California Roadtrip 2018: Viva Las Vegas!

I'm back with another installment of our California Roadtrip 2018, and tonight I'm taking you out on the town in what is the craziest place I ever visited, hands down: Las Vegas. We were here for two nights, with a trip to the Grand Canyon sandwiched in between, so our schedule was hectic. But two nights is plenty of time to experience some of the crazy that Las Vegas has to offer.

We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, but we didn't fully "get" the excess and splendor of Las Vegas until we visited some of the other, more clearly themed hotels/casinos, like Caesars Palace, The Venetian and the Luxor. Honestly, walking around in Vegas is a bit like walking around on a different planet altogether, and the party-gamble-spend-lose-win atmosphere almost seems disconnected from the rest of the world - not in the least because a desert separates the city from everyday reality.

I can't say that Las Vegas stole my heart. I'm not into gambling, I'm not a hard partier. But I'm still glad I visited this iconic place because it's such a significant part of popular culture. If I were to return I'd definitely venture off the strip into Downtown Las Vegas and Fremont Street, because this is the "old" part of Vegas that is currently going through a renaissance and supposedly offers a better, more lively atmosphere than the strip.

Anyway, my photo diary of two nights in Las Vegas!

Lobby of the Venetian. I was in awe the minute we left our Uber, and of course we immediately made our way towards the canal district within the Venetian. Including actual gondolas. And a fake-but-very-realistic blue sky, even at night.

Some night views of The Strip from the balconies of the Venetian. Lights and expensive, monumental buildings everywhere you look.

Also, conveyor belts to take you through the vast hotel, for those guests who are less mobile or simply don't want to walk. That's America.

I love the facade of Harrah's casino, totally emphasizes the way Las Vegas often feels like you're walking around in a theme park geared at adults.

Of course, Paris was the Vegas hotel I was most drawn to, with replicas of many Parisian landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. We didn't make it inside because just walking a short stretch of the strip takes up forever and we were dead tired after a long drive from Palm Springs, but the outside is so photogenic.

And this is what sunrise over Las Vegas looks like. A little otherworldly, and so beautiful.

On our second night, we went to Caesar's palace and the Luxor.

The luxor has a really cool multicolour cocktail bar, but the service there was terrible. Come to think of it, I felt like the service in the Vegas hotels/casinos was actually probably the worst we experienced during the whole roadtrip. But I don't know how friendly I would be if I was serving rowdy party  people everyday.

At this point we were all tipsy and luckily, a friendly bypasser laughing at our efforts to take a group selfie took pity on us and got us this lovely shot in front of the Luxor. Vegas: the only place where people in the street actually take a good pic of you.

So that was Vegas for ya! Hope you enjoyed it. Next up: the Grand Canyon.