Monday 3/9/2015.
We woke at 6:20 a.m. as our bus was picking us up at 7:55 a.m. for our Grand Canyon excursion. There are very few things we’d get up that early for, so this had better be worth it. People were already on the slot machines as we shuffled through the casino. Either they were so dedicated to gambling they rose at dawn, or they hadn’t been to bed. Both options were concerning, but it is Vegas. Time works differently here.
The bus driver got really annoyed when her passengers from the Luxor were late. She seemed really beaten up by life and almost killed us several times on the way with her questionable driving. It was like she wanted to end it all and take us with her. Dying in a bus accident on our first day in Vegas wasn’t how we wanted this trip to end, even if we did have repatriation on our travel insurance.
Grand Canyon bound!
The greeter at the heliport not only knew where Wales was, but had just come back from visiting Swansea and Cardiff! While this seems an odd thing to be excited about, let us educate you. A lot of people outside the UK think that Wales is an area in England. They don’t realise Wales is a separate country with its own history and language. It was conquered by England, like a large portion of the world was.
We made our way out to the waiting red helicopter, ready for our flight into the Grand Canyon. We were sharing it with three French guys. The helicopter ride was both terrifying and exhilarating! It’s our first time of being in a helicopter so we could pretend we were in Airwolf, flying to save the day. We flew over the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River. Lynx only felt sick once on the way, but Cat pocketed a sick bag just in case. The views were stunning and it’s so weird seeing such straight roads. It’s like they’re trying to defy nature.
Air wolves
We landed in the Grand Canyon with three or four other helicopters. We managed to wander far from everyone else so they wouldn’t ruin our peace and our photos. The others mostly stayed around the picnic shelters to hide from the blazing sun. But we didn’t come all this way to hide in a shelter, admiring the view from afar. If we died of heatstroke sprawled on a cactus, well that would just be what nature intended. Plus we had repatriation.
The Canyon was incredible. And definitely worth the ungodly early start. It’s surreal standing in a place that is so famous, and one that you never thought you’d actually see in real life. The idea of going to the Grand Canyon was so overwhelming that it never made it to our travel list. Photos don’t do the scale of the canyon justice. We got excited at seeing a raven because it had been several hours since we’d seen an animal. There were also big cacti, which was thrilling. The only cacti we see live on our windowsill in pots.
Snack time
They summoned us to the picnic shelters. Everyone had a small picnic basket which included a small tub of Pringles, a chocolate chip cookie and apple slices, so we could actually eat something (we gave the cookies to Neen). We even drank some water. Travel is all about new experiences. The half hour went way too quickly. While this brief excursion cost us about £200 each, this might be the only time in our lives we visit Vegas and the Grand Canyon, so we wanted amazing experiences. Money can be replenished. Opportunities can’t be.
Back in Vegas
After a quick stop at our hotel, we decided to go to Fremont Street, which is old Vegas. As we headed to the bus stop, we saw street performers dressed up. One was a Transformer, one was a robot, and there was another one. The robot insisted on high fiving the three of us. The three of them asked for a photo, but we declined because you have to pay them. $5 is a lot for a photo of people in costume. We’d rather save our money for unique souvenirs. One said he’d even waive his tip for a photo. Normally it’s tourists wanting photos with the performers, not the other way around. We declined. Places to be, and all that.
We got a 2 hour bus ticket and headed for Fremont Street, though ended up taking pit stops on route. The bus stopped at the Venetian so we disembarked to have a look inside. It resembles St Mark Square in Venice, complete with a canal that runs through the hotel to the outside. A gondola ride is a unique experience that cannot be turned down. And who knows if we’d ever make it to Venice to do the real thing? Fremont Street could wait.
Gondola girls
They gave us a choice of the gondola ride being inside or outside. We weren’t expecting a choice, so it took us a while to decide. We chose inside. While we were waiting, a Russian tourist asked if he could take a photo of us. This wasn’t going to cost anything, so we agreed. This happens to us a lot, especially with Russian tourists. We have no idea why. Our gondolier, Caj, was brilliant. He was hilarious and sang the Cornetto song on request, both the proper version (a Neapolitan song called O Sole Mio which was composed in 1898) and the Cornetto one. He got an enthusiastic round of applause for that. Caj then sang Mambo Italian while we danced and he kept blowing us kisses as we left. Is that how they operate in the real Venice? We doubted it.
We got back on the bus then stopped at the Mob Museum. Sorry, Fremont Street, but Vegas was run by the Mob, we should learn their history. The museum is in the old courthouse and has the actual wall from the St Valentine’s Day Massacre, complete with the bullet holes. We had a photo with it.
The museum contains an original courtroom that is restored to its 1950’s appearance. We had a go at a replica Tommy gun then found an electric chair which moved. We took turns being the officer and the condemned, pretending to fry each other in the chair. Tourists thought we were actors employed by the museum and applauded our efforts. No, just tourists messing around. There was a training video where you could fire a bulletless revolver, so we kept the shooting the suspects in the arse as they ran away. We had a tourist photo taken in a police line-up, like proper criminals. We’re the most stylish criminals ever photographed. The photographer loved our accents. Neen nearly pissed herself laughing as we explained how the Cardiff accent isn’t that popular back home.
Fremont Street
We finally made it to Fremont Street and joined it in the middle. We walked down the end to find the vegan place in Container Park, which is a fenced off area with large shipping containers. A man stopped us on route to say how much we looked like Fairuza Balk from The Craft. Why thank you, kind sir!
The vegan place only served healthy food, so we wandered back to Fremont Street, taking a different route and stumbled across another vegan place, Vegenation. The server loved our hair so sat us near the window to attract customers. It was like being celebrities but without the high wage and scandals. They served large potato wedges sprinkled with paprika, and they had vanilla and chocolate ice cream. We tried their juicy vodka, which had carrot juice, apple juice and some other stuff. Neen liked it, but we didn’t, so she had to drink ours. You often have to make sacrifices in friendships. This was hers. The ice cream was delicious.
Original Las Vegas
By the time we walked back through Fremont Street, it was dark, so was all lit up with neon signs. This is what we thought the Strip would look like. There were street performers everywhere. Fremont Street was busy, noisy and a bit overwhelming so we didn’t stay long, but it was awesome to see the ‘real’ Vegas, the original Vegas. We were trying to find a bus back then saw one behind us. We ran about a block beside it and just beat it to the bus stop, which amused the driver. You could’ve stopped, sir. That was mean. We don’t like running and we’re full of ice cream.
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Great to be reading you again CLR! Love the comedic tone:]
it’s great to be writing again! We’ve really missed it.
Love this.
thanks! it’s nice to look back on it and remember the things we’d forgotten.
Amazing. Fun. Love this
thanks!