Homing Pigeons from Nantes

We have not posted all pictures of our Eid holidays yet, but I could not resist the urge to make a post on the Las Vegas trip I just did with Line's brothers, Sam and Yann. Nine days of fun and gambling in Vegas from 7 to 16 September 2012 - here's a summary (of what can be shown, the rest stayed in Vegas...).

After a chaotic trip (my flight from Doha was cancelled, while Yann and Sam missed their flight in Paris), we finally met at the Mirage, our hotel for the nine days, on Friday evening only 3 hours after the initial scheduled time, so it was not that bad. A little champagne in the room to celebrate was mandatory (we were initially supposed to meet at the airport, take a limo to go to the hotel and drink the champagne in the limo - it did not happen that way, but we still had to drink the champagne, right?).

On the next day we start with a bubbly brunch.

We play our first poker tournaments, and experience our first gains - a little show-off with the Mirage chips...

A little slots session is also a must - despite some good combinations we however ended up losing at these.

Even though we spent most of our time inside the casinos, we still managed to go outside every now and then to enjoy the views of the Strip.

And we chilled at the pool, enjoying margaritas and daiquiris.

We could not resist posing with the local figures - Toy Story's Woody, Daisy, and Alan from the Hangover (classic!)

On the last day but one, we finally decided to go to the Stratosphere at the North far end of the Strip.

From the top of the tower, we have a great view on the whole of Vegas - the Strip on one side, Downtown on the other.

But the main reasons for going to the Stratosphere are the rides at the top - X-Scream, Insanity and Big Shot.

After the Stratosphere (and a Carl's Junior burger to recover), we walk towards Downtown, as recommended by one taxi driver. Even though we'd been to Vegas a few times already, we had never been to Downtown so far - what a mistake! This place is awesome: after reaching the Golden Nugget, we discover a central semi-covered alley with bars, gift shops and casinos on each side, several concert stages, and loads of small shows everywhere!

We even found Zoltar again (private joke...).

And at night all the casinos and even the roof light up, the place get crowded, and the atmosphere is excellent. We will definitely consider staying Downtown rather than on the Strip for our next Vegas trip!

We enjoyed the side shows, especially Yann...

We finally reached the last day, with the last poker tournaments and the last gains: Sam poses with the two other finalists of our very last tournament.

And just like it, it was already over, bye Vegas!