Jewel in the Desert

Saturday 12th July

So today it was time to head from the gunslingin' state of Texas to sin city that is of course.... Las Vegas, the jewel in the desert.

It was travel day once again as I headed to my 3rd destination on this trip. exactly halfway through in terms of days. Where has the time gone. Orlando seems a lifetime ago.

I woke up to some extremely happy news from back home in the UK that I had achieved a first class honours degree in Digital Media.... I. E.... Top marks!!!

Vegas seemed like the perfect to place to go to celebrate.

We couldn't do much in the morning because of the fact we had pretty much exhausted Dallas and couldn't get too far out of the city, we would need to get to the airport by 3:30ish

We did venture out took for a big western wear store which was supposed to be a 10 minute walk.
1.5hrs and a couple of bottles of water later and we were back in the hotel lobby, having checked out and waiting to go to the airport.
After almost getting lost on the train there we eventually found our way... Even if I directed us to the wrong gate initially!

The flight was very picturesque, very rural and rugged territory,  the real wide open spaces of America. Got some great shots of the Nevada desert, Lake Mead and the Sierra Nevada on arrival into McCarran airport.

We would be staying at the excalibur hotel and casino on the Famous strip.

Even before we left the airport we caught our first glimpse of the slot machines, as the airport hosts hundreds of machines in the airport terminal.

The excalibur....
Wow what a site, it's more than a casino, hotel, it has a food court, several shops, restaurants, live music and more.

Almost gatecrashed a wedding party on arrival,  we held the doors open for the newlyweds!

We took dinner and then exported the casino in awe, the architecture, the atmosphere and vibrance of the place is great.

From here you can walk through to the adjacent casinos,  Luxor which is shaped like a pyramid and has a strong Egyptian theme. This too hosts thousands of poker, blackjack tables and thousands of slot machines. This also hosts a permanent Titanic exhibition and a show theatre.

Remarkably you could also walk into Mandalay Bay casino, where we found a shopping mall and a nightclub and yet more entertainment.

This place really plays havoc with your senses and it was great to experience it on a Saturday night.  Tomorrow we plan to explore the strip further, hopefully get a good view of the strip at night, a much better time to do it when it is all lit up and slightly cooler.... I. E under 100 degrees.... Oh and I might hit the slots to!