The Vegas Round Up

So I've now been back home a week after the holiday of a lifetime to Las Vegas with Mr P, and frankly I'm not happy about it. Las Vegas was everything I had hoped it would be and more I LOVED it, didn't want to come home at all and could quite happily have stayed there for weeks more. But seeing as I'm back here is my pocket sized guide to all the awesomeness that we experienced in my Top 5 from Vegas

1. Freeeeeee stuff
There is so much to see and do that is totally free in Vegas it blew my mind, from seeing the lions at MGM, to the moving statues at Caesars to the Mirage's Volcano and the pirate ship show at Treasure Island it is so easy to spend days just wandering up the strip dumbstruck by everything. My favourites were the Bellagio fountains (well we were staying there and they were amazing) and just looking at the New York New York skyline

2. Cocktails
Now I love a good cocktail (favourite is the classic Woo Woo, with vodka, preach schnapps and cranberry juice lush) and in Vegas they were on form, mainly due to the fact that I only needed 2 to be flying - strong is not the word for the measures but tasty they are. The best ones I had were in Treasure islands Oriental Bar and at the Venetian in the Venice bar, both were amazing and knocked me off my feet hehe

3. Helicopters
The lovely Mr P has a slight obsession for helicopters, he does get very giddy when he sees one while we are driving so I'd been thinking for some time that for his birthday this year I'd get his a helicopter flying lesson. However our Vegas trip coincided with his birthday so instead I booked us on a Maverick Helicopters trip from Vegas, out over Hoover Dam (and bridge!!) to the Grand Canyon north rim and then a long flight down the strip. Originally planned for a sunrise flight the stormy weather meant our flight was cancelled and we flew out on one at 12 instead. Now I'm not the greatest flyer, I get very nervous on take off and landing and turbulence freaks me right out so I was pretty worried that I'd be a proper girl and freak out in the helicopter. I could not have been more wrong flying in a helicopter is the most awesome thing ever. Being able to see so much all around you as you fly over such amazing scenery was just fabulous and one of the best experiences of the holiday by far!! I highly recommend everyone tries it

4. Shopping
Now as much as Mr P finds it very hard to understand the shopping was fantastic too. Being able to walk through the hotel lobby at the Bellagio past Prada, Dior, Tiffany etc was just fantastic. Window shopping only I'm afraid but it was fantastic to feel like you belong in the high roller world where spending $1,000 on a pair of shoes is a common occurrence. Should I have won big (which sadly I didn't) that would have been my first port of call - especially as they stay open until Midnight!! I did however indulge in a new bag, which I saved for before the trip and saved $$$$ compared to purchasing in the UK and despite Mr P's shock at the price is only about 25% of the cost of his new bass that he had recently and I can use my bag everyday!! The most gorgeous memento of the trip however is my new Tiffany necklace which in Pretty Woman style Mr P asked while I was trying on "Shall I buy that for your birthday" and whipped out his credit card. I do love that man!!!

5. Casinos...
Now you can't go all the way to Vegas and not talk about the casinos. They are so vast with so many tables, machines and games it is mind blowing and no matter what time of day you are there it is always busy. The machines are full of ladies of a certain age who just keep hitting buttons, the poker machines have aged, haggard old men who look like they have been there since before the hotel installed the machines and the high stakes rooms are full of the glamorous people who know how to play (unlike me) and play big. The most confusing game has to be Craps though, extremely popular and the only gambling game where it seems acceptable to scream and holler when winning despite reading the gaming rules and instructions remains an elusive enigma to me - I get that you throw dice and need to roll certain numbers but as to where you place the bets or how exactly you win anything confused to hell. Fun to watch though!!

So there are my top 5 - which to be fair does include much more than that and there is so much I've missed out if you get the chance to go - take it! And stay at the Bellagio its fantastic!! x

Disappearing time....

I don't know how this has happened but it is only 1 more week until the lovely Mr P and I depart for our Autumn sojourn to the bright lights and glamour of Vegas. Understandable I am tres excited, I have only visited the USA once before an amazing and frantic 4 day trip to New York but never with a young man have I travelled so far.

So a quick travel guide to remind Mr P just what he has let himself in for on this trip away:

1. Packing Lists - I love lists, like proper LOVE them. I love writing them in my Filofax, on post it notes, in spreadsheets and a holiday means lists extraordinare - what to pack, what to take as hand luggage, what to wear, what not to forget, what to buy....the joy of creating all these micro organisational elements of the holiday become a huge part of the fun for me (tragic but true)
2. Passport Panic - I am a frantic passport/ticket checker, multiple checks an hour just in the rare chance that instead of putting the tickets back in my handbag I tossed them out of the window while we were driving up the motorway - how else to explain why I will check the tickets even while still in the car having checked them already upon getting in and securing the door. Truly bizarre and probably a tad annoying to any normal person but seems perfectly sensible to me
3. Airport Shopping - I love shopping at the best of times and airports have all the loveliest things all tucked away together ripe for the picking - at discounted prices. I could easily spend my holiday money in the departures hall so that I'm shopped out before even getting on the plane
4. Freaking Out On Planes - I'm a bit of a scardy cat when it comes to planes. I really can't understand how these big things stay in the air, or take off, or land? And when I start to think about it as invariably you do when strapped into one I start to freak out. It's the loss of control I think - no lists for me to create for the staff and pilots without fear of being thrown out the plane at high altitude
5. The Itinerary - Back to the lists I have a mehusive list of things that I really want to see and do - from watching a show (Cirque du Soleil??) to riding the Stratosphere to seeing the Venetian gondolas and walking the length of the strip - I want to see and experience as much as possible - I mean I bought new trainers for the occassion and everything!!

As you can see despite all of these things that Mr P witnessed on our first holiday to Egypt together it is surprising that he has signed up for a long haul mission to the states with the travelling companion from hell. Spontaneity and fun I don't think so. Tightly scheduled lists of activities oooh yes please. And there is still the iPad question...a perfect travel companion do we think, is this the time to bite the bullet and finally purchase my new toy?

So will Mr P survive the holiday travel planning in one piece? Will I? Watch this space....