab place and as well as gambling there is so much to do!!!. Most of the hotels on the strip are themed with casinos (obviously!!!!) and have loads to do in them. In the MGM Grand which is across the road from the Excalibur, has a Lion Habitat and theme park at the back.




The Bellagio has the dancing fountains day and night. The Paris has the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe, and Treasure Island has the Pirate show every evening, but we never got to see it last year as it was always too windy!!!!





Each and every hotel on the strip has a huge casino, where you can gamble 24 hours a day and you will not find any windows or clocks in the actual casinos. Each casino has offers to get you in gambling on the machines, roulette tables, poker tables and all the other games they have. They offer show tickets, cash back or free accommodation for the high rollers!!!. You receive free drinks (alcoholic and non alcoholic) while you are gambling.





You can wander in and out of the Hotels even if you are not staying there. All the hotels have loads of shops that will take you hours to get round. Caesers Palace has the The Forum shops which has everything from Gap to Jimmy Choo, The Venetian which has Gucci, Dior and many more. There is the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood that have lots high street stores like Bebe, Foot Locker, French Connection and lots more including jewellers, health and Beauty and accessories. If you are more of a designer king or queen and money is no option, you may prefer to shop at either the Bellagio or The Wynn Las Vegas. The shops are all designer and include Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Tiffany, Oscar de la Renta and many more.






The Wynn is said to be Las Vegas most luxurious Hotel as well as the Casino, there is golf, shows and fine dining. If you fancy a change away fro the strip, there is an outlet Mall about 10 minute taxi ride from Las Vegas which has all discount designer shops such as Tommy Hilfiger, Levis and Ralph Lauren among others. You will never be bored in Vegas, there is plenty of entertainment going on in all the Hotels. There are free cabaret shows in most hotels an then you have the Headline shows such as Celine Dion at Caesars, Phantom of The Opera at the Venetian and Spamalot at the Wynn. Prince was playing when we there but we could not get tickets. We booked to see Penn and Teller at the Rio Hotel. My husband is a fan, and they were very good. They are eccentric magicians who are certainly different!!!!





You will never run out of places to eat in Las Vegas. Most of the Hotels have all you can eat buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You will pay an entrance fee and just eat until you can't eat any more!!!!. I recommend the buffet at MGM and Excalibur as they are delicious!!!. You cannot beat the Irish or English breakfast at Nine Famous Irishman Irish Bar at New York New York Hotel. We also love the food at the Rainforest Cafe at MGM and the Harley Davidson Cafe on the strip. There are just too many restaurants to mention, but there is every kind of restauant you can imagine. Las Vegas is said to be an adults playground and it is because you can lose you inhibitions and go mad, but although you cannot take kids into the Casino, there are things for the kids to do.





I mentioned before that we had booked into the Excalibur Hotel which is more of a family hotel that looks like a castle. There is Spongebob Square Pants 4D ride and there is a floor with stalls and games for kids to play on. There is Circus Circus which is another family hotel that has an AdventureDome with lots of rides for all ages and stalls and games. If you are a real thrill seeker, you must go to the Stratosphere, which is the tallest observation Tower in the USA at 1,149 feet tall. At the top of the Stratosphere, the view is amazing of the strip, but if you are brave enough you can ride the Bigshot which shoots passengers 160 feet at 45 miles an hour, or ride X Scream which propels you over the edge of the tower 866 feet above the ground. There is also Insanity The Ride, this is a mechanical arm which extends 64 feet over the edge of the tower and spins you. Or you can just be a big wuss like me and just enjoy view on a solid floor!!! They like their Roller Coasters in Vegas, and their are a few such as the New York New York and the Sahara.


We visited the Auto Collections Car museum at the Imperial Palace Hotel on the strip which is worth a visit, and if you are feeling flash after a big win in the Casino, you could drive off with one, as they do sell some!!!!!!. If you are in Vegas at the right time, you could go and watch boxing as all the big fights are here. The matches tend to be on at MGM or Mandalay Bay. Back in 2001 when we were in Vegas in November Lennox Lewis was boxing Hasim Rahman at Mandalay Bay. We couldn't get tickets, but we went to a bar and watched it. During the day before the boxing match, we went to the Mandalay Bay to the Shark Reef Aquarium, and we bumped into Hasim Rahman, so my hubby had his picture taken with him. They had set up 2 mini boxing rings in the reception area and had the boxing belts on show in a case.


The week after we were in Vegas last year, Ricky Hatton was boxing Floyd Mayweather. We would love to have been there when he was boxing, but could not get accommodation. You can book Helicopter Strip Tours day and night and Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon Tours. I have been to the Grand Canyon twice and booked both times with Scenic Airlines. We booked a day trip both time, although you can book a tour with an overnight stop. Scenic were very good both times we booked with them. You depart from a small airport 15 minutes away from the strip and after the flight, you are escorted on an air conditioned bus to Grand Canyon National Park.

The flight leaves around 6.30am so you are there for about 9.00am until mid afternoon when it gets too hot. The Grand Canyon is just amazing and so peaceful and quiet. Even though there are lots of people around it feels like you are the only person there. There are different tours you can take at the Grand Canyon including riding a mule in the canyon!!! and helicopter tours. The Grand Canyon now has a Horseshoe Glass Viewing Platform which is suspended 4000 feet above the Colorado River on the edge of the Canyon. This opened in 2005, so was not there when we visited the Canyon, however I am not sure I would be brave enough to venture on to it!!!!!.

Most people visit Vegas when holidaying in California or touring around and it is a fabulous place to go. Now is probably one of the best times as the pound is so strong in America at the moment. There is something for everybody to do young or old and I can't wait until my next visit.