We thought we couldn't spend nearly seven months in the USA without organising a trip to Las Vegas... It would just be negligent...
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After getting away from work on Friday we rushed to get to Vegas, get checked in, and get to the Planet Hollywood casino and hotel to meet a group of girls James knew.
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After a few beers, the group needed transport to the nightclub... A Hummer limo was the obvious choice!
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So feeling very little like celebrites we headed off down the strip with the stereo cranked up...
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...as you can see the car is full of girls, but stupidly Ruairdh and I sat on the back seat back with the windows rolled down so all anyone looking in could see was two white guys (actually Ruairidh was more red thanks to an afternoon by the pool) in a limo listening to hip-hop at top volume! Smooth.
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Taking photos out the window - everything is really brightly lit, it's like daytime!
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LAX nightclub at the Luxor hotel, where conveniently we were staying so got in free with our room keys! It's quite a venue!
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So there.
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The next day (and no-one wants to see any more of what happened on Friday night right?!?) is slow starting, so I go for a wander with my camera while the others hit the pool to try and get even more burned. This is the inside of the Luxor pyramid where we were staying.
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It's a cool building, but the flat grey light inside is kind of depressing. Still, the gaming tables and machines are well lit to draw you in.
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Las Vegas Boulevard, aka "The Strip".
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The MGM Grand, the scene of later antics.
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A roller-coaster wraps around the New York New York complex.
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Complete with replica bridge...
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...and their very own Statue of Liberty!
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This is actually inside in the middle of the day - the shopping mall has a high domed ceiling painted to look like sky!
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The Bellagio is one of the posher joints in town, complete with a musical fountain display on the hour and half hour.
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Paris, Las Vegas. Complete with replica Eiffel Tower.
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Inside the Bellagio it is very light and airy - and a little surreal with giant watering cans suspended over the flower beds.
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Sadly you can't ride the ferris wheel, it's cars are just for planting flowers in.
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Time to head back for a shower ready for another big night out. The Luxor is right next to the Mandalay Bay hotel, which always makes me think of the Robbie Williams song "Me and my Monkey".
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We're staying in the pyramid just behind the sphinx. Only in Las Vegas do those words make sense for anyone other than a dead Pharoh. Actually, if you're hearing a dead Pharoh, then you probably still have a problem...
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We decide to pretend to be classy and head to the Bellagio for dinner and blackjack before meeting the girls.
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No illusion of classiness now I'm in the photo!
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After dinner at the Bellagio, we walk past Paris again on our way to Hollywood. Another disturbing sentence...
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Ready for a big night out?
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Sadly the hummer is unavailable so we settle for a "24 hour party bus" to take us to the MGM Grand for the start of our club tour.
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To Ruairidh's delight it comes very well equipped with a stereo...
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...and more importantly a pole!
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Our first stop is Tabu "Ultra Lounge" at the MGM Grand. Neil and Si approve I think...
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...as do Ruairidh and James...
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...after all, there is plenty to approve of!
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Our next stop is RumJungle at the Mandalay Bay (sadly no Monkeys were present). That's quite an impressive bar!
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Simon tries casting a spell on the photographer.
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The Silicon Valley contingent.
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James seems to be overcoming painfully sunburnt knees with the aid of some liquid anaesthetic.
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Not quite sure what happened here... It seems to have left Simon in shock!
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Neil goes for the "celebrity sunglasses" look.
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James is holding up a small basket of very fluffy kittens just out of shot, hence Tressa looks so delighted. After this, the next coherent thing we heard from James was by SMS: "I'm living the American Vegas nightmare...I missed my flight, I am sitting on the floor of the airport with my charger plugged in, and I can't feel my body.".
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I really wasn't designed for dancing. I have no funk in my soul and I'm built more like a lazy elephant than a racing snake.
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Jenny uses magic in an attempt to hide from my camera, but is only partially successful. Either that or she took a picture at exactly the same moment as me - only checking her camera will tell us for sure!
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Right, that's quite enough of that. Sunday was another slow start, wandering around two. We're back in the MGM here...
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...it's really quite impressive the sheer scale of these places.
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The MGM lion in the foyer. They also have a real lion in a small enclosure - looks pretty cruel to me.
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The Monorail, or in the case of this train the cleverly rebranded Moneyrail. I hope they didn't pay a lot for that campaign.
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La Tour Eiffel.
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Impressive architecture - or rather an impressive facade on a concrete cube.
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More hotels and casinos are going up in spite of the recession. I guess once you've started you might as well finish...
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The Excalibur hotel. It's a bit Disney-meets-Tonka.
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A fabulous sunset over the mountains and the strip, viewed from the airport. The hotels you can see are the Manadaly Bay and the Luxor.
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It's hard to see in this photo, but at night a huge bright beam of white light shoots skyward from the apex of the pyramid.
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Our flight is delayed, and we are both a little tired for some reason (I definitely went to bed in daylight, which is always a bad sign) so take full advantage to get some rest.
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Advice at the exit from Las vegas...
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