IT is the capital of glamour, where dreams and fortunes can be made, but it also has a lesser known side for those who seek a more relaxed idyll; I spent a weekend in Las Vegas to explore what it had to offer.
After spending six hours travelling on a Greyhound bus from Los Angeles, I had finally arrived early in the city, early on a Friday afternoon. It would be my last stop of a whistle-stop tour of the USA and I had high expectations of my first visit to Las Vegas.
My first destination was the Oasis at Gold Spike, a boutique hotel in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas, which would become the home of my friend and I during our stay.
Oasis at Gold
Spike is only a stone’s throw from Fremont
Street, one of the most bustling areas of the city, that is made up of bars,
restaurants and casinos.
The hotel has
recently been refurbished by the Downtown Project, an organisation that formed in 2008 with the
sole intent of revitalisation of the Downtown, the former main part of the city
before the world famous Las Vegas Strip was constructed.
And I
immediately felt at home at the hotel. With contemporary style that pays homage
to the city's mid-century architectural vernacular, this urban hotel is a
perfect place to relax if you wish to get away from the buzzing hub of
excitement in nearby Fremont Street.
Our rooms
came complete with a queen bed, TV and
all important air conditioning, which was much appreciated on what was a
blistering hot weekend.
Oasis at Gold Spike
Fremont Street
After
dropping off my bags and spending half
an hour relaxing by the pool, I headed down with my friend to the nearby Gold
Spike, another venue owned by the Downtown Project which has recently been converted
from a casino into a bar and connects to the hotel.
We sat in the
outdoor bar area, where as well as the usual games, like darts or pool, the quarter was filled with oversized versions of
games such Jenga, chess and Connect Four
and these games got us in great spirits for a fun-filled night in Las Vegas.
Our evenings
in the city were spent at The Las Vegas Strip, a ten minute taxi ride from our
hotel and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Made up of
fantastic illuminations , and casinos
which have miniature versions of monuments outside them such as the Statue of Liberty and
the Eifel Tower, is was hard for us not just to stand still and be mesmerised
by the strip.
The fountain
show outside the Bellagio casino was the subject of some of our stares of delight. In the
show, more than a thousand fountains dance to music ranging from Pavarotti to
Sinatra. And witnessing one of these spectacles,
which take place several times an hour,was
truly delightful.
Whilst
visiting the strip we went to Flamingo Las Vegas , a huge 77,000-square-foot casino
that has 3,626 hotel rooms.
Flamingo was filled with your regular bum bag and short and
t-shirt wearing American tourist or fat cats in suits with
gold rings.If you sit at the machines or at the tables in the casino you are
given a free drink. This is clearly a way the casino tries you to lure you to
stay at the table but despite my concerns that such an act is morally
repugnant, I have to concede that in Las Vegas, the capital of gambling, it is
more acceptable than it is anywhere else in the world.Scores of card
and roulette tables scatter the casino, although I did not partake in these games, a
seasoned gambler would be in heaven here.
Having never
been a big gambler, the Strip did not
have the same appeal to me as it may to some. I wanted to enjoy more relaxed
and mentally stimulating activities and I was delighted to find that there is
many more things to do in the city then
fritter away dollars.
Roulette in the Flamingo
One of several daytime activities we did was visit the Gun Garage, a 12 Lane shooting range and gun store, which allows you to fire a variety of high calibre weapons.
My companion and I had the opportunity to blast a paper target with both an uzi and a pistol and we both had tremendous fun, with the help of instructor Keza Chase who gave us clear and reassuring instructions.
On another excursion Maria Whelan communications officer from the Downtown Project met us and took us to the Downtown Container Park, an open air shopping centre and entertainments complex.
The park is unique as every business that can be found there is housed in shipping container, or Xtreme Cubes (purpose made steel retail outlets) and in my view a perfect place to go if you are with your family in Las Vegas.
There is a wide range of shops that offer everything from trinkets and craft, clothes and sweets. And both the children and adults can be kept occupied in the park’s interactive play area. The play area consists of a tree house that includes a 33-foot slide and oversize foam blocks. What’s more, the Container Park also has a giant stage where performances are played throughout the day, but sadly we were not able to experience any in the time we were there.
Keza Chase instructs my friend Jono Peacock
The Downtown Container Park
An aerial view of the Las Vegas Strip
A charming
and smiley, Maria explained that the Container Park has appeal for all types of groups as there
is so many diverse things on offer.
She explained
that projects like the Container Park are successfully breathing new life
into Downtown and that the area has been
much improved since the Downtown Project started giving it a makeover.
She said: “We
are not trying to make it like it was in its heyday, we are looking for a
different variation of that.”
On our final
afternoon in the city, we headed to the Mob Museum. Inside we were able to find
out about how the city was formed by Mafia bosses such as Al Capone, and the
battle between organised crime and police.
After three
days our trip to Vegas was over. It was magical, thrilling and fascinating; the
buzz and excitement of the Strip and Fremont
Street will stay with me for a long time. But it is equally satisfying to
discover that the city had many more activities to offer than winning big in the
casinos.
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