Ain't it Grand: Wednesday 25/2/26

 Wednesday 25/2/26

What an amazing day in LAs Vegas yesterday. It was Grand in many ways.

Just a quick note about our hotel/casino. It is huge. Here is the map we require to get in and out and find our way around our hotel.

 

Grand: Part I

This was the day of the helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.  A 6 hour trip including landing on the canyon floor for wine and food  Sounds great/grand. (sorry love using that word) 

But first we had to get to the Excalibur Hotel/Casino for the pickup. Negotiating streets in Vegas is not too difficult. I have a map. But there are overhead pedestrian walkways with stairs, escalators and lifts to get across busy roads.  So there is a lot of up and down  but makes sense when roads are so busy.

On the way, lots of nice shops.

The Paris casino complete with Eiffel Tower. Gordon Ramsey is everywhere. At least his photo is.

Inside the Excalibur

I love the ice cream shop in front of a bar. Everything all together

The Rotunda, our meeting point for the bus to the Canyon.

After a bumpy 40 minute bus ride, we arrived at the airport. While waiting for the bus, we met a young Aussie couple form Queensland who were in Vegas to support the Knights! Imagine.

They were quite a few of us going on this tour on 6 helicopters, 6 on each chopper. And pretty much all Australians and some English people all supporting football teams.   But first, we watched the 15 minute safety video. We then waited an hour to board our helicopters after having been weighed. They were sharing us around the choppers based on weight.  Paul and I were offered the front seat of the helicopter for only an extra $50 each I think. We declined.

Side note: We flew in a helicopter over Victoria Falls in Zambia, in Africa. Pretty sure there was no video, no weighing, no questions, just a cursory, are you ready? hop on.  Cant believe we did that.

Finally on board and surprise, surprise, we were in the front seat for free. I felt like a co-pilot. I hope nothing goes wrong I thought to myself.

our controls

me reassuring the pilot

Paul and i saying our prayers

And then to the truly grand canyon.  I took so many photos from my front row seat. Just a selection below

colorado river

Layers of different colours

We also went over Hoover Dam which is apparently contributing to less water in the Colorado river causing big issues downstream.

Hoover dam:

All 6 helicopters then landed on a ledge overlooking the canyon. We really were not at the bottom, more like the middle. But there were gazebos with table and chairs where we would have our champagne and goodies.

But first, obligatory photo.

It was very rocky and dangerous for me but Paul helped me down to the edge to get some more photos.  We survived.

note the terrain

There was champagne and a cute little basket with food in it for everyone except the gluten free.  I wondered whether it might have been possible to have advised them prior of my gluten allergy. Paul said no.

See Paul's basket containing a packet of pretzels, madeleine cake, cheese and a meat stick.

 I could only eat the cheese with my champagne. Also did not want to drink too much champagne as there are no rest rooms on the canyon floor (for your info).  Not even a tree said a male unhappily.

And then back on board for our supposed flight back into Vegas to see it by night. Sounds pretty  but this was not apparently part of our trip.   We did however see sunset on the chopper. And it was straight back to the airport and back on the bus to the Excalibur.  

wind turbines

sunset on the chopper.

The Grand canyon is truly grand and spectacular. It was a very good tour and very worth doing.

Grand: Part II

We were back by 7ish and could prepare for our big night at the Times Square bar in our hotel.  We had heard so much about the duelling (Grand) pianos and had successfully booked it the previous day as it was booked out when we had tried previously.  It is very popular particularly with visiting Australians.  

They were also really helpful with my gluten free needs. The chef came out to talk to me about the nachos i had ordered which are normally OK.   Unfortunately they are cooked in the same fryer as beer battered fish etc so probably not worth the risk.  We discussed options and came up with a dinner of pastrami and cheese and  lettuce with no bread. Surprisingly nice.

Pauls dinner and our drinks. i thought i took a photo of mine but no.

The first duelling pianists at their 

(grand) pianos

Big crowds dancing and singing.

new set of pianists, one with a guitar.

The pianists took requests with money and played what they wanted to and knew. I had two requests which were played immediately. Total Eclipse of the Heart  and Unchained Melody.

Paul requested Sweet Caroline but because it was so popular, he had to wait.

We had a great time singing along with great songs, danced a little and enjoyed the show.  As we were about to leave, some ex Knight players came in, Matty Johns,  Mark Hughes, the Gidley brothers and others including Hindmarsh. Chatted to Paul or vice versa.  They were in a party mood. We left soon after but heard today that it rocked on till 2am when it closed. Great place to go after dinner.

What a grand day. Possibly the best day of our holiday.  And the knights have still yet to play!

Viva Las Vegas: Tuesday 24/2/26

 Tuesday 24/2/26

An early start this morning to the airport for our flight to Las Vegas.  O'Hare airport is not far but the traffic in Chicago early on a Tuesday morning was horrendous.   The airport itself is interesting.

On arrival in Las Vegas,  I was shocked to find the airport full of high end 'slot machines'.

They take their gambling seriously here. And that goes for our hotel as well. It is a casino, as well as a lobby and also an arcade full of shops and many restaurants.  They provide a map of the hotel/casino  just to help us find our way around  (and to the elevators to our room).   

We had a late lunch at an Italian restaurant close to our elevators.

My gf pasta with fennel puree and stracciatella cheese was very good

Paul's Bolognese was also good.

Some photos inside the casino:

So many restaurants and areas

Includes a new york type street with eateries

Once we found our way out, we had a walk down the strip heading towards the Hard Rock Cafe which is a bit of a base for the Knights.

Nice castle

Our hotel which is huge with multiple entrances (need a map)

This is a coke bottle lift.

The bar at the hard rock cafe. Go Knights

More hard rock

A view down the strip

We had dinner at an Irish pub inside the hotel/casino for something different.

My GF Shepherds pie was good

After dinner, a little roulette was played with some success.

Our plan was to go to a bar, in the hotel/casino, which is famous for its duelling pianists. There are two and they try to outdo each other playing requests from the audience.  Sounds great.

Unfortunately even though it looked empty early on, it was fully booked and we could not get in. Maybe tomorrow night. 

On our way back to our room, we came across this American diner. Classic.

Tomorrow to the Grand Canyon!