Saturday 16 July 2016
We
woke early (effect of jet lag no doubt) and went down to a snack bar in the
hotel for breakfast then went to the Concierge to book a trip to the Hoover Dam
for the afternoon. We decided to take a
walk along “The Strip” to look for a sports shop, as Julia did not have a trek
towel for the rafting trip (I had bought one for her in Mountain Warehouse, but
they needed two). The heat was amazing;
it was 08:30 and already 45o!
We passed a female street sweeper, she was at least 14 or 15 stone,
dressed in a tiny bikini and she had just climbed out of one of the fountains
to cool down (or to take a shower?)
All
the hotels along The Strip have a theme, all trying to stand out above the
others. Caesar’s Palace like a Roman
Villa; The Paris with a mini Eiffel Tower; The Venetian with canals, bridges
and gondolas; ours, The Bellagio, with its huge lake filled with dancing
fountains illuminated at night; The Treasure Island has a pirate ship on a
lake; The Mirage has a volcano with lava waterfalls ….. it goes on. I found it all very brash and crude. “The Sexiest Show”, the biggest, the best,
lots of flesh……
We
spotted a booth selling day excursions and stopped to check out trips to Bryce
Canyon, Death Valley etc and ended up with me spending over £1,000 on 3
excursions including a helicopter trip over Grand Canyon, Death Valley, the Sky
Walk and Bryce and Zion National Parks.
We
found the sports shop in “The Fashion Mall” but could not find the trek
towels….. it took us ages to get the staff to understand what we were talking
about! They call them camp towels and
theirs are about the size and shape of a tea towel. Fortunately, I had taken an extra one with me,
so I lent Julia one of mine (as well as the one I had bought for them in UK)
The
afternoon trip to the Hoover Dam was fascinating and informative. We went in a pink Jeep, which was
amusing. We were taken down inside the
dam to see the huge turbines and told that they generate as much electricity as
3 nuclear power stations. We also stood
on top of the dam and looked over the side – it is a long way down!!! After the trip we went straight out to eat as
we were all very tired from jet lag and wanted to get to bed! We went into the Golden Mile shopping centre
to an Italian-themed restaurant under a huge plastic dome which made it look as
if you were eating outside (the sky superimposed on the inside of the dome). We
had pizza and inedible chips plus a glass of wine/beer and it was $39 each!!
Everything in Vegas is very expensive.
We called in at a small supermarket within the shopping centre on the
way back to The Bellagio and bought a bottle of wine which we just managed to
stay awake long enough to drink – but we were all asleep by 8.30pm!!
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