Sunday, August 29, 2004
The Last Post..
..from me anyway. Louise is supposed to be adding one more too.
Well we've been home a few days now, and still not given details on our Vegas visit. I must admit, I loved New Zealand so much, I wasn't really looking forward to a USA trip, having been there a few times before. However, Vegas really is somewhere quite unique. For a start off, we were back to summer and hot weather. After the peace of New Zealand, the busy bustling streets of Las Vegas were quite a culture shock! The natural beauty of Queenstown is a huge contrast to the totally artificial oppulence of the Vegas hotels. On the other hand, it was a good idea to have a total contrast I think, two very different places.
We arrived on Saturday 21st - an extremely long day that included lunch in a gorgous Queenstown lakeside cafe, flights to Auckland, then Los Angeles and then Las Vegas(crossing the international date line) checking into our hotel before hitting the Strip, and seeing the amazing Bellagio fountains. We decided to go in and see Vegas' poshest hotel - and very nice it was too. We tried out their buffet (and about 11pm) and gambled til about 2am before collapsing into bed. I think the day lasted about 40 hours for us!
We did a helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon on the Monday, and it was a great way to see this natural wonder - although I was a little disappointed in a way. We really didn't see THAT much of the Grand Canyon. Basically, we flew there, landed for 20 mins or so, then flew back. OK, so it is over 200 miles long and you can't see everything, but I didn't really feel I saw enough of it. On the other hand, you really did get some idea of the scale of the thing when you flew down and down into the canyon in a chopper! It was huge, but I'd just liked to have seen it for more than 20 minutes.
One of the nicest things about Vegas was meeing up with Louise's relatives Tony, Cath, Mark and Catherine. They were staying at the Luxor - a hotel I thought was gorgeous, and my favourite casino too. We spent lots of time with them - Louise and Tony really getting into roulette. Louise is addicted I think!
However, Vegas is a pig of a place if you get separated! Our mobile phones didn't work there, only Mark's did and trying to find people in those massive casinos is a nightmare! On the last day I went off to find some DVD shops, planning on ringing Mark's mobile to arrange to meet up later in the day. However, he must have been somewhere with no phone coverage, as I kept getting his voicemail! I eventually tracked them down in the New York, New York casino at about 11.30pm after a lot of wandering around.
Our last day was pretty memorable too. We got a limo to the airport(well, it was only $5 more than a cab) and checked our bags, then headed to the Luxor to see if Louise's relatives were there. They had gone off to a shopping mall, and Louise rang and chatted to them to say goodbye. We went to have lunch, and they all turned upto surprise us with a bottle of champagne singing happy birthday to Louise (a couple of days early, but what the hell.) It was really sweet, and gave Lou a chance to have one more successful spell at the roulette table.
Anyway, we went off in a taxi to get our plane, but as we walked through the doors of the airport, I realisd I had left my bag in the back of the cab - with my tickets and passport in!! It was a total nightmare as we had to race around to the taxi rank where hundreds of taxis were. And of course, we couldn't remember the number or even the proper colour of the cab!
I have to say what total sweethearts Las Vegas cabbies are. So many of the drivers were just lovely trying to help us. They rang up their companies for us and tried to pass the word around. Then, with 30mins to go before we were due to fly, our driver turned up waving my bag. I think I could have kissed him! Such relief! What an idiot I am (no, don't agree too much!)
The journey home was long a tedious. Four hour wait in LA, and the bumpiest flight I have ever been on! 100mph tail winds meant our plane was an hour ahead of schedule, but also meant we were bumped around big time! We also had a girl with THE most annoying laugh sitting right behind us. I was ready to slap her after the first 30 minutes! I think journeys home are always horrible. You are tired, and just want to get there. We had just done our 14th flight (15 of you include the skydive plane and 16 for Louise who flew her hang glider too!)
It was nice to be home, but it still feels wierd. Living out of a suitcase for almost 6 weeks and being on the go pretty much non stop got to feel quite normal for us I think.
So many amazing highlights for me during this trip. I think the skydive is probably my number one moment. New Zealand was fabulous and is the place I loved the most. But I also really enjoyed Hong Kong. Then there was the natural beauty of Ayres Rock - amazing, and the camel rise was such a laugh. I am addicted to Maori cultural concerts! Four just wasn't enough (although I did buy a tape at the airport so I can listen at home!) Then there was the thrill of visiting those Xena filming location, so exciting for me. The glitz of Vegas was a great experience. Hong Kong harbour at night is stunning - and the view from The Peak was amazing. Driving through the South Island of New Zealand with snow capped mountains and blue skies was like being in paradise (a cold and mountainous one though.) NZ really is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Meeting up with Ambra and Sarah in Australia, Ann and Gary in New Zealand, Cath, Tony, Mark and Catherine in Las Vegas was also really nice. I think Louise and I would have murdered each other if it had been just us for 38 days!
An amazing trip just jam packed with memories. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Click here for more photos (coming soon!)
Well we've been home a few days now, and still not given details on our Vegas visit. I must admit, I loved New Zealand so much, I wasn't really looking forward to a USA trip, having been there a few times before. However, Vegas really is somewhere quite unique. For a start off, we were back to summer and hot weather. After the peace of New Zealand, the busy bustling streets of Las Vegas were quite a culture shock! The natural beauty of Queenstown is a huge contrast to the totally artificial oppulence of the Vegas hotels. On the other hand, it was a good idea to have a total contrast I think, two very different places.
We arrived on Saturday 21st - an extremely long day that included lunch in a gorgous Queenstown lakeside cafe, flights to Auckland, then Los Angeles and then Las Vegas(crossing the international date line) checking into our hotel before hitting the Strip, and seeing the amazing Bellagio fountains. We decided to go in and see Vegas' poshest hotel - and very nice it was too. We tried out their buffet (and about 11pm) and gambled til about 2am before collapsing into bed. I think the day lasted about 40 hours for us!
We did a helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon on the Monday, and it was a great way to see this natural wonder - although I was a little disappointed in a way. We really didn't see THAT much of the Grand Canyon. Basically, we flew there, landed for 20 mins or so, then flew back. OK, so it is over 200 miles long and you can't see everything, but I didn't really feel I saw enough of it. On the other hand, you really did get some idea of the scale of the thing when you flew down and down into the canyon in a chopper! It was huge, but I'd just liked to have seen it for more than 20 minutes.
One of the nicest things about Vegas was meeing up with Louise's relatives Tony, Cath, Mark and Catherine. They were staying at the Luxor - a hotel I thought was gorgeous, and my favourite casino too. We spent lots of time with them - Louise and Tony really getting into roulette. Louise is addicted I think!
However, Vegas is a pig of a place if you get separated! Our mobile phones didn't work there, only Mark's did and trying to find people in those massive casinos is a nightmare! On the last day I went off to find some DVD shops, planning on ringing Mark's mobile to arrange to meet up later in the day. However, he must have been somewhere with no phone coverage, as I kept getting his voicemail! I eventually tracked them down in the New York, New York casino at about 11.30pm after a lot of wandering around.
Our last day was pretty memorable too. We got a limo to the airport(well, it was only $5 more than a cab) and checked our bags, then headed to the Luxor to see if Louise's relatives were there. They had gone off to a shopping mall, and Louise rang and chatted to them to say goodbye. We went to have lunch, and they all turned upto surprise us with a bottle of champagne singing happy birthday to Louise (a couple of days early, but what the hell.) It was really sweet, and gave Lou a chance to have one more successful spell at the roulette table.
Anyway, we went off in a taxi to get our plane, but as we walked through the doors of the airport, I realisd I had left my bag in the back of the cab - with my tickets and passport in!! It was a total nightmare as we had to race around to the taxi rank where hundreds of taxis were. And of course, we couldn't remember the number or even the proper colour of the cab!
I have to say what total sweethearts Las Vegas cabbies are. So many of the drivers were just lovely trying to help us. They rang up their companies for us and tried to pass the word around. Then, with 30mins to go before we were due to fly, our driver turned up waving my bag. I think I could have kissed him! Such relief! What an idiot I am (no, don't agree too much!)
The journey home was long a tedious. Four hour wait in LA, and the bumpiest flight I have ever been on! 100mph tail winds meant our plane was an hour ahead of schedule, but also meant we were bumped around big time! We also had a girl with THE most annoying laugh sitting right behind us. I was ready to slap her after the first 30 minutes! I think journeys home are always horrible. You are tired, and just want to get there. We had just done our 14th flight (15 of you include the skydive plane and 16 for Louise who flew her hang glider too!)
It was nice to be home, but it still feels wierd. Living out of a suitcase for almost 6 weeks and being on the go pretty much non stop got to feel quite normal for us I think.
So many amazing highlights for me during this trip. I think the skydive is probably my number one moment. New Zealand was fabulous and is the place I loved the most. But I also really enjoyed Hong Kong. Then there was the natural beauty of Ayres Rock - amazing, and the camel rise was such a laugh. I am addicted to Maori cultural concerts! Four just wasn't enough (although I did buy a tape at the airport so I can listen at home!) Then there was the thrill of visiting those Xena filming location, so exciting for me. The glitz of Vegas was a great experience. Hong Kong harbour at night is stunning - and the view from The Peak was amazing. Driving through the South Island of New Zealand with snow capped mountains and blue skies was like being in paradise (a cold and mountainous one though.) NZ really is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Meeting up with Ambra and Sarah in Australia, Ann and Gary in New Zealand, Cath, Tony, Mark and Catherine in Las Vegas was also really nice. I think Louise and I would have murdered each other if it had been just us for 38 days!
An amazing trip just jam packed with memories. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Click here for more photos (coming soon!)
