Friday & Saturday / Las Vegas

 {Ceiling display at the Bellagio}

After our drive through the desert to get to Vegas I had grown accustomed to and comfortable with the sight of just the mountains and the sky. Entering Vegas with its giant billboards and flashing lights everywhere felt a bit like an assault on my senses, and not in a very pleasant way.

We checked into our hotel then went to In ‘n’ Out Burger for dinner. I loved the simplicity of their menu – just 3 options made choosing what to eat very easy. Aside from the delicious burger and thick chocolate milkshake, my favourite aspect of In ‘n’ Out was that they have Bible verses printed on all their packaging! A lovely surprise to find in a fast food restaurant.

Although we were all tired from a long day of driving, we decided to drive to the famous Boulevard Strip, but this was just one activity too many for me and I promptly slept through the whole drive.

Saturday evening was by far the highlight of our time in Vegas. Tim & Becky took us to see a Cirque du Soleil show at the Bellagio. Oh my. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a brilliant performance. Words escape me to be able to even begin to describe how brilliant it was. I laughed with astonishment, gasped in anticipation, sat on the edge of my seat, and wondered why I had pursued a career in teaching rather than training as an acrobatic gymnast because what could be more fun than dressing up in amazing costumes and spinning, somersaulting and diving into water? There were so many ingenious props and effects used in this show that wowed us from the first curtain – the big red curtain didn’t just open in a regular manner – it swooped down from the ceiling and sections of it swooshed in different directions diagonally across the stage. Confused? Me too! I have no idea how they did that. And that was just the start. If ever you get the chance to see a Cirque du Soleil performance, DO IT.

After the show we went outside to watch the famous Bellagio fountains display. Another incredible feast for the eyes. 

Vegas is a curious place filled with very evident poverty existing alongside great wealth and a lot of sad looking people gambling away a whole lot of money. We were struck by the number of families with children there were – the gambling capital of the world did not strike us as the most obvious place to take your children on holiday – but there we go. We left Vegas on Sunday morning, ready for some more National Park fun in Zion, Utah.