After being dropped off at the car rental place by our same friendly limo driver, we picked up our hire car. A bright red Dodge Charger! For me it was slightly nerve racking to be sat and driving on the opposite of what I am used to. Simona however felt at home as in Romania they drive on the right hand side as well. After about 15mins I was getting the hang of it. Thank God for Sat Nav is all I can say when driving in and around LA. After only one wrong turn we were finally on the freeway out of LA and on our way to Vegas!
It is exactly what everyone told us, desert with not much to see at all. We stopped at a huge shopping outlet late in the afternoon and hit the designer shops for a couple of hours. On the road again and just on dark we drove over the rise and in the distance saw the lights of the strip. The most powerfull light beaming straight up from the top of the Luxor Pyramid. Seen from miles and miles!
Our hotel is not on the strip, so after we checked in (and yes once again 'Free Upgrade') we decided to go for a food run with a diversion onto the strip. When in Vegas, you have to drive the stip. Which was a HUGE mistake!! Because of the heat, all roadworks are done during the night. For those who know Vegas, it took over an hour to get from Mandalay Bay to the Bellagio (approx 1km). Four lanes into two and then into one! It was quicker to walk! We took a wrong turn and ended up driving right into the Bellagio Valet drop off area amongst the stretch limos and Hummers, oops!
We called it quits and headed back to our room, the traffic was only crap in one direction so we were back in our room in 10mins.
What an introduction to Vegas! Tomorrow we will walk..
