Day 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada

For my first day in Las Vegas, me and Chen wanted to go swimming early in the morning. Originally, we were going to go to the Grand Canyon tour, but the tour takes up a whole day, so we didn't choose to do the tour.

The both of us didn't end up getting out of bed until an hour after our alarm rang. I'm usually good at waking up right when my alarm rang, but I just turned mines off and went back to sleep because I was just tired.

Good thing, we both got up and ended up at the pool. It's always nice to be in a pool, especially in Las Vegas :).

After swimming, me and Chen met up with her mom and her mom's friend. We bought monorail tickets, so we wouldn't have to walk around as much. First, we headed to Monte Carlo since someone recommended a dining place to check out, but we didn't end up eating there. After checking out the food court at Monte Carlo, we took the monorail to The Quad/The Linq center and ate brunch at Hash House a go go. We didn't eat until 2ish and I was really hungry by then. It was recommended to share dishes at Hash House, so we split 2 dishes amongst the 4 of us.

I don't remember the name of the dishes I ordered. But, I thought it was really good. I dont have many brunch meals with meat and potatoes, so I like that.

After eating at Hash House, Chen headed back to our hotel to gather a few things before we headed out to see the Stratosphere. We took the monorail to the Stratosphere, which is the last stop on the monorail.

Ok, so we didn't end up touching or going as close as possible to the Stratosphere, but we saw it from a good distance. It's interesting to look at, but not the most amazing architecture. 

After reading reviews of souvenirs, I ran across recommendations to go to Bonanza for souvenirs, which is close by to the Stratosphere. Actually, Bonanza is closer to the monorail than the Stratosphere. It was a very sunny walk to Bonanza. The building looked very big from outside, but it wasn't as big as I imagined. I only ended up getting a few souvenirs for friends at Bonanza. After browsing through Bonanza, we headed back to the hotel and rest before we eat buffet food at MGM Grand.

I wasn't all too excited for buffet food even though I heard that there are some amazing buffets in Las Vegas. Even then, I had my doubts and I reviewed the ratings and photos on yelp and I don't know none of the dishes appealed to me. Anyways, after about an hour break we headed to the buffet after Chen's mom told us to hurry up because there was a line with a long wait. Since Chen's mom was already in line, we didn't have to wait to long. When we finally got inside, everything looked nice and organized. But, when I got to actually see what the buffet offered, I realized its just a regular buffet. As with every buffet, I grab only bits of items I think I will like because the chances of me not liking something is high and I don't want to feel bad about not finishing it. Also, I had to order soda because I believe it helps me digest or better enjoy what I put in my system in buffets. Overall, I liked the sesame chicken the first two times I had it. After the third time, I got tired of it.

For some reason, there's something about pretty desserts that make you want them. But the moment you have it, you realize how it's only just pretty and not tasty. I'm a big fan of chocolate, so you can sort of predict what I got from the picture above. Sadly, I didn't want to finish it. All of it tasted mediocre. Well, the only thing I liked from the dessert was the mint chip gelato, which was good.

After eating buffet food, we rode the monorail for a view of the strip at night, but it wasn't really scenic since we got the back view of everything. I think that the best way to grasp a view of the strip is simply to walk around and take it in moment by moment and finding that perfect spot. When me and Chen reached the Flamingo stop, we walked out and tried to go to Circus Circus, but we soon realized that it was pretty far from where we are at and decided to head back to the monorail.

I dont even remember the name of the hotel Chen and I went to to get a picture with this thing. I think it was supposed to say I <3 WESTGATE. So, it's the Westgate hotel?

We ended up walking around a lot that night and I took a lot of photos, but I'm not going to post them all on my blog since its over 300 of them on Facebook. Instead, I will post my favorites or one that will help add to the story I'm going to tell. One of the places I been to was Caesars Palace, which I thought was really nice. I enjoy walking through The Forum Shops although I knew I was going to purchase anything there.

I feel that Caesars Palace was one of my favorite hotels to visit during my trip. It had a lot to see even though some of the buildings may be replicas and weren't original. I always loved learning about Roman history and Italy was my #1 visiting spot when I was younger and it still is to this very day, which might also be why I liked Caesar's Palace.

Chen wanted to visit the Secret Garden at the Mirage. But, it was closed and you always have to pay a fee to go in, so boo :(. However, I did managed to capture a view of the waterfall and a cool looking dragon.

Chen has been to Las Vegas a few times before and one of the places she pointed out was the boats at the Venetian. I thought they were very pretty looking and it added a nice feel to the hotel. I guess since this hotel reminded me of Venice, I liked it.

After exploring the Venetian, me and Chen headed back after a long day of exploring. The next day would be our last day of our mini vacation. Although we might have explored many places in the strip, we certainly wasn't able to get through it in one day. But, we did managed to go through many spots and walked a lot, which I rate as good.

First night in Las Vegas, Nevada

I couldn't believe it. I was going to Las Vegas! I wasn't quite sure what to expect since it was my first time there.

I finished packing by Monday since my flight was on Tuesday. I was going to get there a few hours later after Chen since I decided to go to Vegas a few months after she booked her ticket I had to book mines separately. I had to take 2 flights to get to Las Vegas, which was kind of annoying. My first flight departed at SMF at 6:25pm and my ending flight arrived in Las Vegas at 9:30pm.

 The first thing I see when I walked out of Las Vegas was a slot machine. I thought that was cool for an airport. I knew I was definitely in Las Vegas then.

 When I first arrived in Las Vegas, I took the shuttle to the hotel. There were shuttle options, but the first thing I saw when I walked out of the doors was the Showtime shuttle and did not notice the Supershuttle to my right. The shuttle was very fast and the shuttle stopped at my hotel first.

When I arrived at the hotel, I met with Chen and we went to go eat at Earl's Sandwich place. It was one of the places I researched and I was interested in dining there. I liked my sandwich. I thought that it was good and it was enough food for me that night. I think I could have fit in dessert though.

After eating, me and Chen explored the strip a bit. I thought that the strip looked very pretty at night. I love looking at tall buildings and different bright colored lights.

I wanted to get the Paris souvenir cup that night because I didn't want to carry it around in the morning. I immediately noticed the bar that I was able to get the Eiffel tower cup, as well as the Paris porcelain cup. I decided to get the Paris porcelain cup because I found it more unique. I got it with the drink inside. but I didn't like it too much and dumped it all out.

I thought that the Paris hotel was very nice. It was beautifully designed and I appreciated the Paris replicas and other designs of the hotel. After exploring the Paris hotel, we decided to head back to get enough rest for the next day. I was quite excited to explore more of the strip.

Las Vegas Souvenirs

When I knew I was going to go to Las Vegas, I knew I had to bring souvenirs back. Most of my friends would most likely not have a chance to go to Las Vegas in the future, so I wanted to at least bring a piece of it back for them. 

I certainly didn't know much about Las Vegas until I traveled there, but I did know about some popular souvenirs. Among the popular ones were keychain, shot glasses or cups, and dice. And, yes, I purchased all of those and more.

When I was in high school, I went to Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo, CA. While I was there, I had the opportunity to shop for souvenirs. One of the items I decided to purchase was a t-shirt for my dad. My dad wore the t-shirt so much, it wore off. So, I know that a Las Vegas t-shirt for him is a must. Emily requested for a t-shirt so I had to get her one as well. Also, I thought a t-shirt would be a perfect souvenir for my friend.

I did end up getting the t-shirts at shops near my hotel. I bought two of the shirts at the small local store that advertised shirts "4 for $9.99". I was interested in that deal, but there wasn't that many selection of shirts I wanted there. But, I did end up getting 2 shirts for my brother and my friend for $2.99 each. I did see any girl shirts there for sale, so I decided to purchase Emily's shirt at ABC stores. 

Before heading to Las Vegas, I wanted to do some research of some must get souvenirs and glass or cups were among one of the items on the list. I wanted to get a unique cup to bring back home with me, but also one that wasn't a gigantic size or that expensive either. I found out about the cups at the Paris hotel, so I wanted to get one of those. There's a cup that's a see through Eiffel tower and there's also a Paris porcelain cup. I decided to get the Paris porcelain cup because it was more unique. I got the cup with a drink, but the drink wasn't good, so I dumped all of it out.

One of the souvenirs from Las Vegas that I really wanted to get was a shot glass. More specifically, I wanted a shot glass that had text relating to girls having fun, such as "girls night out". I tried looking for one of those shot glasses at Bonanza, but couldn't find the type I was looking for though. There were many other selections I could have chose from at Bonanza and I got 2 there. I did end up getting the type of shot glass I wanted at a small local store. I wanted a shot glass specifically for myself, but I got 2 extra, so I think I might end up giving those two to my friends. 

While I was at Bonanza, I also looked for other gifts besides shot glasses. Bonanza considers itself as the "world's largest gift shop," so I explored and tried to get something out of the box while I was there. I ended up getting some keychains, so I can easily give those to a few friends. I also got 2 small bells there that includes a rotating dice, which I thought was pretty cool. I think my favorite idea that I purchased there was a small decorative glass case.

There's the Hershey's store in Las Vegas, as well as Coca-Cola and M&M. I thought that there was a good possibility that I would get a souvenir at one of those spots. I didn't want to buy chocolate though because it would melt and Las Vegas is pretty hot. There were cool chocolate souvenirs I saw though, like the biggest Hershey's bar, statue of liberty chocolate, and different flavored chocolates at the candy stores. When me and Chen browsed through Coca-Cola, we noticed a spot that we can go and take pictures with the polar bear. There's a photographer there that will take a picture with a phone and another photographer taking photos you can purchase upstairs. I ended up getting pictures from both my phone, as well as purchasing additional photos.

Before leaving Las Vegas, Chen wanted to get a gift to Natalie, so we tried browsing through the candy shops, but decided to get something for her at ABC stores. At that time, I thought I wasn't going to get anymore souvenirs. But, then, Chen pointed out the dice, which is like signature. I ended up purchasing 2 of them. Then, I noticed some glass figures of planes, heels, and cars and they were just so cute. I bought the plane. I thought I was going to stop there then I noticed really cute wine toppers. I purchased 2 of them. One of them was a glass figure of cards and the other was a skull. I thought they were very cute and unique.

I'm very happy with the souvenirs that I purchased. I purchased some classic gifts, as well as some unique souvenirs. There's some that I think are so cute, I don't ever want to give away. I gave some of the souvenirs away and my friends and family members were happy with me gifts, so I'm a happy camper. I think that shopping for souvenirs added to my experience there, which was a good experience. Not to mention, I can also make a huge scrapbook from the 300 photos I took from Las Vegas. Now, I can't wait until the next time I travel again!