{"id":8463,"date":"2025-05-15T19:33:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T19:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/?p=8463"},"modified":"2025-05-29T16:56:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T16:56:54","slug":"usa-las-vegas-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/index.php\/2025\/05\/15\/usa-las-vegas-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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16.6.-20.6.2023<\/p>

On our first full day in Las Vegas, we slept in, and then we adults left the kids alone in our apartment for a while, and went to the grocery store, which we hadn’t had time to visit the night before. Since our apartment had a proper kitchen, we decided to buy some food that we could cook ourselves while we were here. Even though we didn’t buy a terrible amount of food, the cashier managed to pack our purchases into thirteen plastic bags. Nature thanks again!<\/p>

After breakfast, we all went to test out one of the five swimming pools at the resort. The water was pleasantly refreshing in the almost 40 degree heat, and we enjoyed the pool until we adults had to leave to listen to sales pitches about the benefits of an IHG membership. The kids stayed at the apartment to hang out, as they were even less interested in the sales pitch than we adults were.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Testing the next pool. So far this has been our favourite.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The resort had its own building for sales. At reception, our passports were checked, and we had to flash one of our bank cards to prove that we had one. We were then brought to table number one to talk to the salesman. First, we were asked about our travel habits and, of course, how much money we spend on travel each year. We were waiting to be presented with a comparison of how we could get a lot more for the same money if we joined IHG. However, we had to wait until the very end of the sales event for this comparison. By then it was clear to the salesman that we were not interested in a membership at all. This discussion took place at table number two. However, he had to call in his manager to try and change our minds about membership. This guy gave up pretty quickly also, and wished us a nice holiday. Next we moved to table number three, where a third salesman tried to market a seven-night luxury holiday for a thousand dollars. As we were not returning to America for the next two years, we did not take up this offer either. So we moved on to table four, where we were finally offered the tickets to the Cirque du Soleil Myst\u00e8re show that we had been hoping for. We were quite surprised at how easily we got through the whole sales event.<\/p>

In the evening, Marko went to the Treasure Island Hotel to see the show, and Jaana and the kids stayed behind to test out the next pool in the hotel grounds. This pool was smaller than the one we’d been in the morning, but in addition to the pool, it also had a hot tub. However, you couldn’t sit in this pool for very long as the temperature outside was still in the high thirties and the water in the pool must have been around 40 degrees.<\/p>

On Tuesday morning, Ronja went to the activity centre to make bracelets at 9am, and a couple of hours later Risto joined Ronja for a painting session. This time, Jaana also had to stay with the children, as children under 13 were not allowed to be there without adult supervision. In the morning we had told a little white lie about Ronja’s age, as she would be 13 in a few months. Fortunately, the age was not verified from the passport.<\/p>

After painting we went swimming again in a new swimming pool. The children found some company for themselves in the pool and we spent several hours there. It’s great to see that both children have the language skills to mingle with other English speaking kids.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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On our evening walk we stopped to chill for a while in the small park of the Flamingo hotel.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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After swimming, we cooked a meal at our apartment and went for a walk on the Strip to check out the local casinos and hotels. The kids were only allowed to walk through the actual gaming areas of the casinos though, no stopping allowed. Once Marko stopped to explain to Risto how the roulette table worked, but the boys were immediately reprimanded and had to move on. There were plenty of players in the casinos. Many were just using the slot machines to lose their money, but there were also plenty of players at the roulette and blackjack tables. The casinos also had different areas for people playing with higher stakes, but we didn’t go there.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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It's possible to lose a small fortune just by playing these machines. We didn't even test them.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you are suffering from jet lag or a hangover, you can stop here for some 99% oxygen.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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On the Strip, our first stop was the Flamingo wild life habitat area of the casino hotel, where real flamingos, various geese and carp lived in a beautiful little park, blissfully unaware of the hustle and bustle outside.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Of course the Flamingo hotel had to have real flamingoes.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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There is a small chapel behind the waterfall, but we couldn't go see it as there was a wedding in procession. Probably not the cheapest possible venue for your wedding!<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Dance music was pumping on the adults only pool area. Wouldn't mind lounging on those recliners with a nice cold drink!<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Next, we went to visit Venice. The Venetian hotel was really beautiful with its external and internal canals. The main lobby also had stunning ceiling paintings, although it was quite difficult to take pictures of them due to the strong spotlights. A whole shopping mall had been built along the canal inside the building. We stopped in a few shops inside, but mainly just looked around and wondered what was going on. The children were particularly surprised that it looked as if we were still outside. The roof of the area had been very skillfully painted to look like a beautiful evening sky. After wandering around for a while, we ended up in St Mark’s Square, where we finally returned to the great outdoors.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Venetian hotel featured canals just like in Venice.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The ceiling of the main lobby.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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A 10 minute gondola ride would have cost us 150 dollars.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Wandering along the alleys of Venice.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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