The English Maximalista

The Top Banana is my OG travel partner. Prior to her birth, I had, of course, traveled with my parents, but otherwise the majority of my travels were solo until she came along.

One of the great things about having a daughter is that not only does one has a BFF for life, one also has a built-in travel companion. Ever since my girl was five months old, she has accompanied me on many amazing trips, here in the States and overseas.

She is 23 years old, now, with a life of her own. A house. A boyfriend. And that most-pesky of hindrances: a full-time job, which dictates how frequently she is allowed to up sticks to travel with her peripatetic mother.

We work around it. It’s been 18 months since she left home, so we are still getting into the swing of our lives apart from each other. This year, the pair of us have taken two Girls Trips. The first trip was to Kansas City (don’t even ask…!). 

And now? We are in Vegas, baby!

*****

As I write this, it is 5:30am local time, meaning it is 6:30 in Colorado. Of course, I am wide awake. Enjoying the quietude of this time of day, I’m sitting up in one of the queen-size beds in our suite at the Bellagio, which is a rather swanky joint. I would definitely stay here again.

In the fifty years I have been on this Earth, I have never had an enormous urge to visit Vegas. I mean, sure, it has been on my bucket list. Just somewhere kind of down the middle of the list. Not at the top, nor at the bottom.

There has always been some mild disdain lurking in the back of my mind that Vegas would not be my kind of town. Not my usual cup of tea. I harbored some casual snobbery that it would be too tawdry. Too obnoxious for my taste. 

Admittedly it is those things and more. So you can only imagine my surprise at how much I genuinely like it here!

Sure, we have only been to The Strip, sticking to the touristy spots, and avoiding dark alleys. Our experience has been safe. But we are having a great time!

*****

We arrived late on Thursday morning, took a quick taxi ride [costing a flat-rate of $25, not including a tip] from the airport to our hotel, where we were fortunate to check-in a couple hours early. After settling into our lovely suite, we decided to explore the locale.

The Bellagio is gorgeous. Painfully elegant, despite the acreage of flashing neon slot machines. The decor is to an exceptionally high standard. Polished marble. Beautiful mosaic floors. Exquisite artwork and fabulous sculptures. The gardens are immaculately manicured. This place is, as I said, GORGEOUS.

The Top Banana and I had a nose around the hotel, getting our bearings, before hitting The Strip. Our first afternoon, we just wanted to take it all in. Look around. Do a spot of shopping. Grab a bite to eat.

Outside, the first unexpected thing we noticed was how there are lots of footbridges crossing the major streets, eliminating the pedestrian traffic crossing the roads. It took a moment to figure out how to navigate these elevated walkways, because we really did not expect them, but after the initial confusion discovered it was really simple. Many of them even have escalators and lifts, not just stairs. Vegas is full of surprises!

Another surprise is that lots of people here smoke cigarettes. Openly. It’s like stepping back to the 1970’s. I’m still getting used to the blast of the smell of cigarette smoke, every time we step foot into any casino or restaurant. Even with the powerful extraction systems which are prevalent all over, the rank stink permeates.

In Vegas, one is allowed to hop from hotel to hotel with complete ease. In fact, this is encouraged. The hotels all have casinos, of course [this IS Las Vegas!] where they want you to lose your money. Many of them have a lot of shops… where they also want you to drop your cash.

And by shops, I don’t just mean the usual hotel shops flogging the bog-standard over-priced tat emblazoned with their hotel logo. No, I’m talking about REALLY nice luxury brands with goods imported from France and Italy. The Bellagio alone has Hermés, Cartier, Chanel, Van Cleef & Arpel, Bottega Veneta, Gucci… to name a few. It’s amazing.

There are three Chanel boutiques in Vegas. I went into each of them. This is a personal best.

*****

One simply cannot go to Vegas without catching a show. The Top Banana and I opted to see Cirque du Soleil’s “O”. This was playing at the Bellagio’s own theatre, and again, we were astonished. Not only at the lovely venue, but also at what a phenomenal experience “O” was. I had not been expecting a retracting swimming pool in the middle of the stage, with platforms emerging from the depths, and acrobats diving from trapezes.

OMG. It was indescribably spectacular. Our tickets were reasonably priced [$125 each], and honestly, worth every penny.

We also went to an exhibition of clothes worn by royalty. Mostly Diana, Princess of Wales, but there were also outfits worn by Catherine, the current Princess of Wales, along with gowns worn by Grace Kelly and Wallis Simpson. There were lots of other artifacts on display, consisting mostly of hand-written letters and signed cards.

Our tickets cost $40 each, and for anyone interested in historical fashion design, I recommend it. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

*****

Tonight, we have tickets for the enormous Ferris wheel, AKA the High Roller Observation Wheel. I have to admit that I am not at all keen on going on this attraction, but I have been coerced by my emotionally manipulative daughter, who has promised me a glass of champagne at the end of the 30-minute ride.

My arm was reluctantly twisted.

So, if you never hear from me again, you will know it’s because I died a terrible plunging death on the Ferris wheel. It will probably make the evening news. 

And my last words probably were, “I told you these things weren’t bloody safe!”

Lots of love,

M xo