The first night we went to M & M world - OMG, what an amazing place! I only wish we had thought to take photos. But then again, seems a bit silly to take photos of a shop? LOL The girls had a ball buying way too much chocolate. They got personlised M&M's with their names on them, and then went to the next floor where you could fill your own packet of M&M's in any colour you wanted. So they *had* to buy more chocolate of course! There were so many things I would have liked to buy - thank god for our overflowing suitcases that prevented me from going nuts buying too many M&M accessories!
Next door was Coca-Cola World - we weren't as impressed, it was just a large shop dedicated to coke! But that didn't stop emily buying a few more goodies to add to her stash! Oh, ok, and I might have bought a magnet or two to add to my little collection of fridge magnets!
We also managed to get a spot of shopping in at the outlet mall. We could have probably spent a LOT longer there, but we were pretty short of time. While we were there, Caitlin spotted a Dairy Queen, so we *had* to stop for an icecream. I got a marshmellow sundae (yuuuum) and Caitlin got a Banana sundae....
(emily didn't want icecream and got a burger instead...)
Vegas at night is amazing with all the hotels lit up - lots more photo opportunities! However it was getting close to midnight and you could see the change in the crowds from the 'normal' touristy types, to the drunken gambling types, so we decided to make our way back to the hotel and call it a night!
The next day we had booked in to do a variety of exhibitions. First stop though - BREAKFAST! I've been told about these Vegas breakfast buffets! YUM YUM YUM Totally puts all those australian buffets to shame. The first difference we noticed - proper full sized glasses for the drinks, and proper full sized plates for the food!! (compared to the entree sized plates favoured by many australian buffet restaurants!) After eating our full of eggs, bacon, waffles, croissants, hash browns, and various other goodies, we made our way across to the Luxor to see the exhibitions. First on our list was the Titanic exhibition. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed at any of the exhibitions, so we weren't able to get any photos to share :( Of course, we could have PAID for a few photos that were taken along the way, but I'm a cheapskate and didn't bother with the fake shots. The exhibition itself was brilliant. It made you feel like you were walking through various parts of the Titanic, you could see a cabin from 1st class and 3rd class, various artifacts recovered from the wreck, and quotes from various passengers. We were each given a card at the start that was our boarding pass, and gave us an identity and some information about who we were and why we were on Titanic. At the end, we had to look through the lists of people who survived or perished to see if we made it or not. Thankfully we all lived!
Once we finished, we had a quick drink to boost our energy, then it was on to the Bodies exhibition. Again, a very fascinating display showing various parts of the body, how the ligaments controlled your movements, how muscles worked, blood vessels etc etc. But it felt more like a school lesson than an entertainment, and even the girls were caught between being fascinated and bored. So we really didn't linger very long. I think if it had had more interactive displays, it may have held their attention a little longer? Anyway, we didn't rate it as highly as the Titanic one.
We then walked across to the MGM and made our way to the CSI experience. Emily had been looking forward to this one - you got to use forensic science to solve a crime! Our case involved a car that had smashed through a house into the living room and the driver had died, and we had to piece together all the evidence to work out what had happened. Emily and I basically solved the case within 2 seconds of it starting, it was so obvious. To make it worse, many pieces of the 'evidence' that was used to solve the case wasn't actually in the crime scene - whether someone had moved it, or it has just worn away over time, who knows. But anyway, the general concensus was that it was lame and not worth the money. Oh well.....
Emily was keen to go to Madame Toussards again because the Vegas one had different characters. So begrudingly we made our way down to the museum. When we got there, I was looking at the price - mainly to work out how much money I needed. I had a discount voucher worth $6/ticket from the hotel anyway. One of the employees came up to me and said 'you want to go?' and i said hmmm, i'm not sure..... She came back with "i give you discount of $5" And i laughed, mainly because i was thinking hey, i've got a $6 voucher, thats better than your $5 one! But she obviously didn't realise that was why I was laughing, and doubled the offer! So we got $10 off each ticket! Woohoo!! It was pretty much the same as the Hollywood one, just a bit smaller. But emily was happy because she got to get a photo with her favourite.....
Afterwards, I wanted to squeeze one more spot of shopping in. I had found a walmart close to where we were, so we grabbed a taxi down there. Turned out to be MILES away from where we were staying! The distances in Vegas are very deceptive! But we got there, and wow! What a fantastic place! I think i'm going to LOVE walmart! LOL Everything was so cheap! I scored some really decent jackets for the girls for 60% off, emily was in 7th heaven when she discovered CD's for only $10 each, and Caitlin found a nice pair of jeans! We had a ball - I am so hoping the walmart in Canada is just as aweseome! After that, we made our way back to the hotel. Emily and I went to get some dinner, and decided hey, you can't go to Vegas and NOT gamble at least a little bit. Emily of course is underage, but that didn't stop her giving me $10 to gamble on her behalf!
I gave her a little pep-talk about 'safe' gambling (well, MY version of it at least) and made sure she was clear that this was all she would gamble, and that if she won anything to cash out her original amount and then keep playing on the winnings. And don't get suckered into putting more money into the machine because you have a 'feeling' you're just about to win something! So in goes her $10. First roll - she wins $2. Hmmm...beginners luck. Then she won $24! I'm like holy crap! All in all, she ended up cashing out at $20, so doubled her money.
Next was my turn. I put $20. Lost the lot in 5 minutes. Hmm....this isn't how its meant to go! So I broke MY OWN RULE!!!! And decided just $20 more, and thats it. I ended up going back to the machine that emily had done so well at. I guess the machine had done all the winning it was going to do for the night, cos I lost that $20 too :( I had to force myself to walk away before I got totally suckered into emptying my purse! LOL
So we got dinner, headed back to the room and got everything packed ready for our early morning departure in the morning. We got everything into the suitcase, and then I got my trusty little travelling scales out to check we were still under the luggage allowance. The damn thing had gone flat! So a quick trip downstairs to get some new batteries - nope, noone stocked this particular kind. UGH! So I ended up having to pack "blindly" and hope that we weren't going over the limit!! Very frustrating, particularly with all the shopping we had done!
One thing I have noticed with the place - you lose track of time very very easily. I guess it's deliberately set up like that to keep the tourists in the casinos gambling! All in all, we have had a fantastic time in Vegas. We'll definitely have to go back again and do all the other things we just didn't have time to do! Now we're all packed and ready for the last leg of our journey!
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