CamSur

▼

Saturday, February 14, 2015

The Fabulous Las Vegas Strip: Enchanting Evenings at the Strip (Spectacular Las Vegas Series 4)

The Fabulous Las Vegas Strip 
Enchanting Evenings at the Strip 
(Spectacular Las Vegas Series 4) 


 After dining at Rio’s Carnival World Buffet, we took
the free hotel shuttle to Harrah’s Hotel and Casino,
located right were the action is- the Las Vegas Strip.

 

We walked our way inside  Harrah’s Hotel Casino
on our way to the strip and got to meet the hotel’s
flamboyant and gaudy  high  roller couple (in front
of their  iconic statues) who gamely posed with us.



We then stopped the admire the dynamic display of
colorful neon lights at the Harrah’s Hotel façade,


…crossed the street,


 ...and took photos in between.


We also posed for some photos
at  the beautiful Ceasar’s Palace,

 

…and of the surrounding
nearby hotels on the strip.


We walked our way to Mirage Hotel
hoping to see the volcano eruption,


…but the temperature dropped to 1 degree centigrade and my wife started 
complaining that it was getting  too cold. My son was  tired and wanted 
to sleep. So we walked our way to the nearby Treasure Island Hotel,


…took a taxi back to Tropicana Hotel
so the little boy and my wife could rest.


Me and my teen daughter decided
to return and explore the strip,


…and walked our way from Tropicana,
to the nearby MGM Resort and Casino,


…where we decided to window shop
on the numerous stores in the vicinity.


We walked leisurely on the strip,


…taking photos in between.




I got nostalgic when I saw the Polo Towers, as I
stayed  there during my very first visit in Las Vegas
in the  mid 90’s with some of my high school friends.


Gone was the Aladdin Hotel nearby which
was imploded few years ago and replaced by
Planet Hollywood Resort Hotel and Casino.

 ^^^Cropped from Source

We crossed to the other side of the road to
get a better view of Paris Hotel and Casino,


…and walked towards Belaggio to watch
the breathtaking dancing fountain show.


We walked back to Tropicana Hotel, feeling
very tired and weary and had a goodnight sleep.


We all woke up late the next day and took
a taxi to Bavarian Restaurant for brunch.


Luckily, we had a Filipino taxi driver,
who graciously took us for a taxi tour
on the strip on our way to the restaurant.


After dining at the Bavarian Restaurant,


.... we took a taxi to the Venetian Hotel and Resort,


Where we decided to stroll around,



…to enjoy the sights and sounds
of this fabulous  Italian themed hotel.



We took a ride on the gondola where we were serenaded
 with romantic classic Italian songs by the gondolier.




We later watched the volcanic eruption at
the Mirage on the other side of the road,
 while there was a marathon going on.


After watching the Mirage volcano eruption,
we walked our way leisurely to the Linque,


…and tried the High Roller Ferris Wheel.


At five hundred fifty feet, it is apparently
the world’s highest observation wheel,


…that gave us a breathtaking
view of the Las Vegas Strip,


…and of the neighboring suburbs.


After our High Roller Experience,
we took the monorail to MGM,


…and walked our way back to Tropicana.


We ordered our dinner on 
room service before retiring to bed.



We resumed our strip tour on our the penultimate
day in Las Vegas as we traveled to Arizona
a day before for a Grand Canyon tour.


We walked our way to Excalibur Hotel which
 was located just in front of Tropicana Hotel,


…and took a tram to Mandalay Bay,



…to see the Shark Reef Aquarium.


We had our lunch at the
Mandalay Bay food court,



…and explored the resort  to admire
the beautiful new  hotel.


I cannot help but get nostalgic as this is
exactly  the  same site where the former
Hacienda Resort and Casino was located,


… and it was where I stayed on my second visit here
in Vegas in the late ‘90’s shortly before I got married.


We later took the tram again to Luxur,



…where we bought tickets for the Bodies Exhibiton,
and the Titanic Artifact Exhibition.



No photo taking was allowed on both exhibits, but that was okay 
as the Luxur Hotel was very beautiful as it was photogenic,



...inside,



...and out.




It was already late in the afternoon when we returned
to Tropicana to rest for a while as we booked an evening
Las Vegas Strip Tour, that would start at seven PM.


We returned to Excalibur early in the evening
for the tour pick up and it was very chilly as the
temperature dropped  to one degree centigrade.


Thankfully, there was a Starbucks nearby
so we kept warm by sipping piping hot coffee,



…until we were picked up by the tour bus.


A visit to Las Vegas is never complete without
an evening tour at  the  glittering strip,


…where is would take tourists from one end of the
strip near the iconic ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign,


…and on the massive and resort hotels and casino that
also doubles as entrainment centers and theme parks.


It would take tourists to different parts of the
world without stepping out of the tour bus.


From the Oriental Mandalay,


…to the  Pyramids of Egypt,


…to the Medieval Era,


…to New York,


….Rome,


…Venice


...Paris 



…and Monte Carlo,
just to name a few.


The tour would end at the old,
historic Las Vegas Downtown-


…for the wonderful Freemont Street Experience 
with a would be featuring on a separate blog.


The Las Vegas Strip is Nevada’s most popular man made
attraction and is visited by millions of tourists every year.


The glittering nightlife amidst the ostentatious display of extravagance 
from gluttony, booze, sex trade, gambling and even  instant marriages,


...where something considered immoral in a normal society
 becomes  moral, and the illegal becomes legal,




… and what is wrong could even be right. 




By making something impossible a possibility,
fun and excitement  has never been the same. 



There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.


This is Las Vegas.

Read my other blogs on
Spectacular Las Vegas Series

Anaheim to Las Vegas Road Trip 
Brightly Shimmering Splendor at 550 Feet
(Spectacular Las Vegas Series 6) 

Las Vegas to Arizona Road Trip
Exhilarating Nature Trip
(Spectacular Las Vegas Series 7) 

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead
Breathtaking Man Made Wonder
(Spectacular Las Vegas Series 8) 

Majestic Grand Canyon
Nature’s Grand Design
(Fabulous Las VegasSeries 9) 

Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium
An Underwater Experience in the Desert
(Spectacular Las Vegas Series 10) 

Freemont Street Experience
Modern reinvention of Old Las Vegas Downtown
(Spectacular Las Vegas Series 11) 

Dazzling Las Vegas, Nevada 
America’s Flamboyant Urban Paradise
(Spectacular Las Vegas Series 12)


at

No comments:

Post a Comment