Christopher Rowe

Not as hot as Arizona, the Nevada sun still delivered a nice warm dry temperament which is exactly what we both wanted. Having been to Las Vegas a few times now, our intent for this trip was a simple one… RELAX… laze by the pool in the morning, keep the fluids up throughout the day, stopping at a number of StreetSide bars and enjoy – and that is exactly what we did.

Although it had only been a matter of years since our last Las Vegas stopover, the city had changed incredibly; I didn’t think it was possible, but the Las Vegas strip had become even more condensely packed than it previously was. The Cosmopolitan and Aria both completed and now proudly glistening like gems in the sun, they were still under construction the last time we were in Vegas.

This was our first time in Vegas during the height of summer, and it didn’t disappoint, the place was a party, 24-7. Fremont street was a perfect example to this, live bands performing in the street for the masses, girls dancing on the bar tables to the beets, cos-play characters of every nature were out and about posing for photos from child friendly frozen characters to buxom pirates that had cannons the size of, well, cannons. It was a hoot.

The second night in Vegas, Michelle and I dined at the revolving lounge of the Stratosphere (thank you Karen and Steve!!), the view was incredible, our waiter was very knowledgeable and friendly and the food, well, the food was sensational. We both ordered the beef, and I swear, I have never had steak so tender and tasty.. Each bite leaving me with the conflicting contradiction of heavenly flavors and thinking to myself, this MUST be GM – there is no way real beef tastes this good.. If it was in fact real, it must be the portion of the cow the size of a fist that is for the privileged people of society, leaving the rest of us with second or third level beef to buy from Coles and Woolies. It was a fantastic experience.

The pool side at the Monte Carlo(where we started each day at, and occasionally ended) was brilliant aside from the abundance of family and children. Which left both Michelle and I to the conclusion that the next time we come to Vegas we will splurge on a hotel that is more premium, hoping we out budget the family socioeconomic.

One of the bar tenders at Monte Carlo looked like something out of a Disneyland character from Pirates of the Caribbean – although he lacked pirate costume attire, he did seem to be wired and tubed up to a box to the side of the bar. After enquiring what it was about he ripped open his shirt revealing a black insulation suit. The clever bugger had rigged himself to the bar fridge where ice cold water was pumped into the lining of his suit keeping him cool. According to him, him the Vegas sun, and surrounded by fridges, his little pocket of space gets to 50 degrees Celsius. It was a personal choice, the other waiters (mostly waitresses) cruised around the pool in bikinis – it has to be said, other than the bar tender who was strapped up like a Borg Drone from Star Trek, the waitresses and life savers were extremely well tanned!

Looking for something new, like I’ve said, this isn’t my first time here, I wanted a location that I could take some fantastic photos of the strip at night that wasn’t your typical tourist location – such as the Stratosphere or Eiffel Tower. The answer, the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio which has a roof-top bar. Not quite something you take a clunky DSLR and tripod to, but ideal for a point and shoot (and I have the best in the market, a DSLR in a compacts body) and it also offered a good excuse to dress to impress and put on my fancy shoes.

As luck would have it we arrived at the Rio with impeccable timing, no sooner had we entered the Rio, must have been 10.50pm, a hotel host offered us free entry to the Voodoo Lounge before 11pm (saving us $50 straight away). We followed the signs and made it to the doors of the Voodoo lounge at 10.59pm, you should have seen the look on the doorman’s face, he was sooo pissed we made it before 11pm. In an obvious fashion I looked at my watch, just so he knew I knew we had made it in time. You could see the frustration in his eyes as he reluctantly stamped both of our wrists and permitted us entry.
The view from the rooftop bar was incredible, you really could see the whole strip from north to south. With the vibe of good music playing, and extravagantly dressed clubbers, we enjoyed a few drinks and the view.

Las Vegas has delivered everything we could hope for, a safe harbor, a place to just relax, chill and enjoy the scenery, whether it is inside of a Hooters or Twin Peaks, or out on the strip at night.

With my ‘Knotty Blonde’ and ‘Dirty Brunette’ – Selena and Amber my waitresses at Twin Peaks Las Vegas. Selena was something of an editor for this post, frequently coming back and checking on my progress and making sure I was amply hydrated.