Las Vegas Nevada: The City of Lights and more.

After my dad passed away 5 days before my birthday in January, 2012, I started hating the month of January. I stopped celebrating my birthday. I decided that 2016 would be a different year, even though it wasn’t a mile stone age for me, it was a big deal because I just had to break out of that “January depression” and celebrate myself once again.

I had always wanted to visit the “City of Lights” aka “Sin City” Las Vegas, Nevada. I mentioned it to a couple of friends and before I knew it we had set a plan in motion. We left for Vegas on the 21^stof January, in order to celebrate my birthday which was on the 22^nd of January. We stayed at the Linq Hotel & Casino. I recommend this hotel to anyone planning to visit Vegas. The price was fairly descent, the room was clean and cosy and the customer service was impeccable. Most importantly it was right around the center of the strip and very accessible to everywhere.

Be prepared to do a lot of walking on the strip, so make sure to carry a pair of runners because you will definitely need it. The weather is usually a bit chilly in January but as Canadians this was nothing compared to our -25 degree Celsius weather in Calgary.  But for people not used to the cold don’t forget your pull over or light sweaters.

In Vegas there are always deals on shows, and promoters are everywhere looking to get you on their guest list to come party at their club. My friends and I got good discount tickets to watch the MJ concert show (I highly recommend this show). You can never go wrong with Michael Jackson.

We also did “CSI – the experience” you get to solve your own crime scene investigation. We treated ourselves to a Brazilian dinner at Pampas in Planet Hollywood. We had committed the sin of gluttony by the time we were done. Lol! The food was out of this world!

We went clubbing at Drai’s nightclub at the Cromwell and Nelly happened to be performing there. We felt like we were in high school all over again. Omnia night club in Caesars Palace was a pure disaster, horrible crowd and music. More of just endless beats and lights display (like I came to see lights). I am sure I had enough of the lights display during Christmas. Lol. Oh well, we left after 1hr and retired for the night. The second night we went to club Tao in the Venetian. They had free drinks from 10.30pm to 11.30pm which was a nice perk for people.

The spa is a must do, more so if you had been on your feet dancing the night away. It was so relaxing especially the hot bubbling Jacuzzi. We later hit the strip to do some shopping. Be sure to check out the Ross store for good deals on designer labels. Also M & M world is a must visit. I have never seen so much variety of candy in one place. I knew my kids wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t buy some for them.

As bold ladies we decided to visit a shooting range and see what it felt like to shoot real life ammunition. All I can say is America sure needs to make sure guns don’t get in the hands of the wrong people. We also visited the famous Madame Tussauds wax museum where we got to see life size replica of famous Hollywood actors and actresses. The exhibition ended with us watching an interactive 4D Marvel Super Heroes movie. This was a major highlight of the trip.

I can go on and on about our weekend getaway to Las Vegas Nevada but I will just end by saying that this trip was worth every penny because of the people I shared this experience with. The love and positive energy we all had cannot be expressed in words. I am so thankful for good friends and the ability to make beautiful lasting memories with them. Cheers to my girls Aidee, Chichi and Adaobi. Love you all forever.

Unyime Ukpe