Vegas Day 1 Observations.

I just have to start off by saying there are two EXTREMELY important things to know about Vegas: 1. Vegas is ridiculously hot.

I've been to India in the summer. Vegas was a thousand times worse. Granted, we did go in August, but man. That dry desert heat is something else. Prepare yourselves, people. It is so hot, the air HURTS to inhale. It is so hot you sweat out of every orifice in your body. It is so hot, you'll break out in a rash as soon as you set foot outside (just me? alrighty then).

2. Vegas is bigger than you think.

When Adam, who has been to Vegas 4 times already, suggested that we do one side of the Strip one day, and the other side the next, I thought he was insane. It's a road! A single road. How much time can it take to see it?! Well. I had not taken into consideration either of the two very important things above. Each resort, is like 5 city blocks. It took almost 15 minutes to walk past Caesar's Palace! That's ONE resort. And there are 33 resorts on the strip (I looked it up). Do the math. Adam was right. Combine that with the sweltering heat and I was more than happy to hang out at the pool for the majority of the morning.

The Mirage Pool

This pool is GORGEOUS. It's one of the nicer ones on the Strip (says Adam--I have zero things to compare it to). It's in a funky shape, with lots of palm trees, and it's pretty quiet--perfect for relaxing. The drinks there are exorbitantly expensive ($33 USD for ONE cup) but it's like a litre of booze and you get to keep the cup as a souvenir, so it's worth getting at least one. You will not realize how strong they are until you try to get out of the pool and proceed to fall on your face.

After relaxing (and getting day drunk, let's be real) we decided we needed food, and we knew we wanted to take advantage of Las Vegas' amazing restaurant scene while we were here. Made sense to see some of the Strip then at the same time. We explored and saw: The Bellagio, Caesars Palace, The Cromwell, and the Cosmopolitan, where we decided on Chinese-Mexican fusion restaurant, China Poblano. (It's exactly what you think it is, and it's damn good).

It doesn't sound like much, but walking/exploring the strip took up most of the day. We also wandered into each casino, and I got hooked on the wonderful world of slot machines. Sex & The City and 'The Hangover' games were my favourite; I have never seen a way to spend money faster. Be warned! It's a lot of fun though.