Viva Las Vegas! Part 3 - How Grand Is That Canyon?

Before we left London for Vegas (don't get to say that a lot, so I'll say it a lot here), we did our research as to what the top attractions were around the place. The little crater in the ground called The Grand Canyon was one of them, so the next logical modern step was to find out which tour group to go with.

There are quite a few to choose from, but as we use TripAdvisor quite a lot, and trust it too, we decided to go with Grand Adventures and booked the Walking Tour (US$150pp). One of the influencing factors was this ...



Unlimited McD's breakfast. How can anyone ever say no to that?

But, a quick summary of how it started off, as I feel Grand Adventures are good enough to deserve that. We were picked up at 6.15am outside our hotel, as stated in the booking conditions. Prompt, efficient, that was our tour guide Alex. He then took us to the other hotel to pick up the other members of the tour, which, to our delight, turned out to be just another 4 people so the 6 of us shared the 10 seater van comfortably.

On the way to McD's, I asked Alex the question I'd been wanting to ask an American for a long time.

'What are biscuits and gravy?'

Turns out, it's not what English people think it is. Nope. Not your usual rich tea biscuit with some ahhh Bisto.

It's actually what we think (in England) as scones with ... wait for it ... drippings of cooked pork sausage. Yum. But wait, there's more. Add to that dripping some white flour, milk, and maybe pepper, and it now resembles what I know as 'white sauce'. But with attitude.

Anyhow, Alex suggested we try it out at McD's. Now, we've come all this way to the US, and I've been pondering this biscooit and gravy question for so long so how could I not?

Alas, McD's do not serve biscuit and gravy, I repeat, do NOT serve biscuit and gravy.



Never one to run out of options at McD's, I quickly decided on the Sausage, Egg and Cheese McGriddle meal, and the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit meal. If only we had this in England!

How could we not have thought of this amazing combination? Pancakes with sausages? Check. Cheese also? Check. Throw in some eggs. Check. Fab fab fab (and also maybe fat, but never mind).

Picture on the right is the famed biscuit - kinda like eating scone with your bacon. Innovative and slightly out there. Throw in some cheese and you've got All Out Wild Eating.

Picture in the middle depicts what you get when you run out of ketchup, can't be bothered going 2 steps to the ketchup counter, and so settle for dipping your hash brown in some strawberry jam that came along with the meal.



Some gut-rubbing 20 minutes later, we trooped back to the van, and it sank 2 inches closer to the ground with all that satisfying calorie-laden weight. As the (now) tired out tour group napped soundly (20 minutes into the tour), Alex trooped on, and continued making his and our way towards The Grand Canyon.

We were told on the brochure that the scenery wouldn't change too much along the way, so we'd better bring a book or something to amuse ourselves with along the way. They didn't mention how amusing a McD's breakfast was, and by the time we slapped ourselves awake from slumber, we were already at the Hoover Dam.



See how dry and rocky that looks? Welcome to the desert. My contact lenses were shrivelling up with each windy blow and I'm sure, somewhere along all that stretch of sand, was quite a few bits of my flaky skin flying with the wind.



Just in case you thought desert and bridge were places of fun and frisk.



The Hoover Dam from atop a bridge that goes along it. And just in case the picture doesn't quite get across how very high it is (like each inch was like a mile long or something) ...



It's really quite high. Alex mentioned lots of interesting facts about the Dam, something to do with cement, construction of the dam, etc. but I was really just trying to stay hydrated and keep my contact lenses firmly in place, so please Wikipedia it or something if you're interested.

Link here.

We then continued our way - journey time elapsed: 1 hour or so. Journey time to go: 3.5 hours or so.



Having watched lots and lots of American TV programmes, there is some fascination I hold with gas stations (petrol stations), and even being there for a refuel made me feel like I was in a film set. Easily amused.



Guess petrol stations look the same everywhere, huh?



This one sold lots of stuff you wouldn't find in the UK petrol stations, though. Leather jackets and furry hats, for example.



Our nibbles from the gas station

I bought the 2 cans of tea because the colours were nice. The chocolates were purchased for comparison to the Mars bar version in the UK (conclusion: they are probably one and the same bars), and the Orbit chewing gum was bought because I needed to chew on something.




Route 66 was part of the tour but because there are SO many pictures of stuff there, I'm going to save that for another post.



The changing scenery on the way to the Grand Canyon. We were told that the landscape represented what the Grand Canyon was years and years ago.



One of the stops on the way of the hike trail



Alex, and a yucca plant

Our tour guide, Alex was a trooper of the friendliest sort. I don't mean he was in the army or anything, I don't really know him that well. What I meant was that for someone who's only done this for a month, he was probably one of the most professional tour guides we've had.
Before we left the van and started the hike, he said, quite wisely, as the dark rain clouds loomed above, 'Hey guys, maybe you should take these waterproofs with you. Just a suggestion.'

Of course, being the brave, experienced hotel-dwellers that we were, we looked at him as though he suggested we split the atom for a laugh, and said 'Don't be silly, it won't rain.'

Minutes later, with the sound of thunder in the background, and mood lightning above, we sat miserably under the tree (smart, huh), slowly chomping on our sandwiches which were getting wetter and wetter by the minute.

Alex, being the nice guy that he is, didn't say 'I told you so' (I would've), but instead, went all the way back to the carpark, and brought us back some waterproofs. Tip to selves: Do not doubt your tour guide. Do not try to be big, or clever.



Along the hike, there were lots of these little markers - almost one for every step. Alex explained that these were to represent one million years, for each little circle. So, if you completed the whole trail (which we didn't, because I think we only did part of it), you would've effectively walked about 4,000 million years or something like that, in the 45 minutes it took you to complete it.



Oh deer.



What a view. When I first walked out of the Gift Shop (yes, one of those everywhere, even at Grand Canyons), the first thing I saw was a large area of cemented ground, with people sitting by the ledge, having their ice-creams and sandwiches. Didn't look like much, but when I walked closer to the ledge where everyone was, I gave a gasp when I saw the full 180 degree panoramic view of the canyon. It really is huge, it is very clever, and it definitely beats any view I've been told was 'scenic' before.



Like this.



Smaller pics so I don't bore you with too many pictures, but if you're interested in the full Vegas pictorial experience, check out my Vegas Flickr photoset here.



It's a stunning view, no matter how many times you see it.



Sandwich with a view,
Crackers, grapes and cheese too

Lunch was provided by Grand Adventures as part of the package. BTW, might I mention they don't have any hidden charges either. Just something that occured to me as I was typing this, because we'd read from TripAdvisor that many other tour companies sprung surprise costs on the customers, but we didn't have any other costs aside from the ones we paid upfront with these guys. (Obviously, I don't mean the tip is included because it's not.)

The sandwiches were advertised on the brochure as being home-made, and substantial in terms of portion size. I must say I agree with that. We had 2 sandwiches, and we chose one beef, and one ham option. As I'd kinda huffed my way to the lunch point, I wasn't in the mood for adding more weight to the hike, so decided to keep one of the sandwiches for the journey back. The one sandwich we shared between the 2 of us was more than enough to keep us full for the 45 mins trek (including sit down time), and those delicious crackers, cheese and grapes made for a satisfying end to the meal with a view.



After we'd made our way to the Southern Rim point where we took lots and lots of pics, we waited for the free bus that took us to the carpark. All tired out and feeling as fresh as you could feel in a desert, we sat down thankfully in the van, and continued our pre-lunch snooze while Alex took us all back to our hotels.

I've already written to the company telling them what a fab time we had and how professional Alex was, and I've said it here again, so if anyone is considering a Grand Canyon tour, do consider these guys! (I am not on commission, but if you feel like this review has helped you, please send me your leftover sandwiches.)



Back to the Bellagio.

Viva Las Vegas! Part 2 - Bellagio buffet, brow-furrying cabs and a whole lotta slushies

These 'hot babes' trucks are everywhere.

Anyway, continuing from the previous post where we'd left off - dehydrated, very tired, and also kinda dusty from all that desert wind. We got up around 9am which was really quite good considering the 8 hour time difference (meaning we got up like 5pm UK time - sloths), and by the time I'd covered myself in moisturiser, sunblock and make-up, I felt ready for another nap. Husband didn't allow this, and so I dragged my reluctant (gladiator-clad) feet out of the comfort of the Bellagio (whoop) and towards the 40 degree heat.



Bellagio by day



Bellagio by night



The famous fountains which came on every 10 minutes



Around the fountains were these speakers blaring out a mixture of classical music and Rat Pack combination which made for very relaxing strolls. The first picture on the left is actually the Louis Vuitton shop - these shops were everywhere.



Kinda confusing if you somehow were a little tipsy, thought you were in Vegas, and somehow see the Eiffel Tower in front of you.

With the Statue of Liberty somewhere towards the right.



While walking down the Strip, it was almost easy to be blasé about how OTT and extravagant everything was. Like, another giant statue made completely of gold? Pffft seen that just a few metres before.

What? A giant bowl made completely of silver, filled with white chocolate covered goldfish, and with hoola-hooping cats jumping across the bowl? Tsk, not another one.



Nothing is cheap here. No, not even the buffets. Not to me, anyway. Before I arrived here, I thought that casinos were meant to ply you with cheap food, free drinks and pretty much anything you wanted, just so you could remain gambling there. Little did I know that that was still the case for high rollers (re: not me) but for the other peasants like us, it was pretty much pay-your-own-way at the buffet, and Drinks If You Stay Long Enough.

What is Drinks If You Stay Long Enough?

Well, let's put it this way. You and the waitress play this waiting game.

First, you find a machine, the cheapest one you can find on the casino floor (1 cent is about as cheap as you can go). Then, you get yourself some dollars and put the first one into the machine. On the lowest number of lines (ie 1) and the cheapest bet you can go (ie 1 cent), this equates to 100 pushes of the Spin/Bet button.

On average, this gives you a good 3-5 minutes of the machine, if you play it cool. When you're just about to go to 0 cents, the machine usually throws in 20 cents or so for good measure just to hook you back into the game.

Anyway, about US$2 later, a waitress will somehow appear and ask if you want some drinks (they come by and go by VERY swiftly so make sure you get your order across).

Then, just to ensure you spend a few more dollars on the machine, the waitress will take what seems like forever (even though it's only about half an hour or so) to get back with your free drink, upon which you have to tip her a dollar or two.

Not the easiest way to get a free drink, but certainly one of the most fun.



MGM Grand trivia facts (from Wikipedia) - because I am running out of stuff to write about:

- The MGM Grand is the second largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian
(clarification: I don't know if they mean the hotel is actually situated in front of The Venetian, or if The Venetian holds third place and MGM Grand holds second place, or the other way around. Anyone?)

- The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in 1993

- The MGM Grand was one of the casinos featured in the 2001 film Ocean's Eleven

- There is a glass-sided lion habitat in the casino area, and up to six shows are shown everyday (lions don't live there, they live at their trainer's ranch outside Vegas)



Because nothing is cheap in Vegas (and certainly nothing is free in Vegas except for the smiles and hot hot heat), we had to venture out of the Bellagio and forage for food elsewhere - which usually happened to be within the malls. There were 2 malls which we visited quite a lot:

- The Fashion Show Mall (kinda down the other end of the Strip from where we were but they had quite a few good shops in there)
- Miracle Mile located within Planet Hollywood resort (across the road from where we were so we went there quite a lot)

Within the Fashion Show Mall was this huge food court (pic above). My husband has this fascination with Sbarro, as we only find it in some airports in the UK, and he ate it quite often when we were in NY. It's kinda like comfort food, fast-food style, and Italian. Irresistable combination.



Despite only having had breakfast at McD's half an hour prior to this, we had to get the pizza and stromboli for takeaway. It looked delicious, and I'm pleased to say that despite only eating it about 8 hours later in the hotel room, it still tasted fab. In fact, we continued eating some the next day and it tasted OK.



When we finally decided that we were hungry enough to tackle the Bellagio Buffet (one of the main things to do during our trip), we joined the hungry crowd queuing up for some unlimited food intake action at around 4pm. That's quite an OK time to go for a buffet as you get to miss the lunch crowd, and also get to be there before the dinner crowd. The dinner service generally starts at about 4pm, so it's not that ludicrous having dinner at that time. Not in Vegas anyway.



The queue after we'd finished our turn in there - it stretched for about 100 metres, no kidding, maybe even more. Like this is part 2 of the queue, the first part was within the restaurant area going all the way around until there was no space left so these guys are waiting outside.



Despite the number of people waiting outside, it was surprisingly not too crowded in the restaurant. There wasn't any queue getting to the food, waiting staff were always on hand with drink orders, and it seemed nice and calm.



That is, until you saw the Prawn Mountain. All logic and polite behaviour out the window - gimme some prawns. Gimme all the prawns. All prawns mine!

With the most ridiculous amount of prawns ever seen on one plate, I gingerly made my way back towards the table - a delicate balancing act of seafood vs human.



There was more battle to be raged. The king crab legs lay waiting to join their prawn friends at the table. I didn't disappoint and they didn't, either. Each crab claw had an enourmous chunk of juicy, crunchy crab meat in them; sweet and fresh to the bite.



The meat selection was just OK, compared to the other buffets I've been to before, though, admittedly, those buffets were in Asia where I guess they have to be a little more competitive than a buffet in Vegas, where queues go out the door and more. What you see in the picture above is of sausages and onions. Sausages were kinda hard, but they'd probably been left there some time grilling on the plate. OK for a bit of nibbling.



The tuna tartare which was marinated in an 'Asian' marinade, from what I could tell. I don't know why they chose to mask the taste of the fresh tuna with the strong taste of sesame oil, chilli oil, spring onion - all the stuff you do a stir fry with, certainly not marinate fresh tuna with.

Anyhow, I ate it for the texture since there was nothing much that the taste did for me, and it did satisfy the fish craving a little.



Desserts were pretty much the main feature of the buffet selection. With mini portions of a wide variety of little goodies, that part of the meal was the most fun. Our favourite was the slightly out-there combination of bread & butter pudding with some caramelised banana syrup below it.





Proud to say that despite having half the ocean's prawns supply, and eating my way through more desserts than I should have, I didn't actually feel too full. Self-control in full force.



We've heard that the Bellagio Buffet is one of the better ones in Vegas, and while it's best value in town at US$25pp, I can't say it's THE best buffet I've been to. It's certainly good in terms of seafood, beef and desserts so if you like all that, maybe you should try this out - fresh food, lots and lots of it, though you might have to stand in queue for a bit before getting to the prize.