Las Vegas Part 2 – Day/Night 2

30 April 201529 April 2015 yannickmartens Leave a comment

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.

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.

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 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.

Las Vegas Part 2 – Day/Night 1

29 April 201529 April 2015 yannickmartens Leave a comment

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.

After driving 4 and a half hours,
we finally saw 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.

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.

From the moment we took that exit,
we were in the middle of the strip.

Bellagio - Las Vegas — Bellagio – Las Vegas

Caesars - Paris Las Vegas — Caesars – Paris Las Vegas

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.

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.

It was a nice suite.
2 queen size beds, a living area, a big bathroom and much more.

Bella Suite - The Venetian — Bella Suite – 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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Because we finished our beers,
we went inside a Casino to place a bet and get “free drinks”.

It worked.

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.

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.

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.

My cousin convinced me to stop worrying, chill and enjoy 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, …

After we had some more drinks and partied all night,
we went back to the hotel, to get some sleep.

Visiting the Hoover Dam

15 April 201515 April 2015 yannickmartens Leave a comment

A new morning, a new day!

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.

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!

It’s huge and Vegas is almost completely relying on that dam, to get their power.

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.

When the guy in the Lamborghini saw I was making pictures,
he gave me the thumbs up and made some extra noise.

After they passed us, we had a look at the Hoover Dam again and its surroundings.

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.

After that, we walked towards the Hoover Dam,
to have a look on both sides.

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.

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.