To finalize the travel content for California and Las Vegas, we have” Las Vegas, the last part of the journey. In fact, the whole idea of the trip began with Vegas. Let me explain. Cosmoprof, probably the largest beauty fair in the United States and North America, takes place every year in Las Vegas. I always wanted to check the event up close, so this year I decided to apply for a press badge and I got it. From that confirmation, we planned the trip – so that we would end up in Vegas. And I must confess: I never wanted to visit the city. We practically planned nothing, and when we were in San Francisco visiting our friends, Analuisa said that she loved the city, suggesting things to do and that’s it: I got excited and full of expectations with the city. Can I say it? I loved Vegas and I really want to return! I’m going to write this post into several topics because I think it’s best to explore everything I want to tackle! We stayed two days and three nights in the city, could not do much, but I think our passage was super pleasurable!
Flight / airport / transportation -we arrived in Las Vegas on a flight coming from Los Angeles. Our flight was operated by United Airlines. It’s a very fast trip, about 1h30. The plane flew over the desert and the one (which I believe to be, as I researched) Lake Mead. As it was the end of the day, the light was beautiful. It was surreal to see the desert from above. Arriving in Vegas, you can already see the Strip from the plane and I confess that my heart beat very hard! At the airport, we had no doubts: we were in Las Vegas – as there are several machines to play around. We proceed to the landing area to request for an Uber to our hotel. The airport is not so far from the city and the trip was quick and cheap. Values vary, but I think we paid $25.
Weather – when arriving at the landing area to wait for the Uber, we had the first impact: the weather. I had heard a lot about Vegas weather, but nothing, nothing I heard had prepared me for the heat we found. 43 degrees Celsius at 10% humidity. I can not describe what that heat is. You do not perspire – you do not have time – and on the first day, mostly, any walk already made me feel a little bad. Also: July is, according to my research, the month with the highest averages in the city. Honestly, I do not think I would go back there this time – March, October, November, and December seem like better months.
Hotel – we booked the Wynn Hotel. For those unfamiliar with the city, everything happens on the Las Vegas Strip. It is an almost 7 km avenue where most hotels and casinos are located. The Wynn is at the end of the Strip, near the Palazzo and the Trump Hotel. Like every hotel in Vegas, it’s gigantic – I have no idea how many rooms there are. The room is luxurious, with curtains and automatic light, gigantic bathroom. Our room was on the 26th floor overlooking the strip. Hotels in Las Vegas are truly worlds apart. In our hotel, there were boutiques of famous brands such as Chanel and Dior, spa, beauty salon, restaurant, swimming pool … Not to mention the casino, of course. We loved the structure of the pool, it was huge with lots of space around it, and the hotel provided free towels.
Wynn does not have a specific theme, but several hotels in the city are in this vibe, such as the Paris, which imitates the French capital, the Venetian, which imitates Venice – with a gondola ride, New York, with a replica Statue of Liberty … The truth is you sit in an adult amusement park. And you can do “tourism” in hotels, because everyone’s lobby is like a public area, with casinos, restaurants and shops. I confess: when we arrived and we left to take the first turn, I was a little overwhelmed and lost with so many options and so much to see. Oh, and what happens is that people usually stay in hotels during the day and go out at night. In fact, the city is beautiful to be seen at night, with the lights and everything.
Transportation – We did not rent a car in Vegas, even because we had little time in the city. The impression we have is that everything is very close at the Strip – but it is a mistake! Maybe also because of our location, since we were at the end of the Strip. But things I thought were on our side – like the Ferris Wheel, for example, were actually a 20-minute walk! And a 20-minute walk in a 40-degree Celsius heat, for me at least it was humanly impossible. But, finally, because of distances and heat, we used a lot Uber and Lyft and the rates were not expensive. The only thing that you need to know is that Uber has boarding and disembarking points – cars do not pick up passengers on the Strip, it’s forbidden. But it’s super easy: according to its location, the app tells you where to expect the car.
Food – Las Vegas has many dining options! On Friday we went to dinner at the Gordon Ramsay Burger. There, we ordered the Hells Kitchen Burger, a delight ($ 17 each)! The atmosphere is very informal and is at Planet Hollywood. On Saturday morning, we did a classic thing of who goes to Vegas – a buffet brunch. The buffets are super famous in Las Vegas, basically, you pay a fixed price and eat with ease. At our hotel is The Buffet at Wynn, it costs $ 34 per person and has plenty of it but plenty of food. But it really is! From typical breakfast dishes such as freshly made pancakes and eggs, pastries, sushi, pasta, pizzas, meats, desserts. Oh really. Surreal. At this price, drinks included juice, coffee, tea, and water. We also had dinner at the Lake, which is in Bellagio, it is fancy! We ordered a plate of octopus and a risotto – the price is higher, on average $ 25, but the food is delicious! In addition, we also ate at Terrace Pointe Cafe, which is also at Wynn and at Fish & Chips, another casual Gordon Ramsay restaurant, focused on the classic dish.
Entertainment – Las Vegas is the city with a busy nightlife! There are many parties, concerts (several singers/bands spend seasons there doing shows) and also many Cirque du Soleil performances and the like! We chose an Absinthe show, which rolls at Caesars Palace. It has a much simpler structure than Cirque du Soleil, not a big place – consequently, you will have a great view anywhere you sit. The show lasts about two hours and has many juggling performances, artistic gymnastics (similar to what you see in Cirque du Soleil). Between one presentation and another, there are a few hints of humor – with a lot of sex-related content and I’d say with some macho passages. But the artistic part is flawless. The presentations are impeccable. You can buy here.
E claro, explorar os hoteis também é uma espécie de entretenimento! Nós vimos as águas dançantes do Bellagio, entramos no Paris, vimos a réplica da Torre Eiffel e do Arco do Triunfo. É um tanto surreal, mas muito bacana! E obviamente, se você quiser jogar, cassinos é que não vão faltar. A gente acabou jogando somente naquelas máquinas “caça-níqueis”. Obviamente, perdemos mais dinheiro que ganhamos, porém, vale a dica que uma amiga deu: separe um dinheiro para gastar nisso e veja isso como um ingresso para diversão.
And of course, exploring the hotels is also a kind of entertainment! We saw the dancing waters of the Bellagio, walked into Paris, saw the replica of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. It’s a bit surreal but really cool! And obviously, if you want to play, casinos are not going to miss.
Final thoughts – we loved Vegas and I was dying to return with a group of friends. Overall, it seemed to be a place where everyone goes to enjoy – I just saw happy people, lol. Finally, I’ll leave a tip that I could not take advantage of: a follower told me about the MyVegas app. It’s a game through which you can earn points and redeem various things, like tickets and dinners. I believe it’s worth downloading and start playing before the trip.
And what about you? Do you know Vegas?
Laura Peruchi é jornalista, autora e empreendedora. Mora em Nova York com seu marido desde 2014, e, desde então, divide em seu blog um conteúdo variado sobre a Big Apple. Com dicas de turismo, compras, restaurantes e muito mais, sua plataforma online tornou-se referência em conteúdo em português para quem está planejando uma viagem a Nova York. Acompanhe Laura também no Instagram, Youtube, Facebook e Spotify.
