We spent three nights and two days simple gazing at the sights . The enormity of the hotels was almost overwhelming and the imagination and creativity that went into making them so fabulous is genius . Most of the hotels have a theme which is obvious from their names , such as Paris , The Venetian , Luxor , New York New York , Circus Circus … you get the idea . One of my favourites was The Venetian . A river runs through the hotel where you can take a ride and be serenaded by a gondolier . It is like walking through the streets of Venice with boutique shops , small bridges and different restaurants and cafes . The ceiling is even painted like the sky and you could easily believe you were outside .
However , our favourite hotel by far was The Bellagio . Absolutely beautiful , it defines elegance through its indulgent décor . The building centres around a large conservatory which has a different display dependent on the season . We went in spring so the conservatory was covered in bright colourful flowers , a large windmill and butterfly displays that took over the vast area . However , the most magnificent aspect of The Bellagio is its famous fountains which dance to music and light . Every hour different mesmerising displays can be viewed which blast water out almost as high as the top of the hotel . It ’ s hard to describe if you haven ’ t been there , but it was so lovely it made me cry . And I don ’ t cry often .
We said goodbye to the crazy toy town of Vegas on day four and flew to New York .
We decided we couldn ’ t go all the way to Vegas without taking a trip to one of the seven wonders of the world , so we squeezed in a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon during our three days . The 45 minute trip took us across the sparse , mountainous desert , past the breath taking view of the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead and into the entrance of the 277-mile-long canyon . We stopped to enjoy a champagne breakfast and take in the magnificent view . This is definitely a must see and I would recommend the four-hour round trip to anyone .
A visit to Vegas is obviously not complete without a photo by the famous ‘ Welcome to Las Vegas ’ sign , so loaded with water
54 and sun cream we took to long walk to the end of the strip for the iconic photo . Definitely well worth doing if you can take the heat .
We said goodbye to the crazy toy town of Vegas on day four and flew to New York . When we touched down we headed straight into the city to our hotel in Times Square . The taxi journey from JFK airport was slightly hair-raising amongst the traffic and car horns but we made it to the hotel injury free and started our fabulous three nights . Times Square was our first stop , which was actually a lot smaller than we were expecting , but they do say everything looks bigger on camera so I guess I ’ m just used to seeing it in films . It was great all the same , and the hustle and bustle of people and traffic did make me feel like I was in a movie .
We threw ourselves into the New York lifestyle . Quickly mastering the street numbers , and armed with a Starbucks and pretzel from the street vendors , we set off on foot across the city . From Central Park to the Financial District we ticked off all the must see sights . John
Lennon ’ s memorial , Strawberry Fields and the Dakota building , shops on Fifth Avenue , Ground Zero , the newly built Freedom Tower and the Statue of Liberty are definitely all worth a visit .
We took a great boat trip from the harbour across to Elias Island , the Statue of Liberty and under Brooklyn Bridge which gave us some fantastic photo opportunities looking back at the high rise buildings of the Financial District .
I absolutely loved New York . From relaxing amongst the trees in Central Park watching the buskers or going to one of the many bars and restaurants there was a real buzz and excitement about the city .
One of the best things we did in New York was taking a trip up the 70 floors of the Rockefeller Centre at night . The view from one of the three viewing platforms was breathtaking with a direct view to the impressive Empire State Building . No photo could ever do it justice and although we were at the top of ‘ Rock ’ I felt like Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle