After I had a good sleep,
I woke up to start working on my thesis again.
Jan stayed in bed for several more hours,
before he woke up.
Jan still sleeping
From the moment he was awake,
we ordered room service,
because we could use a good breakfast.
They bring everything, including a table.
While the guy was preparing our table,
he was curious about our night and experience in Las Vegas.
Room ServiceRoom Service
After our afternoon breakfast,
I continued working on my thesis,
while Jan explored the strip by day.
Because I was to stubborn,
to leave our room,
before I was happy with the part I wrote.
So Jan asked me to wake him up,
when I ready for dinner.
I worked the whole day on my thesis, until 4 AM.
But from the moment I was ready,
I woke up jan to get some dinner.
We used Yelp,
to check-out which restaurants were still open.
But in Vegas that’s no problem,
you can go to decent restaurants, 24/7.
We decided on going to the Cafe Bellagio for dinner.
When we walked through the giant casino/hotel,
on our way to the restaurant,
there were still a lot of people playing on the gambling tables/machines.
In front of the restaurant,
is a beautiful Botanical Garden.
Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical GardenBellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden
When we arrived at the restaurant,
we had to wait for 20 minutes,
because they told us they were cleaning the restaurant.
After 20 minutes a woman came,
to bring us to our table.
We couldn’t understand why we had to wait,
because there were still some people eating
and there were a lot of free tables.
We finished our dinner,
decided to go back to our room,
because we wanted to rise early the next day,
so we could drive to Antelope Park and the Grand Canyon.
I had to pick up my cousin in Venice Beach,
because he spend a day at the beach,
while Marlise and I were in Beverly Hills.
From the moment I found him,
we drove to my apartment to pack our bags,
so we could go to Las Vegas.
I asked Jan to drive,
so I could work on my thesis in the meantime.
Working on my thesis
After driving 4 and a half hours,
we finally saw Las Vegas.
Las Vegas
From the moment we saw Las Vegas in the distance,
we got really excited.
Because it just appeared out of nothing,
in the middle of a desert.
Driving to Las Vegas
Finally, we arrived in Sin City.
Because this time our hotel was located at another part of the strip,
we had to take another exit of the highway.
Las Vegas
From the moment we took that exit,
we were in the middle of the strip.
Bellagio – Las VegasCaesars – Paris Las VegasOn the strip
This time we booked a room in the Venetian,
a nice Hotel at the end of the strip,
where they filmed an episode of top gear.
The Venetian
We parked our car and went to the Check-in.
and the check-in trick worked again!
We booked a basic room
(like the other hotels advised me the week before),
and asked for an upgrade.
They gave us a free Bella Suite Upgrade.
Here’s a picture of the check-in and the lobby.
Check-in at The VenetianLobby at The Venetian
It was a nice suite.
2 queen size beds, a living area, a big bathroom and much more.
Bella Suite – The VenetianRoom in The Venetian
We didn’t want to spend to much time in the room,
because it was already 12PM.
We agreed on to only drink a few drinks in the room
and then go to the casino’s and clubs.
We weren’t sure we could legally drink on the street,
because in LA it’s forbidden to consume alcohol in public,
so we finished our drinks before we left the room.
Pre drinking
Once you enter the strip,
you can feel madness atmosphere immediately.
We were the only ones without a drink,
so we knew it was possible to drink in public in Las Vegas,
we made a stop at a shop to grab some beers.
When we came out of the shop,
a mother and daughter stopped us,
to ask us in which country we lived.
I thought it was an odd question to ask somebody out of the blue,
but I think they just wanted somebody to talk to.
Getting to know crazy families
After we had a talk about the differences in cultures and country laws,
we took a picture with the daughter and continued our walk to the Club.
Selfie Time
When we continued our walk on the strip,
two girls stopped us and they wanted to do a bet.
They challenged me, that I couldn’t lift them simultaneous.
Challenge accepted!
Lifting some girls
After I won the bet,
I lifted one girl on my shoulder,
closed the button of my shirt,
lifted the other girl on my arm
and posed for a picture.
Lifting some girls
Because we finished our beers,
we went inside a Casino to place a bet and get “free drinks”.
Gambling
It worked.
Free drinks
Then we continued our walk towards the club.
But it’s almost impossible,
to get from one side of the strip to the other without stopping.
Because from the moment we walked out of the casino,
there was a rap/dance battle.
And again they challenge people,
on the street to battle them.
I gave them my best “dancing performance”,
so we could continue our walk.
Rap/Dance Battle
Then a Pimp stopped us,
to ask us if we were interested in some company.
But we were only interested in his golden “grillz”.
He loved our enthusiasm and we allowed us to make a picture with him,
so we could Photoshopped some grillz for ourselves.
After we made the picture he gave us the ins and outs,
life as it is being a pimp in Las Vegas.
The crazy adventures/stories, girls, gambling, risk, …
After all his stories,
I had the idea he lived inside a movie!
What a guy!
Learning the ins and outs about a pimp life
Finally we arrived at a club,
but because of all the stops,
it was already after 3 o’clock.
Every bouncer told us,
they can’t allow people to enter after 3AM.
When we finally found club with an open door,
we walked in and it was empty.
Empty Club
We thought it was insane!!
They told us that every club on the strip has to close at 4 AM.
That’s why I love Europe and especially Ibiza,
we know how to party and the party is going on,
until the morning hours.
When we walked outside the club,
a promoter stopped us.
He asked us,
if we were interested in going to a club a few blocks away from the strip.
Because everything was closed,
I asked him until what hour the club was staying open.
With a big smile he told us, 24/7.
He even offered us a free limo,
to bring us to the club.
We agreed on going with him,
but still I found it a little bit shady.
I thought it was shady
My cousin convinced me to stop worrying, chill and enjoy the ride.
Jan enjoyed the ride
After a 10 minute ride, we arrived at the club.
It was HUGE!!
A lot of people were waiting in line to get in,
but because we arrived in a limo we could skip the line.
Once we entered the club,
we immediately saw it wasn’t a normal club,
but a strip club.
Weirdly enough, it’s accepted as THE place for an after party, by everyone.
Young, old, male or female.
It’s weird to explain, because it had the feeling of a normal club,
but with strippers instead of “normal dancers”.
The club was packed, A DJ was playing music, people were partying,
girls were dancing the poles, people are throwing money in the air and made it rain, …
Inside the club
After we had some more drinks and partied all night,
we went back to the hotel, to get some sleep.
Because we were not sure if we would drive back to LA
after seeing the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon,
so we didn’t book an extra night in that hotel and we had to check out.
This time it was a quick check out, because you could do it over the TV.
TV Check-out
After we checked-out, grabbed our luggage and drove to the Hoover Dam.
Before you can enter the Hoover Dam,
you have to go through a Police Check Point.
But I can’t understand why, b
ecause they don’t even look at you, they just give a signal/gesture you can drive along.
Once we were in, we saw the Hoover Dam and it’s quite an impressive dam!
The Hoover Dam
It’s huge and Vegas is almost completely relying on that dam, to get their power.
Electrical power stationHoover Dam Bridge
After we parked our car, some luxury cars were passing us.
I can admit the sound was awesome, because of the echo the dam created.
Sport cars at the Hoover Dam
When the guy in the Lamborghini saw I was making pictures,
he gave me the thumbs up and made some extra noise.
Good guy in a Lamborghini
After they passed us, we had a look at the Hoover Dam again and its surroundings.
The Hoover DamThe Hoover Dam
There are a lot of people trying to throw money in to the dam for good luck,
but a lot of the money doesn’t even get in to the water.
So it’s a funny sight too see it lying around on those rocks.
Good-luck Money
After that, we walked towards the Hoover Dam,
to have a look on both sides.
The Colorado RiverLooking down in the Hoover Dam
After an hour or more, we decided we also wanted to see it from the bridge.
So we had to drive towards an other parking, where you could take some stairs to get onto the bridge.
Once your parked and walked all the stairs,
the first thing you see, is that it is an Memorial Bridge.
Memorial Bridge
After that you see, your going to enter Arizona, by walking over the bridge.
And of course if you walk the opposite way, back to the car, that you will enter Nevada.
Welcome to Nevada
Here I am, walking over the Hoover Dam Bridge.
Walking on the Hoover Dam Bridge
Here it is, the view you’ll get, when you are in the middle of the bridge.
The view from the bridge over Hoover Dam
Once we had enough of the Hoover Dam,
we went to a viewpoint, to see the Colorado River.
The Colorado RiverColorado RiverColorado River
After we had a late lunch with a view over the Colorade River,
it was time to continue our trip towards the Grand Canyon.
We had a great night rest in the MGM so we wanted to book some additional nights.
Waking up
When we asked to extend our stay, they told us it was fully booked because of the March Madness weeks.
Checking out
So we had to check-out the hotel and find another one,
but first we wanted to walk around in Vegas and have lunch somewhere.
We brought our luggage to the car and went out of the hotel.
The architecture of Las Vegas is unbelievable.
The architects did their best, to create something special for every building.
ExcaliburNew York-New YorkExcaliburThe Strip by dayNew York – New York and MGM
While walking around we saw an Irish pub, we thought it’s time to have a beer
(like they say, it’s beer o’clock somewhere).
While drinking the pint, we searched on the internet,
which hotel would be our next one.
Then I remembered that almost everybody I spoke with,
about Las Vegas, recommended us to stay in the Cosmopolitan,
but booking.com said it was fully booked.
But because I really wanted to try out that hotel,
I said we have to check it in the hotel itself?
before we book another hotel.
But first lets grab some lunch, because it was already 2PM
and I saw there was a Hard Rock Cafe close by.
Here we are on our way to the Hard Rock Cafe.
Chocolate worldCoca-ColaDiablo Cantina
There it was, like everything in Las Vegas, this was huge as well.
Hard Rock Cafe
We made a reservation on the terrace,
but when we arrived we had to wait 15 minutes,
the ideal amount of time to spend in the touristic hard rock shop.
So probably they do that trick to everybody.
Hard Rock Cafe LocationsHard Rock Cafe Locations
But it worked, Marlise bought a t-shirt for her brother.
After the purchase the buzzer buzzed, that our table was ready.
After lunch we walked to the Cosmopolitan.
We went to the front desk to ask if they had anything available for us, that night.
The lobby of the Cosmopolitan
We were lucky again, because there were still a few suites available.
They told us the same story as in the MGM,
to use a third party website to make the booking and then come over to the desk,
to get an upgrade to suites.
But use hotels.com, there are free rooms on that website.
So we listened to the advice, stepped back 3 steps,
and used my mobile phone to make a reservation,
for a standard room and walked back to the front desk.
To avoid problems we went to the same receptionist,
who gave us the hint to do it this way.
She smiled and said/ welcome mister martens I see you have a reservation.
Are you interested in an upgrade?
Then she explained all the available upgrades they had that night.
We decided on taking the terrace suite, with a view over the strip.
And I have to thank everybody for giving me the hint to go to the Cosmopolitan,
because it’s a real nice hotel,
with a lot of activities, restaurants, gambling areas, shops and so on.
When we checked in the room,
and thought it was time for an aperitif on the terrace with a view over the strip.
The StripThe Strip by night
In the meanwhile I made a reservation at STK.
A great steak restaurant in the hotel itself.
After our aperitif, we went downstairs to play a little bit on the jackpot machines,
but we weren’t good at it, so we played on roulette machine instead.
Roulette
After a few hours it was dinner time.
So we headed to STK.
STK
A really nice restaurant, quit dark, loud and crowded, but what a great atmosphere.
Inside STK
The food was great and their wines were exquisite.
Enjoying STKCarpaccioHaving dinner
After dinner we had a few more drinks and went back to the room to sleep.
We had to because we wanted to rise early, to visit the hoover dam and the Grand Canyon.
But before I went to bed, I needed to take some extra pictures of the strip during the night.
The strip by nightThe strip by nightThe strip by night
After two hours driving from Death Valley, we arrived in Las Vegas.
It was easy to find, because when you are drive towards it,
you can see the light pollution at least an hour before you arrive.
It was completely the opposite from what we experienced in Death Valley.
It has a big city feeling, even when it’s located in the middle of nowhere.
It’s full of life, suddenly a lot of traffic, a lot of noise and so many different types of lighting.
Entering Las Vegas
To summarize it, it just looks like an amusement park, but for grownups.
Because we didn’t book a hotel yet, we had to decide where we wanted to stay.
Luckily I asked my friends and colleagues for some hotel tips before we went.
So I had a shortlist of where we should stay.
It was already 23.30 and while we were driving we saw the MGM and it was on the list.
That’s why we decided to check if they still had rooms available.
We thought it would be calm at the check-in at that hour, but apparently we were wrong.
Even at that hour there’s still a line of people, who want to check-in.
But they had at least 8 receptionists checking in people, so didn’t had to wait long.
Checking inReception
After 15 minutes it was our turn.
When they showed us all the possibilities, the receptionist gave us a great hint.
She told us to book a standard room online through a third party website
and then she could give us cheap suite upgrades at her desk.
It sounded so weird, because we were standing at the front desk to check-in,
and we were thinking: “Why can’t you fix that for us, here at the desk”.
But we thought why we wouldn’t try it out,
so we walked back to the end of the line and booked a room via a third party website,
like they advised us.
Lobby
When it was our turn again, we had a new receptionist.
She was telling us, it wasn’t possible anymore, all the rooms were booked.
I was completely shocked!
So I started explaining what happened, I think she was new in the hotel,
because she had to call someone to help her out with the booking system.
When the manager arrived at our desk, I explained him what happened,
and he assured me he would fix it.
And 10 minutes later we got a very cheap upgrade, to a SPA Suite.
It was a nice suite.
With all the comfort you want,
like a bar, a walk in closet, a king size bed, a living area and a HUGE bathroom.
King seize bedSPA Suite
I presume this why they call it the SPA suite.
Hot Tub
It was a long day.
So after a few drinks and a little bit of gambling, we went to sleep.
