We check out of the hotel and Eric picks us up to go to the airport. Everyone seems a little rushed on the freeway this morning. There are a few traffic jams along the way but we make it with plenty of time to spare. Our rush was more for Eric to be back in time for a client. A big thank you to Eric for everything he has done for us. We have had an amazing time in Chicago!
We drop in at American Airlines' Admiral's Club at O'Hare Airport for a drink, Internet, and to recharge our electronics. A hot chocolate each warms us up. We relax until it is time for our flight and then go to the gate. We board, the flight takes off, and as soon as we're at the required height I jump online with the onboard wifi. The flight lasts for a few hours by the time we reach the Grand Canyon and the Captain tells us to look through the left-hand windows. Not only is the Grand Canyon a huge dry rocky canyon, it also contains beautifully blue water. What a stunning view!Not too long afterwards we approach Las Vegas. Although the Strip contains recognisable hotels, the broader city is surprisingly large and stretches far in all directions. Another surprising 'feature' of Las Vegas is that the airport is in the city just behind the Strip! It's a bit of a freaky experience flying so close to cars and buildings but we land safely and on time.
A fairly short taxi ride gets us to our hotel, Planet Hollywood Westgate Towers. We run into a little problem: the front desk can't find our reservation under my name. I pull out my phone and wait for my emails to load in order to look up the reservation codes. Now the problem is apparent: the hotel expected us yesterday and they deleted our reservation when we didn't show. We're in luck because the girl behind the desk locates a couple of rooms for us and books them at the same rate. This is the first time that Mum and I aren't sharing a room. Being the last stop on our trip, it's going to be nice having a bit of privacy. Our rooms are both on level 15 but a few doors apart and they have a great view of the pool. Water is a precious element here in the desert.It's almost evening now and we head outside for a look around. We're pretty excited and I'm not quite sure what to expect. I've seen Vegas in photos and on TV but to experience it first hand will surely be something special.
We venture outside through one door and our only option is to continue inside through another door. We're in a shopping mall. The high ceiling is painted light blue with white fluffy clouds like the sky. It would be impossible to tell what time of day or night it is in here. I have a quick chat to Eric and he informs me that we're still in the hotel! We're becoming hungry, especially because we would have already had dinner in Chicago timezone by now. While trying to find the door to outside, we pass various shops for clothing, jewellery (yes, jewellery, not jewelry!), restaurants, water feature, neon lights, massages, bars, sellers who approach you every few minutes to sell beauty products, and people smoking. I turn around as Mum stops to have her hand exfoliated. Luckily, this time, she has both hands done. Half an hour later we finally find the doors to outside but not before I notice which mall we're in: Miracle Mile. It certainly feels like we've walked a mile!
Outside is quite warm and people are everywhere. The area is filled with a muddled noise of people chatting, cars, loud upbeat music, buses, laughing, and casino machines. It's quite overwhelming. Almost everyone has an alcoholic drink in their hand; quite a few yard glasses. Every hotel is lit up in lights and has a theme. Some are classy, some are not. The city is very well planned for tourism. You mostly don't have to cross a street at the street level, as you are provided an upper-level walkway fitted out with escalators. The only catch is that you generally have to walk through a hotel's shopping mall to get to it. Clever.We finally have some local cuisine: Denny's. It's not the best (at all) but it's the closest thing to a simple small and fast meal that we can find. The meals are huge here; too huge. We are definitely in the land of the large, indoor smoking, and outdoor drinking. What a playground. We're feeling a bit buzzy now and that might have something to do with the two large Cokes that our waiter brought us. It seems bottomless means you'll receive the next drink as you're just starting your current drink. We should be tired but no, we'll book a show. It's unfortunate that there are no famous singers in town; however, Mum spotted an advertisement for some 'other' famous singers: 'Divas' show featuring female impersonators. Yes, a drag show! We book the VIP tickets.
We head back to the hotel to have a quick shower and get changed. The show isn't until 10pm. As soon as we're ready, we jump in the lift to head back outside. I look down at the electronic ticket in my phone and it says the tickets must be picked up an hour before the show or they will be forfeited. Shit! We have only sixty minutes until the show begins! I try calling them but it rings out. I try calling again but I lose reception half-way through the Miracle Mile. Then the largeness of Las Vegas kicks in and we panic. We've just spent almost $170 on these tickets and we remember from our walking around today that it would take us about half an hour to go from our room to the next hotel and Divas is showing at Imperial Palace, which is about six hotels away. We make it outside and fight our way through the crowd. To help get there faster, we buy a ticket for the bus and jump on. The doors close, we feel the air-conditioning, and we relax. The bus takes off and heads downtown. I can see the Imperial Palace. We pass it. We pass the next two hotels. We pass the next four hotels. We are now further away from the Imperial Palace than where we caught the bus!
The bus stops at the Fashion Mall and our time is down to fifteen minutes. I call again while walking hurriedly along, looking back every so often to make sure Mum is still keeping up, and this time I get through. The girl on the line says she can't hold the tickets for me because she is only a booking office. We're instructed to just go there and see if the tickets are available at the box office. We walk briskly trying not to bump into people. Almost fifteen minutes later we make it with no time to spare. Fortunately, our tickets are held for us. We explain what happened with the bus and the box office guy laughs: "You caught the long bus? That's the express." ARGH!
We take our VIP seats in a small booth with an English couple and the show begins. Joan Rivers, who I would love to see live, is the host of the show. Well, Frank Marino, her female impersonator is. She is excellent. I spoke too soon when I said there were no famous singers in town, as now we have Cher, Britney, Celine, Mariah, Beyoncé, Liza, Dolly, Madonna, and a few others. Brilliant show! We're so glad we made it!Pics of the day
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