12th December Las Vegas

Today I have a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon booked and I get picked up at 1:35pm so i decided to stay fairly close to the hotel and explore the Bellagio and Caesars Palace in a little more depth. I noticed that the Bellagio has a Monet exhibition on at the moment so I grabbed a coffee and pastry at one of the Cafes in the Bellagio and then went to see the Monet exhibition. It has been organised in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This particular exhibition features works that illustrate the height of Claude Monet's engagement with colour and light and includes 'Grainstack (sunset)', 1891 and 'Camille Monet and a child in the artists garden in Argenteuil', 1875. It is a collection of about 20 paintings by Monet and there are also some paintings by Monet's predecessors and contemporaries, including Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Camille Pissarro, and Eugene Louis Boudin. After the exhibition I walked through and browsed the shops at the Bellagio and Caesars. They have a lot more of the high end fashion stores here like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Loubiton etc. I did go into Christian Loubiton but nothing grabbed me...except the price...which is about half of what you would pay in Australia. If I had seen some that I liked I may have considered making a purchase.I then headed over to the Aria Casino which is across the road and also connected to the Vdara for my pick up for the helicopter ride. I chose Maverick helicopters because everyone I know who has done this in Vegas have all used them...and because they have an outstanding safety record!!!! Not that I was worried or anything ;). This is my first time in a helicopter and I was definitely a little nervous. I wasn't sure if I was going to freak out or not, but I figured if I managed the hot air balloon in Turkey with ease, then surely this wouldn't be so bad. Once you get to the airport they check your details...and weigh you with all your stuff...and then your pilot calls the group you will be travelling in. On my helicopter were two girls from South Australia and a Latino mother and son. Joel our pilot told me and the two girls to hop in the front of the helicopter...OMG. The girls from South Australia were not quite sure about the helicopter...and the 3 of us were not the smallest girls either...so we squished inside the front, I was jammed up against the glass door! Then off we went...about 7 helicopters in total. Now I'm not going to lie...but I was nervous, and every dip I wondered if this was the last! Joel did say that because it was a little windy it may be a bit bumpy. We flew over Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was built between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. It's construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers which also cost over 100 lives. It also meant that because there was so many people there earning money, that casinos were built...and the city of Las Vegas grew from about 5,000 people to a city of 10,000-20,000 people. We then continued onto the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River. It is 446km long and 29km wide. Nearly two billion years of the Earth's geological history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. For thousands of years the area has continuously been inhabited by native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. We landed in one of the canyons and were offered some champagne and snacks and the opportunity to take some photos. It really was breathtaking. Did I also mention the date...12/12/12??? So there was LOTS of weddings in Vegas today and one of the helicopters was also filled with a wedding party, they had their own private outcrop of rock though! We were probably in the canyon about 30-45 minutes and then it was time to head off again. This time we sat in the back and we had a small stop for a refuel on the way back. As we headed back towards Vegas we could see the lights and they took us up the Strip to view the lights of the Casinos before heading back to the airport. 

Because I had got back to the hotel earlier than I thought I would head up to see the Fremont Street Experience. This is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas. The attraction is a barrel vault canopy and covers four blocks and each night they turn off the outside casino lights while a light show is shown on the canopy above. The first hotel in Vegas was in Fremont Street and the 'Golden Nugget' was the first structure designed from the ground up to be a casino. The Golden Nugget was also on the news tonight when I got home because its restaurants had been shut down due to poor hygiene and cockraoches! I didn't stay here long as I felt a little unsafe walking around here on my own. It was a different crowd to the strip so I found the first taxi I could and headed up to the shopping outlets to buy another suitcase. Once I dropped the bag off at the hotel I went and had a look through New York New York and MGM. I also had dinner at an Italian restaurant while in New York New York. I'm not sure what I was expecting from MGM but I was a little disappointed. It was full of people though...lots of cowboys as the rodeo is in town this week. I stopped at the M&M shop on the way back to the hotel :)

11th December Las Vegas

Well today will quite likely be my shortest post of the trip because today all I really did was shop, shop, shop! I had a VERY late start to the day just sorting through what I wanted to do plus get some much needed washing done! I booked an afternoon/sunset helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon tomorrow and I then headed off to find somewhere to eat. There is just so much to choose from I never know where to actually go. I ended up at Earl of Sandwich and had 'The Whole Montague' (Cindii's recommendation), one of their signature sandwiches. I then bought a bus ticket and headed for the Las Vegas Premium Outlets - North. Spent a bit of money! They are very much like our outlet store and there are some bargains to be had. Lots of pele in the Coach store but I just didn't see anything that grabbed me. I did buy Brenton some shoes and myself a couple of tops which will be good for work. I then headed back to the hotel to drop off the bags before heading back out to the Fashion Show Mall. I'm going to have to go back there because I saw a few things I'd like to try on and I didn't have time. They have lots of shops here including Macy's, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. No time for a show tonight because just seeing the lights of Vegas and coming back late from shopping is all I can manage...and there really is nothing else I really want to see.

10th December San Francisco to Las Vegas

The airport shuttle picked me up and took me to the airport...not as long a trip as it had been on Friday despite the fact that on the TV they had warned of major delays on the roads heading into San Francisco this morning. I checked in my bags...JUST under 50 pounds! I found the Ghirardelli shop at the airport too and picked up some more of that peppermint bark! I always have a while tokill waiting for the plane so it is always good to catch up on the blog as it is so easy to fall behind! While waiting at my gate I noticed...or rather heard an Italian couple also waiting for the plane. I noticed them because the young Italian woman was talking on the phone...very loudly...and I heard the occasional "Mamma Mia", which I know after being in Italy means OMG in Italian! When flying United they don't board you based on your seat number but on a 'boarding group' which is marked on your ticket. Being in the 'cheap' seat I always board with Group 6 today which seemed to get on the plane much faster than it did from New York. I got to my seat...a window...to find that I was seated next to the Italian couple! I am guessing they were newly weds judging by the shiny gold ring on her wedding finger...and I feel for they guy already. She spoke 'at' him for most of the flight...he could barely get a word in! They asked the flight attendant for a 'Coke Light' but she didn't understand what he wanted and gave him a Coke Zero. I explained to the Italian man (whose English was better than the wife's) that in America he needed to ask for a Diet Coke rather than a Coke Light...which is what they call Diet Coke throughout Europe. It was great flying during the day today, and especially having the window seat because I had a great view of the landscape. We flew over some mountain range which had snow on it too. I keep seeing snow on mountains...just the stuff falling seems to escape me! When we got off the plane I stopped at the toilet and then we had to take a transit train to the part of the airport where the baggage claim was. As I was just about to get on the train...not 100% sure that's where I was supposed to be going, I ran into the Italians again who asked me if they were going the right way, I said I didn't know for sure but that's where I was heading. I picked up my bags and found the airport shuttle...and then the Italians got on board as well...we all laughed! They got off at the Luxor hotel...I am staying further up the strip at the Vdara Hotel and Spa. I checked into the hotel and I asked if I could possibly get a room with a view of the Bellagio fountain. They didn't have any left but as I was talking to the girl checking me in, and as it was my first time in Vegas, she said she had a disabled room available with views over the Bellagio if I didn't mind taking a room with a roll-in shower and bars in the bathroom...ah no...happy to for the views!!! So I am up on the 48th floor looking over the Bellagio hotel with great views of the fountain and the north end of the strip. Just as i happened to look out the window the Bellagio fountain show began! I went downstairs to get some brochures for Maverick helicopters Grand Canyon tour and to see what shows are on in Vegas this week. It turns out that because this is such a quiet week in Vegas, many of the shows are on holidays so the choices are limited. I mentioned to the concierge that I was interested in seeing Le Reve since 'O' was on holidays and he said that it was also going on holidays so he booked me a ticket for tonight...I was not execting to see a show tonight...but hey...lets just launch right in shall we. Le Reve is on at the Wynn and he suggested I get a cab as it was about a 30 minute walk. Keen to see some of Vegas I decided to walk up to the Wynn. All I can say so far about Vegas is WOW! WOW! WOW! so much activity and flashing lights...and this is a quiet week! I walked past the Paris Casino, the Flamingo and the Venetian among others. I got to the Wynn...so beautiful inside...picked up my tickets and went and had a bite to eat. The theatre for Le Reve is in the round and I was seated in the middle...probably one of the best locations for the show. I had no idea what to expect as I have never seen any Cirque de soleil production...but boy was I in for a treat! This show was AMAZING"!!! It is a show that uses a combination of acrobatics and synchronised swimming, so they do their tricks in and out of the water, it really was spectacular! I then walked back to the hotel on the other side of the strip past Treasure Island and Caesars Palace. I'm starting to think I could have saved myself $20,000 and just come straight to Vegas! It's all here...the Eiffel Tower, gondola rides, the Trevi Fountain etc, etc!!! You access the Vdara through the Bellagio so I wandered through their centre Christmas display which has these huge beautiful polar bears made entirely of white roses! Las Vegas really is a place of excess and full of excitement. I can see the attraction for gamblers and hens and bucks parties. I'm a little glad I am here mid week, I imaging this place is insane over the weekend!

9th December San Francisco

Today I wanted to check out the shops at Union Square so I decided to buy myself an all day pass for the Rail system. The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system. It is an icon of San Francisco and of the twenty-three lines that existed between 1873 and 1890 only three remain. Two routes run from Fisherman's Wharf to downtown Union Square and a third one operates along California St. While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, their small service area and premium fare for a single ride makes them more of a tourist attraction. I took all three routes throughout the day and buying the all day pass at $14 was far better than the $6 single ride. The first cable car ride I took however stopped along the route and it was going to take a while for it to get a push to start up again. As it had stopped fairly close to Chinatown I decided to walk the rest of the way up to Union Square. Chinatown was quite pretty as the Main Street was filled with red lanterns and it had all the familiar smells that I associate with Chinatown. I made it up to Unioin Square and had a look through Saks Fifth Avenue, Williams & Sonoma and I bought some Peppermint bark...not sure what it is but it looked popular...and then headed across to Macy's. I wound my way upstairs to where the Christmas decorations were and before you know it I was in the line to walk through Santa Land! What a great thing for kids...and big kids! Then I had my photo taken with Santa and while they did the professional one where they charge you at the end, they will also take your photo with ou own camera and phone as well. while my phone and camera pics weren't great, they were better than the way I loked on the professional ones so i didn't buy one. I also checked out their big Westfield as well as Bloomingdales, Barney's and Nordstrom. Then I headed back to the cable car because I wanted to see Lombard St before it got dark. It was also intersting watching them turn the cable car manually on the turning circle too. Lombard St is best known for the one-way section on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Strrets. The roadway has eight sharp turns or switchbacks that have earned the street the distinction of being the crookedest (most winding) street in the world. The switchback's design was born out of necessity in order to reduce the hill's natural 27% grade, which was too steep for most vehicles. The crooked section of the street is about 400m long is reserved for one-way traffic travelling east downhill with a speed limit of 8km/h and is paved with red bricks. I got off the tram at Lombard St and walked down the hill...with many other tourists! The street is lined with manicured hedges and flowers, it's really very pretty. After a short rest at the hotel I walked down to Pier 39 and took some photos as the sun was setting over the bay. I then took one of the ...rail cars around to where the California cable car begins from and caught that up to Taylor St and then changed to the other cable car back to Union Square to take some photos of Union Square at night. There was a guy busking and playing the bagpipes, among other buskers. The Christmas lights and windows were all very beautiful. I then caught the cable car back to Fishermans Wharf to pack my bags because tomorrow I am off to Vegas! Oh...and last night at Ghirardelli they gave me a free sample to try and tonight when I looked at it, it is peppermint bark, so I tried it...OMG!!!!! Now I am fussy with my chococlate but OMG!!!! this stuff is beautiful. It has a milk chocolate layer with a white chocolate layer on top sprinkled with peppermint rock sprinkled on top...if they have this at the airport tomorrow I am getting some more!!!!

8th December San Francisco

Today I woke up fairly early as my body clock is still on New York time, but also because I had an early night last night. It gave me plenty of time to have a good breakfast before I headed for my Alcatraz tour. The hotel has a Denny's restaurant inside it which is more than sufficient for breakfast. I went up to the tour office and picked up my ticket, boarded the bus and went down to the Pier where the Alcatraz tour leaves from. It is about a 20 min ferry ride over to the island. Alcatraz has served the army as a fortress and military prison, and the Department of Justice as a maximum-security federal penitentiary. Today, this once-desolate island in the centre of San Francisco Bay is a national parkland with historic gardens, tidepools, bird colonies, and bay views beyond compare. When you get off the ferry you walk up the hill to the cellhouse at the top of the island, about 0.4km and a climb which is equivalent to a 13-story climb. On the way up to the cellhouse you see the Guardhouse and Guard Tower, the Miltary Chapel, the Water Tower and the Military Morgue. Once up at the cellhouse you pick up an audio guide which is presented by former Alcatraz inmates, correctional officers and residents as they reminisce about life on Alcatraz. Alcatraz was transferred from the War Department to the Department of Justice and reopened as a federal penitentiary in 1934. Alcatraz is best known for it's notorious criminals, including - Al "Scarface" Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud the "Birdman of Alcatraz" and Alvin"Creepy" Karpis...but it actually housed 1,545 men. Most of the inmates were men who had proven to be problems in other prison populations. The best known escape at Alcatraz was in June 1962, when Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin slipped into the water. They used raincoats as floatation devices and were presumably bound for San Francisco. Although their bodies were never found, it was assumed that they had drowned. They were never found and presumed drowned because at the time the authorities didn't believe anyone can swim that far. However many people today have in fact swam between Alcatraz and San Francisco...including a 7 year old...so it is possible! Increasing maintenance and operating costs led U.S. Attoney General Robert F. Kennedy to close Alcatraz in 1963. Prisoners were transferred to other federal correctional facilities, and Alcatraz was left to the care of a lone custodian. Today many parts of the island are closed to the public because they are in a state of disrepair and it is unsafe to go there. It really is an interesting place and I can imagine how isolating it must have felt especially at times like New Year when the sounds of parties could be heard drifting across the bay to Alcatraz. I then headed back to the ferry and back to the mainland to join the afternoon tour of San Francisco. I had half an hour to kill so I walked up to Pier 39 and had a quick look at the sea lions who began 'hauling out' in Pier 39's West Marina shortly after the 1989 San Francisco Loma Prieta earthquake. 

I then joined the afternoon tour of San Francisco and the first place we went was the Golden Gate Bridge, a must see on a visit to San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the "Golden Gate" which is the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. Construction on the bridge began on January 5 1933 and was completed in April 1937 at a cost of around $35 million. The weight of the roadway is hung between two cables that pass through the two main towers and are fixed in concrete at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 129,000km of wire in the main cables and the bridge has about 1,200,000 rivets. The bridge is popular with pedestrians and cyclists and was built with walkways on either side of the six vehicle traffic lanes. The colour of the bridge is officially an orange vermillion called 'international orange'. The colour was selected because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge's visibility in fog.  Next we stopped at Lands End, a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. There we stopped to look at Seal Rock where the sea lions from the Bay Area used to haul out on. Since September 1989 the number of sea lions on Seal Rock has decreased and the number on Pier 39 has increased. Some people speculate that the sea lions moved to the docks because of the earthquake and that they feel safer inside the Bay. We could also see the ruins of the Sutro Baths. They were a privately owned indoor swimming pool complex built in the late 19th century. A visitor to the baths not only had a choice of seven different swimming pools - one fresh water and six salt water baths ranging in temperatures - but visitors could also visit a museum, a concert hall that had seating for 8000 and at one time an ice rink. The baths closed due to high maintenance costs in 1966 and not long after a fire burned down the building and it was abandoned. Then we went to Twin Peaks and had spectacular views over San Francisco. After here we continued our tour of San Francisco but we were not able to stop anywhere else so we could only see the rest of the sights from the bus. The bus was also not able to go down some streets as some streets are clearly marked with signs saying 'no tour buses' or 'no tour bus stopping'...mainly the nice parts of town where the residents have complained. Some of the highlights pointed out to us included many streets where different movies were filmed, Chinatown, and the Victorian homes or 'painted ladies' as they are called. 

Once the tour was finished I walked down to Pier 39 to have a look at it at night and to get some dinner. I tried Boudin's Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. The chowder was nice but the bread was very heavy and I couldn't get through the top part they scooped out let alone the bread bowl! I also went to have another look at the sea lions. Although it was dark you could still make them out. They are such time wasters...you could stand and watch them for hours! One seal was fiercely guarding his space and two other seal repeatedly kept coming back at him and every time he managed to knock both of them back into the water! After that I walked to Ghirardelli Square to the Ghirardelli Chocolate shop and cafe to try their famous Hot Fudge Sundae...and yep it was pretty good. Then it was back to the hotel to try and catch up on some blogging!