Viva Las Vegas

USA – May 2014

The world capital of gambling and bachelor parties marks the end of the last family vacation the five of us spend together. Our 3-week road trip through California and Nevada is slowly coming to an end. Our first stop on the 6 hour drive from San Diego to Las Vegas is Walmart. I convince my mom to buy a gallon of Arizona Ice Tea along with a couple of other “healthy” snacks. Ready for a day in the desert, we leave the suburbs of LA behind us and follow route 15 to the Death Valley. 

About halfway into the drive we see a cowboy-style sign pointing off the highway to “Calico Ghost Town”. In need of a break (and a bathroom) we follow the arrow and end up in a small village which could easily serve as a location for a wild west movie shooting. We stroll around the abandoned coal mine town for a little while and then continue our journey to Nevada. Shortly before we reach our final destination, us kids demand to stop at an outlet mall. With another set of carrier bags from the common fast fashion shops we return to the rental car. After driving on the highway for a few minutes, suddenly buildings start to appear and then we see it clearly in front of us. The blinking skyline of Las Vegas.

Even though the Strip is lined with hotels, it’s super easy to tell them apart, as each one is crazier than the other. We’re staying at the Luxor Hotel – the pyramid with 2 giant Sphinx statues at the entrance. We check in and receive the key cards to our rooms on floor 50-something. The receptionist shows us the way to the elevator and explains that us kids are not allowed to leave the red carpet in the gambling area. We do as he says and wait for the elevator to arrive. When we get on, everything seems to be normal. But then, instead of taking us straight up, it moves in an angular motion and we realize that we’re going up the corner of the pyramid. That evening we spend walking up and down the Strip, watch the famous fountain show in front of the Bellagio and have dinner at the Rainforest Café.

The following day we head back out into the desert and visit Red Rock Canyon 30 minutes driving outside the city. I’ve never seen a comparable landscape before and it kind of feels like we’re on a different planet. What’s taking me back to planet earth and the US is that you basically don’t leave your car for the whole visit to this national park. You simply drive from viewpoint to viewpoint, take a couple pictures and drive on. Once we complete the Scenic Loop Drive, we return to Las Vegas, where we visit another outlet mall (one could think that we had to run around naked because we didn’t own any clothing before this trip to the US).

That night we head to the New York-New York Hotel which resembles a miniature skyline of the city with the same name. My brother and I are in awe of the roller coaster which runs around and through(!) the building and do everything we can to get our parents to let us take it. Unable to go to sleep while every inch of the city is lit up, we continue to walk up the Strip watching the people around us and guessing what their night will bring.

The next day is our last in Las Vegas and also marks the end of our holidays. However, our flight to Washington D.C. doesn’t leave until 3am. So we decide to tick a few things off our bucket list: Eat Pizza for breakfast, take a picture at the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas”-sing, visit all(!) of the hotels along the Strip. The first two are relatively easy so that the third takes up the biggest part of the day. We start our tour by taking the little monorail connecting the Luxor Hotel to the Mandalay Bay. After walking around the rather deserted hotel (it seems like most of LV’s visitors are still asleep at 10am) we return to the monorail and drive to the Excalibur Hotel. It’s here that we notice for the first time that every single hotel and casino in Las Vegas has its own unique scent. Or how my brother puts it: “Mom, why does it smell like grandma’s apartment in here?”

Next up are the New York-New York (of course including another roller coaster ride) and the Bellagio Hotel. Afterwards we head to the Caesars Palace and the Treasure Island. By now our noses are immune to the smell of perfume and smoke which every new hotel comes with, and we are glad that we can cross the street and slowly return to our own hotel. We take a break from walking at The Venetian and sit down by the artificial canal with a gelato. Then we head to the Flamingo Hotel and the Paris Las Vegas and go for dinner at the Hard Rock Café. On our way back to the Luxor Hotel we take a last glance at the beam of light shooting out the top of the pyramid and think to ourselves how crazy but faboulous this city is.