Hi all,

Sorry its been so long since our last blog- its been a very busy week for us! After a very relaxing 5 days in Nadi Bay Resort, we left the lovely Fiji sunshine behind and flew to LA. Our first night in LA passed by in a jetlag-induced blur and on sunday morning we picked up our hire car and headed to Vegas. The drive through the Mojave desert was relatively straight-forward and Fin did extremely well considering he hasn't driven for 3 months and they drive on the wrong side of the road here.

So we're in Vegas baby! I have no idea how I'm ever going to be able to do it justice in this blog so I apologise in advance for my repetetive use of adjectives. We are staying at Circus Circus, one of the big hotels/casinos at the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard (the strip). The first night we didn't even get out of the complex, it's so huge! The main casino area is crazy big and the amount of games, tables, slot machines etc is mind- blowing. There are also at least 10 restaurants, shops selling all kinds of goodies, a salon, a spa, a stage displaying daily circus acts and 2 swimming pools. Oh, and an indoor theme park. Really, there's no need to leave the complex. Ever. But that would mean missing sooooo much more!

On our first day, we decided to explore the North end of the strip. We walked to Stratosphere tower- a 192ft tower attached to a hotel and casino. Some crazy nutter has decided to put 3 white knuckle thrill rides ON TOP of this tower and we were all set to head on up but unfortunately 1 of the rides was closed due to wind so we decided to go back when we can do them all in one go (which is our plan for this evening). We went to the NASCAR cafe instead and arrived just in time to see someone take on the challenge of eating (and finishing) a 6 lb burito. We have a picture. The cafe and casino area is relatively small by Vegas standards but it still managed to have a huge roller coaster attached to the side of the building. Its called Speed:the ride and the name does not do it justice. We were the only ones on it and someone (Fin) convinced me it would be better at the front. Not that it made any difference as I had my eyes clenched shut the entire time. When we were queuing up, I was thinking it can't possibly be that fast. I was wrong. I was literally shaking afterward. Never again! Fin loved it.

That evening, we went to see a show at Treasure Island. It was a stunt show that took place outside the hotel involving a huge pirate ship which actually sunk underneath the manmade lake in the hotel's grounds. The amount of money gone into a free show was nuts. Las Vegas by night was even more spectatcular and it was quite surreal walking around looking up at all these skyscrapers with famous names on them.

The next day, we drove to the central area of the strip. Theroretically, it is possible to walk everywhere in Vegas as the strip is only about 3 miles long, but its too hot in the daytime (98 degree F) and all of the hotels offer free parking all day so its silly not to take advantage. We started at the Ventian, which was simply breath- taking. I can't describe it any other way. The sheer size and the amount of effort gone into it is extraordinary. When we were standing in St. Mark's Square with the street-side cafes, gelatti stands, street performers and the Grand Canal, I really felt like we could be in Venice. We headed to the Falmingo after that, where some nice man gave us free tickets to a magic show which turned out to be very funny. We had wanted to see a show but ticket prices are quite steep so we were very grateful.

Next we watched the fountain show outside the Bellagio before going inside for a look around. It was very grand and the architecture was just exquisite. The shops were all very posh- looking and we didn't think we'd be able to afford a coke in there! It was dark by the time we got outside again and we decided to give our feet a rest for the day. We stopped to watch The Mirage's volcano eruption show on the way back to the car which was amazing. We have some good videos.

Today is our rest day. I don't know how people do Vegas in just a couple of days- it's exhausting! Tomorrow we are doing the South end of the strip. Our next blog will be in a week's time when we are back in Vegas after being at Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon.

Needless to say, we are absolutely loving Vegas and are already planning our return visit!

Love Sian and Fin xxx