Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Taking you on my most impromptu trip of the year (possibly my life?) to Las Vegas. I had honestly not planned to go here, especially not this year when I had so many other adventures planned. But then Taylor Swift announced her Era’s tour, left out Canada AS PER USUAL, and forced my hand (it was definitely worth it though). So in November when tickets went on sale, I decided Las Vegas was the place to be (and also the easiest for me to get to).
Unfortunately the friend I’d planned to travel with ended up not being able to go so my sister and my mom came to the rescue for an impromptu mother/daughter trip and it ended up being such an amazing experience that I got to share with the two of them.
I know this is one of the most commonly travelled places in the world, but I still wanted to share my experience because, as it was my first time in Vegas, I was a little bit in awe.
Accommodations
Because I’d booked this trip originally with a friend, hotel plans ended up changing a bit. I’d originally got us into the Mirage, but when my family decided to join me, getting flights for them ended up adding an extra night to the trip and rates had sky rocketed for that hotel so we ended up finding a way better deal at New York New York. I had always heard the Vegas hotels were amazing and took up entire city blocks or more to themselves but I was amazed at just how GIANT everything felt. We could have spent the entire trip in the hotel and still had new things to do every day. I loved the little times square with restaurants and deli’s in the hotel, it made for easy acquisition of midnight snacks after the shows we attended. The rooms have been recently updated, the views were stunning, and we were very close to the stadium and within walking distance of everything we personally wanted to see on the strip.
Day 1: Rome, Italy, and Taylor Swift
As a seasoned Las Vegas veteran, we relied heavily on my mom to make sure we seen all the best sights in the short amount of time we’d be in this busy city. So we started off with a quick breakfast and then trekked (at lightning speed) our way to Caesar’s Palace. It’s definitely a little too high-end for me on the shopping scale but the sky ceilings and the fountains were absolutely gorgeous to see. Then we headed across the street to the Venetian to check out the gondolas and canals and sample allllll the gelato (I had pistachio and it was fantastic).
I’ve never been to a Taylor Swift concert but I’ve been a fan since Our Song came out and there was FINALLY a celebrity with the same name as me (yes that’s why I originally became a fan, no I won’t apologize). So getting to see her perform all of her eras in concert when she’s at the absolute height of fame felt almost like a historic moment. My sister came along with me (mainly for moral support) and we both had such a good time. I will say, it was a bit of a culture shock to go through security at shows in the U.S. but given what’s happened at past concerts in this same city, I understand and highly respect the efforts to keep everyone safe. It definitely left me a little rattled though as it wasn’t something I’d spent very long thinking of. Even clear bags were necessary and still got bag checked at the gate.
The performance, however, was stunning and everything I’d hoped. I sang and danced to every single song and my feet KILLED by the time we left but it was so worth every moment.
Day 2: Second breakfast please
Today we had some more time to explore so we walked straight to the Bellagio for their brunch buffet and it was to die for. If not for the concert, this may have been the highlight of the trip. Yes it was pretty pricey for breakfast but it was so worth it. Baked oysters, fresh seafood, roasts, desserts for miles, pancakes, omelet stations, crepes, you name it, they had it. We spent a good hour and some just loading up and tasting everything we could. And bonus, it was the ONLY place I was able to easily locate decaf coffee. We hung around for the fountain show and then meandered back down the strip to our hotel, shopping and sight-seeing along the way. Me and my sister also did the NYNY roller coaster… it was a little too loosey/goosey with the straps for my comfort but it was fun!
That night we went to the Mad Apple Cirque show which took place at our hotel (easy to get to and discounted tickets), and came highly recommended by a few friends. It was a performance that not only included the legendary acrobatics performances but hilarious comedy, and even some beginner level magic. I loved the show, it felt like such a love letter to New York culture and the soundtrack was top tier.
Final Day: Are you sure Las Vegas isn’t the Underworld?
My mom and sister left for the airport in the morning after checkout but my flight didn’t go back until 8pm so I had an entire day to kill doing some of the things I’d had on my bucket list for Las Vegas. Mainly, I used this time to do one thing that I, personally, love to do in every city I visit, explore the museums. I took the free tram from the Excalibur (connected to our hotel by a walking bridge) to the Luxor and spent the next few hours touring the Titanic Exhibit and King Tut’s tomb.
I will say, after exploring the Titanic exhibit in Halifax’s Maritime museum this past summer, the difference in experiences was jarring. This exhibit was really cool and immersive and hosts the largest ship fragment from the wreck, but it very much dehumanizes the entire tragedy. It was all about the ship and the STUFF (artifacts mainly consisting of belongings of first class passengers), and turned it into a bit of a game (you get assigned a character who is based on a real person and see if you “survived” at the end…yikes). Whereas the Halifax museum focuses on the tragedy and the lives involved.
King Tut’s tomb had a lot of really interesting artifacts and went really well into the history of Egyptian hierarchy’s, gods, and influences that this discovery had on modern day culture like architecture and fashion. It was definitely worth seeing, and a little eerie as well.
It was definitely a trip to remember, although it didn’t happen at the best time in my life. One thing that can be said for Las Vegas, it’s a great distraction from the real world. There are still a lot of things we never got around to so if you have any recommendations for the next time I visit, please share below!