What an amazing place!....I can honestly say it is like no place on earth!

Starting with what felt like a flight to Ibiza and a last minute 'go around' on the plane, we arrived in Vegas on Memorial day weekend! The place was heaving and already a victim of 'too much vegas' was passed out and attached to a drip outside our hotel . We checked in to the Vdara, chucked our bags in, and went to join the madness!

After spending a couple of days walking the strip, and investigating all that Vegas has to offer, including the hotels, casinos and bars, we took a day out to see the Hoover Damn and Grand Canyon! What an amazing place. Almost surreal and definately worth a visit. Don't forget the suncream though! So hot!

Vegas being the show ground that it is, we couldn't not go to see a show while we were there. We were lucky enough to be able to see Bruno Mars and Cirque Du Soleil 'O'.

Bruno Mars performed in the Chelsea in the Cosmopolitan hotel. With standing tickets we managed to get a great view. He is a great performer and the bouncy floor in the chelsea was complement to this with everyone dancing around!

Cirque Du Soleil performed in the Bellagio, with a huge water tank disguised as the stage and swinging boat, it was fantastic.

Unfortunately we didn't win our millions as initially thought , but did have a small run of luck, and great fun, on the one armed bandits, Casion War and blackjack tables. The Casino's are huge and you could easily spend hours there getting lost in the games.

Having already mentioned the Bellagio; the fountains are a must see, with displays timed to music....it is a spectacular sight! especially at night. To get the best view we spent some time in Hyde, a bar in Bellagio where you face the back of the fountains.

We were told you cant go to Vegas without visiting the outlet stores so of course we took the advise and went to the North outlet, spending the majority of a day there and getting a few xmas presents while we were there. Freemont street was just a bus ride away from the outlet and stores, so we had a brief visit and passed the interesting heart attack grill that offers free food to anyone weighing over 350lb. Rosemary Connelly would have a melt down!!

Having not mentioned much about our hotel I should note that if you want to stay somewhere that is slightly off the strip it is perfect! It is linked to the Bellagio by just a short walkthrough. Our room was wonderful with a view that not even the stratosphere could offer. Being on floor 48 we overlooked the Bellagio fountains and the whole of the strip. The night time view was fab! Also having no casino at the front of the hotel...you dont need to fight tourists to get to your room.

We also managed to have a couple of mornings round the pool, which were nice. Apart from the brief evacuation due to a gas leak!

We left vegas on Friday 30th May, heading to the airport to pick up our rental car. The Flight Centre again came up trumps when we go to the airport and a Mustang was waiting for us!! Beautiful car. So much so we thought it needed to be shown off and so we proceeded to drive down Vegas Strip, with the roof down too .

And so our car journey to Yosemite National Park began....