Las Vegas and onwards

Our holiday started by flying into Las Vagas via Glasgow to Heathrow. All good and a very comfortable flight. We were worried for a moment though as the flight was oversold. We were crossing our fingers for an upgrade, however, that wasn’t to be. At least we got a seat!

Food good, entertainment made me cry. Frankly, the last few days I’ve been pretty fragile, so even a thriller had the potential to make me greet like a bairn.

A taxi (not cheap) to our hotel, Elara by Hilton. I’d booked it ages ago and I have to say it was a great choice, right on the strip. A good sized room with a mini kitchen.

We only really had 24 hours in Las Vegas, so we went on a troll along the strip, people watching and popping in and out of the casinos, doing even more people watching. Drink flows and there are some who seem to wear unfeasibly high heels = carnage and guaranteed entertainment for those more sober onlookers.

Don’t expect cheap! We nearly fell off our stools when we paid $36 for two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc, however, it was Caesar’s Palace, so really, it was 36 bucks of entertainment. The bar team were telling us that a nip of Macallan M was $680. In the scheme of things, my 36 squids could have bought a shit load of wine from Aldi! And, just for good measure, add in a 20% service charge. That’s another (expensive) bottle of wine from Aldi!

We had a beautiful lunch, king crab and salad. That blew the bank too!! We could have gone to a show, however, couldn’t agree on one so opted for an early night. Better than an argument. Busy day tomorrow.

All in all, it was a hive of activity, however, Las Vegas was a drinking and gambling dream for some, perhaps not us. Shopping was obviously popular too. We don’t do shopping. Glad though that we’ve been there and done it (briefly). Didn’t even put any cash into a slot machine. Tight gits.

On every corner, there were people selling. They were really clever too. They would eavesdrop in your conversation and butt in. It was very subtle. Even a glance at a poster or advertising would have someone pouncing. They were experts in every way. Watching people’s body language.

I even had a woman wanting to sell us something who even said how good I smelled….. in fairness, I did!! Then there was the guy with the phone screen covers. Before I could even sniff, this salesman had whipped the broken protective cover off my phone and replaced it, in about 5 minutes flat. Not a bubble in sight. How irritating. It normally involves at least two attempt and much swearing if I do it. He could have officially sold ice cubes to the Eskimos. I could have parted with a lot of money that day, had Mr Scotsman not said that we’ll think about it! I would have been the proud owner of a new phone battery charger, a pair of pink diamanté (ha!) Bluetooth headphones and probably something else that I didn’t know I needed!

Breakfast

Off to collect our bikes. Ed, who is normally super-efficient, forgot to pack bungees. In fairness, they weren’t on his spreadsheet / checklist as they are normally attached to the bike. We were recommended to go to Walmart. So, our Trump hating taxi driver took us there first. He was really good company and kept me entertained whilst Ed searched Walmart. In fairness, he shouldn’t have asked someone on a cosmetic counter for advice on bungee cords!

Off to the bike rental. Now, as you will know, we’re seasoned experts in renting bikes, especially from Eaglerider. Interestingly, we booked through their website, however, it was Triumph bikes we were hiring – much cheapness compared to a Harley, that’s for sure. We weren’t even charged extra for our side boxes.

Mike and his team at BMW / Triumph were superb.

Their customer service was super friendly, efficient, organised and way, way better than any other experience we had had so far. Oh, it was far cheaper too, AND we got a discount because we were hiring for 3 weeks. Well done, Eurocycles. Top job. In, paperwork done, bikes packed and we were off, out of Las Vegas onwards to the Hoover Dam and Hurricane. All by 11am. Let the holiday truly begin.

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