LA to the Bay: Las Vegas
I never really had a desire to go to Vegas, until I visited with our LA to the Bay Contiki trip.
Then I caught the Vegas bug and wanted to go back.
I always assumed Vegas is only for people who love to gamble or party. Now I know that Vegas has all sorts of things to entertain all sorts of people. It was so much fun!
The evening we arrived in Vegas, our whole group went for dinner at Hofbrauhaus. I had Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), which honestly hit the spot so good. But, on brand for Contiki, we had to rush off to our next activity after dinner: a visit to a classic Vegas wedding chapel.
Cheesy noodles and a wedding chapel (August 2023)
Our Contiki tour manager had arranged a visit to this chapel, and then we watched two of our groupmates get fake Vegas married by an Elvis impersonator – which was so funny!
Then again, because there is so much to do and so little time, we got back on the bus and were taken to Fremont Street in Old Vegas for a super cool light show.
We had some time to wander and take in all the lights and sounds of Old Vegas, and then it was back on the bus to the hotel.
Overwhelmed by lights and sounds on Fremont Street (August 2023)
Sophie and I had been excited about our free day in Las Vegas since we had booked this trip together.
We work well together as travel buddies because we have similar ideas of what’s fun, and we’re both pretty easygoing. So we’re both open to do what the other really wants to do, because we know it won’t be anything too crazy.
So we had booked this Contiki, and then almost immediately booked dinner at Hell’s Kitchen, and then got two tickets to the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show LOVE.
A refreshing drink at the Tipsy Robot (August 2023)
Our free day in Vegas began by stopping at the Tipsy Robot so I could grab a drink, because it’s always 5:00 somewhere, and you can drink outside in Vegas. Also, it’s super hot there, and it was honestly just nice to have a cold drink in my hands.
So I ordered a Star Wars-themed drink and then watched the robot make my drink. Then we headed out into the Vegas heat.
Vegas views (August 2023)
We walked across the way to the Bellagio to see their Botanical Garden display, which was so beautiful! The hotel changes their Botanical Garden’s theme every few months.
It was my first indication that absolutely nothing in Vegas is done half-heartedly. Everything is extravagant. Everything is over the top. And everything is amazing.
Sophie told me we had to visit the flamingo habitat at the Flamingo. Which I didn’t know was a thing, but we obviously had to visit.
Bellagio Botanical Garden and Flamingos at the Flamingo (August 2023)
Then we took a long walk up to the Venetian. Everything in Vegas looks a lot closer than it really is. What Google Maps says is a 10 minute walk across the street, add another 20 minutes.
So after a longer talk than expected, we reached the gorgeous hotel. As soon as you walk inside, it looks like you’re outside in Italy. Again, everything is extravagant.
Inside the Venetian hotel (August 2023)
One thing I really wanted to do here was grab a fancy milkshake at Black Tap.
So we headed to the restaurant, got a table outside and ordered our insanely extravagant Cinnamon Toast milkshakes.
Milkshakes at Black Tap (August 2023)
But for me, the unquestioned highlight of this Las Vegas trip was getting to eat in the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant.
I’m going to write a whole other post just about this experience, for my fellow foodies.
All you need to know is that this was the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life, and I need to go back and eat this beef wellington again before I die.
Dinner at Hell’s Kitchen (August 2023)
What was supposed to be a fun night at Cirque du Soleil ended up being quite a big flop.
I’ve never seen a Cirque show, and I love the Beatles, so I was super excited to see LOVE.
Unfortunately, about 20 minutes into the show, a bell began to go off and all of the performers left the stage. They indicated that there were technical difficulties and the show would be paused until the issue was fixed. I was glad they were prioritizing their performers’ safety.
About 20 minutes later, the show was good to continue. It went on for another 15 minutes, and then the bell sounded again. Everyone left the stage.
We waited for quite a long time this time, maybe 40 minutes before getting irritated.
We’d been waiting for the show longer than we’d seen any of the show. So we left. Half the audience had given up and left before we did.
So, that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth for Cirque shows.
But we got back to the hotel and prepared ourselves for a long driving day the next day.
