The Highlights of Vegas

Vegas…there is so much I could write about this place, pool parties, erotic poetry, David Copperfield, The Strip, unique teppanyaki, Craps, casinos, pop up chapel, celebrities, mobsters, suspected bobcat, bottle service, hypnosis….but maybe I should just start at the beginning.

Tim and I had planned to stay 4 nights in Vegas. two on the strip and two couch surfing with a couple named Ivan and Jennifer. Well that didn’t turn out the way we had planned….

Coming to Vegas and staying for 4 nights turned into staying for 65 nights. Couch surfing for 2 nights turned into house sitting for 2 months, hosts turned into lifelong friends.

So much happened whilst we were Vegas, some things people wouldn’t believe if we told them.

Ivan and Jennifer’s friend and next door neighbour Michael was going overseas for a little while. He asked if we could please look after his house and feed his cat whilst he was away. We had no plans, Michael seemed nice, so did Ivan and Jennifer, so we said yes. And let me say the 2 months we spent in Vegas are definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

How we lasted 2 months in Vegas is a common question we get asked, but how couldn’t you? There is so much to see and do, especially when you have locals as friends 🙂

Ever thought it would be cool to get married in Vegas? Well Tim and I really wanted to, Ivan found out that the Cosmopolitan’s Pop up Chapel was open and they were allowing 10 couple to get married for free as a promotion. All four of us put our names down.

There were 10 couples, some in wedding dresses, some in fancy dress and others in normal clothes. There was even a gay couple who brought their dog.

Wedding #2

Photo Booth Pictures

Musashi Japanese Steakhouse – Unique Teppanyaki

If you enjoy Teppanyaki, an entertaining show, a great feed, don’t get offended easily and aren’t afraid or something a little different, then I cannot recommend Musashi highly enough. Tiger is the chef you want, he will have you in stitches with the funny comments he makes and toys he uses. The food is amazing and for what you pay is reasonable as it is not just a meal, but also a show. Here are a couple of snapshots from our first time there…

We had so much fun here that we went back 4 times over the 2 month period, each time slightly different, but always hilarious.

All of us enjoy magic, Michael being good friends with David Copperfield’s manager organised us all free tickets to David Copperfield’s show at the MGM Grand. It was amazing! The seats were great and some of the tricks I am still trying to work out now. The show is well worth watching if you are ever nearby, there isn’t a boring minute and David Copperfield is very interactive with the audience.

Ivan and Jennifer heard about a ‘Tweet Up’ Titanic Artifact Exhibition at the Luxor, so we went there one evening for a look around. There were remains of the ship that had been retrieved from the ocean and sets showing how the cabins and different classes looked. Here we met Ivan’s friend Lee, a nice guy from England, the two had met on an overland safari in Africa. The Titanic Artifact Exhibition was free for those attending the ‘Tweet Up’, so we all went along, explored the exhibition and enjoyed free drinks and canapés.

There was a promotion on at the nightclub called The Act, it was an ‘End of the World’ themed event. Jennifer had won bottle service for this event so we all went along and enjoyed an hour of open bar, a bottle of vodka, sweets and treats, good music and face painting.

The Mob Museum is worth a look if you are interested in the history of the Las Vegas mobsters.

When we went there was a free event for locals to promote their whisky and because Al Capone’s niece was giving a speech about the history of Al Capone. The four of us decided to go along and listen to the speech, explore the museum and enjoy the complimentary whisky, cocktails and food for their guests. The museum was a lot of fun, with lots of hands on and interactive things to look at.

Another highlight and a must to do when you are in Vegas is to experience a Vegas pool party. These parties are out of control, the one we attended at Encore beach club was featuring Avichii and there would easily have been more than a thousand people there. The atmosphere was awesome! We were lucky to have bottle service here too, thanks to Lee. So we all enjoyed the sun, pool, vodka and music throughout the day (some the vodka just a little too much 😉 ).

Another fun pool party was at Wet Republic when Steve Aoki was playing. Steve Aoki would spray bottles of champagne over the audience, throw cakes into peoples faces, crowd surf and throw out free singlets.

I won’t use names, but Michael introduced us a to a really nice guy who ended up having so many surprises up his sleeve. Starting with owning the Eleanor car from Gone in 60 Seconds, signed by Nicholas Cage – Tim enjoyed checking out this beast.

To having secret rooms in his house, like what you see in a James Bond movie..move a poster here, press a button there, that kind of thing. Inside the first secret door was the Batman get up and behind that a secret room filled with so many awesome movie props and accessories from the Golden Gun to Dexter’s blood slides. We had so much fun exploring his house, he really was the nicest guy.

These are just a handful of the highlights from our stay in Vegas, if you are planning on visiting you will not be disappointed. There is so much to see and do, everyone’s in great spirits and there is always someone up to party 🙂