Las Vegas - Part 1

After a busy few days in Vancouver, Lorette, Michael and Jade left at 5:30am on Sunday morning for their taxi to the airport. The family had an earlier flight to Vegas - and we had the luxury of sleeping in a little longer before we had to depart! A few hours later, Aaron and I caught the skytrain in to the airport. We’d already checked in for the flight the previous evening, and only had carry-on luggage with us, so the process was a breeze. Once we cleared security and US customs, we had a comfortable 20 minutes to wait before boarding our flight. Now that’s how you catch a flight!

Before long, we were above the clouds and were greeted with the brightest sun we’ve seen in years. Vancouver sunshine just isn’t the same as back home. If we’re ever feeling the effects of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), we just need a quick trip in a jet plane to see the glorious sun! In a little under 3 hours, enjoying the sunshine and spectacular views, we arrived in Las Vegas. Immediately we were hit with the Vegas flair - slot machines at the gate! Further down the terminal, we found another set of slots enclosed in a glass room that permitted smoking. Vegas really go hard with their ‘Sin City’ identity.

Because US customs was processed prior to the flight, we were able to walk straight out of the airport and into a taxi. Upon arrival at our accommodation, the iconic Bellagio Hotel, we stood in the check-in queue for a while and marvelled in both the beauty of the interior, and the huge amount of foot traffic in the hotel and casino. I’ve never seen a place so busy before! Going to Vegas over the Christmas period is bound to bring crowds, but this was far busier than I’d ever thought it could be! So naive haha.

We received our room keys and headed over to the elevators, which were located part-way through the casino. I was hit by a wall of smoke as we walked through the casino. Of course smoking is permitted, even inside the building! Such a foreign concept to me, but so normal here. Fortunately the smoking was not allowed in the rooms (at least it wasn’t on our floor), so I was able to escape the smoke - at least for a little while! The view from our rooms was spectacular. Fountain-view room with a picturesque backdrop of the strip and mountain ranges. The smoking and busy crowds was worth it for this magical view!

Hungry from our flight, we found some food for dinner and sat with Lorette and Michael in their room to catch up and make plans. We re-grouped with Jade a little while later and headed out for a walk along the Strip. By this time, the sun had set and Vegas had morphed into the iconic, bright city we know it to be. There’s so much to look at! So many signs and flashing lights and interesting spectacles. The lights are so bright, brighter than I’ve ever seen. The streets were somehow busier than the Bellagio casino. And so many families! It seems Las Vegas is the place to be for Christmas! We finished off the evening by watching the Bellagio fountains. The fountain shows played every 15 minutes in the evenings and were Christmas themed especially for the Holiday season. The fountains were truly mesmerising and magical - made even more special by the fact that we were able to enjoy them with our family.

Onward to day 2 of our Vegas stay and we kicked things off with an early lunch at Gordon Ramsey Burger. Aaron and I had watched a YouTube video reviewing the celebrity chef’s restaurant, and we’d been keen to visit ever since. We arrived at 11am (open time) and the queue was already stretching around the corner. Given how busy Vegas was, we shouldn’t have been surprised! Waiting for a seat gave us plenty of opportunity to take photos of the epic fire display at the front of the restaurant. We didn’t have to wait too long and soon enough we were sipping on our Brown Butter Caramel Pecan shake and chowing down burgers and fries. The burgers were good, but that thickshake was something else!

Following lunch, we split off into 2 groups. Aaron and his parents stayed along the Strip, while Jade and I took an Uber to the outlet mall. Some much needed catch up time for all involved!

We joined back up that evening for dinner at one of the hotel cafes, followed by a walk (ice creams in hand!) around the Bellagio. Once back to our rooms for the night, Aaron and I sat and talked while watching the epic fountain shows. A lovely way to finish off an extra special Christmas Eve.