Tips About Where To Go And What To Do In Las Vegas

     Las Vegas was our next tourist destination following our Los Angeles visit. After about 4 hours by car from LA, “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” (signage above) greeted us. The sign, like most of the Strip, sits in the town of Paradise and is located roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the actual city limits of Las Vegas. On December 6, 2013 the State Historic Preservation Office for the State of Nevada announced that the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign had been added to the State Register of Historic Places (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Fabulous_Las_Vegas_sign). 

Picture of Las Vegas welcome sign (background).

    The Venetian Hotel. Kiko, our designated driver and photographer, Lan, and I stayed at the Venetian Hotel (below) . It sits on the Las Vegas Strip, where some of the biggest hotels, resorts and casinos in the world are found. The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, approximately 4.2 miles (6.8 km) in length, located south of the Las Vegas city limits in the  towns of Paradise and Winchester.

Outside the Venetian Hotel. 

     We were able to pay for only a fraction of the cost of the room because Kiko and Lan, as frequent guests, were entitled to discounted rates at the Venetian. Like most 5-star hotels, opulence can be felt in every corner of the room. This Bella Suite (below) is approximately 700 square feet with two plush queen-sized pillow-top beds with sheets of Egyptian cotton.  Notice that this suite had a sunken living room with L-shaped sofa-sleeper (https://www.venetian.com/bella-suite.html).

Pictures of Bella Suite, Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas. 

      Among the amenities in the suite, the bath room was the first room that I checked. I was not disappointed (photo below). The view from the door of our room did not show the bathroom located left of the door and has the following features: 130-square-foot bathroom; 17 inch flat-screen LCD HD TV; Roman tub with separate glass-enclosed shower; adjacent water closet with telephone; and double-sink vanity.

(Photo: https://www.venetian.com/bella-suite.html)

     Since, it was almost dark, we thought it best to see the strip at night. But first, the essence of the Vegas experience is to try your luck in one of their ‘tables’. So we did try our luck at this slot machine (below, L-Lan; R-me)). We did not stay long, though, because we did not get lucky, and our tummies were almost empty.

L-R: Lan and me, trying our luck at the Venetian Hotel Casino.

     Margaritaville. Walking along the road from the Venetian, we spotted this bar, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. “Jimmy Buffett  is an American singer–songwriter, author, actor, and businessman best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Buffett had recorded hit songs including "Margaritaville" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Buffett.) Margaritaville is actually part of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, but has an entrance right on the Las Vegas Strip. Margaritaville is a tropical hideaway in this concrete jungle. Inside were scenes culled out from an exotic-island-adventure. There were so many things going around that we were not able to finish the Volcano Nachos and drinks that we ordered (below, R). (http://www.margaritavillelasvegas.com/events.html#sthash.Zwiek6Kn.dpuflow).

Pictures while dining in Margaritaville, Las Vegas.

     The sights and sounds inside this paradise were so enthralling. If I remember right, there were great live music, an LA Lakers game going on TV, stilt walkers and balloon artists, but what caught our attention was a “ Las Vegas Cutie” sliding in and out a volcano into a Margarita glass (below).

Las Vegas 'cutie' sliding in and out a Margarita glass.

      On our first night in Vegas, we secured our tummies and our beds. Later, we strolled around the strip and saw what the ‘action’ was. More on this in a separate article.