VIVA LAS VEGAS ….I’m going to break the bank!

I have a pocket full of money and I’m ready to set the town on fire. Thinking I will hit that big jackpot worth thousands. But as a friend ‘says they have to pay for all those lights somehow’. That still doesn’t stop me from thinking I have a chance and I have just as much of a chance as the next person.

The airport in Las Vegas is easy to get around and is very close to the Strip where are the flashy hotels are. From the airport you can rent a car, take the shuttle bus or a taxi. Each have advantages the shuttle bus is cheap but you do have to go to the other hotels to drop off other passengers till they get to your hotel. A taxi will take you straight to your hotel but will cost more. If you rent a car you travel around the city and explore outside the city but you will have to deal with traffic and buy gas.

 Here is a very helpful tip on rent cars and hotels. When using a debit card check with the rental car company and hotel to find out how much of a hold they will put on your debit card. I have found out the hard way that they will charge to full amount of the car or hotel plus as much as $500.00 security deposit. 

I have traveled to Las Vegas many times but will go back in a hear beat given the chance. I have stayed at hotels on the strip, off the strip and downtown. If you have never been I recommend staying on the strip in the middle of all the action. Here again talk good walking shoes in you plan on see all the sights. One of the first things you notice when you get to Las Vegas, the many themed hotels that loom over the strip and the hordes of people walking everywhere. But in minutes you will be one more person out there making your way to the next free show out front of many of the hotels.

After checking into my hotel I like to go check out the casino, I like to play the themed slot machines. What every it is you like to play always make sure to sign up for their slots club. This is a reward type program based on your gaming you earn points. Once you get enough points you can trade them in on a list of things from free gifts out of the gift shop to free rooms. Once you have you card make sure to use it every time you drop money into a machine or play at any of the tables. Each hotel has their own club so if you go to a different hotel make sure you sign up for their club.

Now that I have my card in hand I find that perfect slot machine that I’m going to win enough money to retire on. In Las Vegas like all the other gaming cities you get free drinks as you play. Once you have given them you drink request stay in your seat, it can take some time for them to come back with your drink and you don’t want to miss it.  When you are thru playing at the machine that has eaten your life saving in 3 minutes don’t forget to take your slot club card. I have found to never put hundred dollar bills into machines always twenty’s or less. Because what happens you are not winning, but because you still have money in the machine you keep playing till you have lost the hundred dollars.

Las Vegas is full of buffets and every one of them say they have been voted the best the town.  They are all good buffets and a few really stand out. Make sure you keep some money put back so you can eat at one of the seafood buffets. I like the one at the Rio All Suites Hotel, I have almost made myself sick eating snow crab legs.  

Back on the strip I need to walk off all the seafood I stuffed down. There are many hotels that have a free show. The Treasure Island has Sirens of IT, Dancing Waters at the Bellagio, Fountain Festival at the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and downtown has the Fremont Street Experience. After making my rounds on the strip I take the bus downtown to check out the Fremont Street Experience.  The only way I know to explain it is a large computer screen that covers four blocks. It is like no other screen you will see anywhere else in the world.

One more must you need to do while in Las Vegas is to see Hoover Dam, the dam is about 30 miles from Las Vegas. Take the tour of the dam it is well worth it. Here are a few fun facts: the dam is 726 feet high, 45 feet thick at the top and 660 feet at the bottom, it is filled with 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete, enough to pave a strip 16 feet wide and 8 inches thick from San Francisco to New York City, and the lowest wage for workers on the dam was 50 cents and the highest was $1.25 an hour.

Well my time in Las Vegas is over and the only bank I broke was my piggy bank. I didn’t win big but I had a great time. I love Las Vegas and have been many times, I always find new and fun things to do besides gaming. Take a weekend off and see what fun you can have in Las Vegas and maybe you will be the next BIG winner.

New Orleans "The Big Easy"- Is Just That Easy.

Everyone should go to New Orleans at least once, the food, the music, the history, and of course the FUN! New Orleans is close enough that a long weekend is possible for most people living in the US. So why not make a long weekend out of it.  I learned from my last trip not to over pack so with a small roll on bag and good walking shoes I’m off to the airport for my flight. You have two options getting from the airport to the French Quarter. Taxi will cost you about $30.00 plus fuel surcharge and tip for one or two people.  The other is shuttle bus that is about $13.00 per person, the only problem with the shuttle, it will stop at everyone’s hotel along the way to your hotel.

I take a taxi because I want to get to my hotel without it taken too long. I’m staying in the Heart of the French Quarter just blocks from Jackson Square.  After getting settled into my room I’m out the door to see what the Quarter has to offer. I will soon find out there is too much to do I just a long weekend. My first stop is the casino hoping to hit that big jackpot what will set me for life.  An hour later lighter in the pockets I make my way to Jackson Square.  

Jackson Square is the heart of the French Quarter, walking around the square you can fell the pulse of the crowd. Around the square are locals doing their best to sell their goods. As I weaved my way thru the crowd I came upon a line of horse drawn buggies. As the horses waited for pull their passengers thru the quarter on a little sightseeing tour.  I couldn’t resist and climbed aboard, when the buggy was full the horse slowly pulled away for our tour thru history.  Creeping down the street the guide started their speech on the history of Jackson Square. The square was named after President Andrew Jackson after the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. As the buggy creaks down the streets our attention is pointed to this building and that street. Finally we pull up to the Corn Stalk Hotel, our guild tells the story behind the cast iron fence. Looking closely you can see corn stalks, the legend says a French doctor bought the house in the mid 1800’s and brought his young bride from Iowa to live here. So his bride would fell more at home he had the fence made to look like corn stalks.

With my Little Home on the Prairie experience behind me I turn my attention to Bourbon Street.  Bourbon Street is a closed off to cars so you are free to walk down the middle of the street and not have to worry about getting run over.  At night the area the street really gets going. People walking around drinking hand grenades and hurricanes from many shops along the street or from Pat O’Briens.  A big attraction is Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, this shop is a must see.  Marie Laveau is possible the most famous creole woman ever she is buried in Saint Louis Cemetery #1.  Walking down Bourbon Street you can hear Jazz and Blues coming from the many clubs that line the street.  Before the clock could strike midnight and I turn into a pumpkin I return to my hotel to get a good night sleep.

Because I hit the alarm clock snooze button a few too many times I’m running a little late to get to my sightseeing tour. I do make it in time, this morning we are heading to the San Francisco Plantation.  Making our way down the legendary river road, our bus pulls up to the plantation you can see at first glance why it is called the most opulent plantation house in North America. Before we leave the bus our guild reminds us what time we need to be back on the bus. I learned my lesson in London I will not be late. Our guild for the plantation is a charming older lady dressed in her best southern dress.  She takes no time in transporting us back to the golden age of the old south. The house was built in 1854 by a wealthy sugar planter.  We are guided thru several rooms pointing out one of the finest antique collections in the country.  The house is furnished to reflect the way it would look in its glorious heyday during the late 1850’s. At the end of the tour we told the sad news that when the levees were built they took out the plantations front yard and gardens. We had free time to explore the grounds before it was time to load up the bus and head back to New Orleans.

Returning back to the French Quarter early that afternoon, I was on a mission to find food. So I let my nose do the walking down Bourbon Street. It did take long before I was eating in one of the many restaurants that pack the street. I ordered a sample plate it came with a bowl of gumbo, with a plate of crawfish etouffee and jamabalaya. By the time I was through it was all I could do to walk the door of the restaurant. Walking down Bourbon Street its take your time and people watch. There is always the person who has had too much to drink, the one that has on their sunglasses even in the dark of night, or the girl in 5 inch high heels trying to walk down the street.

The next morning I’m up and heading off to Café Du Monde for biegnets. If you have never had biegnets let me tell you a little about them. They taste a little like a doughnut but they are square shaped without the hole and they are covered with powdered sugar. All of this sugar rush will get anyone’s morning started. With a few hours left before I have to head back to the airport I do some last minute shopping around Jackson Square and take a few more pictures. I have learned over the years take more pictures than you think you should. You can always delete them later but you can never go back and take that one that go away.

First Time Traveling International - London Is Calling

The first time I traveled internationally it was to London, England. There was no question why, all the history, royalty, castles, and best of all they speak english. For me planning the trip can be as much fun as taking the trip. There is so much to see in London it can be overwhelming. I found out real quick I couldn't do everything I wanted to see in my first trip. Over the next several years I would get back to London three more times and I still haven't seen all I want to.
I had talked to many people about what to do and what to see and everyone had different answers. So the bottom line was what did I want to do?  I have my passport, plane, and hotel reservations made.
With maps of London and the Tube (subway) packed, too many clothes packed (I will later learn less is better) it's off to the airport.

It's off to the airport for the big day, checkin goes fine I find my window seat and settle in for the nine hour flight. Going over to Europe most flights from the states leave in the afternoon so you get to your destination early the next morning. We land at London Gatwick Airport to spring weather, cloud cover and raining. But I wanted to come this time of year because it is their low season. This is a term the travel industry uses to describe the demand for this destination. Low season is during the winter/spring months when the weather can be cold and wet. Because of this air fare and hotels are cheaper than summer which is high season. London Gatwick is easy to get thru as the signs are in english (that's why I chose London) plus I just followed the crowd. I thought someone in the crowd must know where they are going.

I'm here in jolly ole England needing to get from the airport into London. Gatwick is about 30 minutes from downtown by the Gatwick Express train that runs about every 15 minutes. You can buy tickets for the train at the Gatwick Express booth in the airport. There are other options, bus or taxi but a taxi is very expensive as I will tell you at the end of this story. The train takes you right into Victoria Station in the heart of London. From here I would take the Tube to my hotel. I was staying at the Royal National Hotel in Russell Square. The hotel is just a few blocks from the Russell Square Tube stop, making it very easy to get to all points in London.











The Royal National Hotel is a large hotel with over 1600 rooms. This is a basic hotel with little extras, but it also is very affordable. You will need to decide how much you want to spend on your hotel. I have stayed at one star to five star hotels and everything in between.
If you know it's a one star then you know what to expect and same goes for the five star.

I have unpacked and taken a shower to help keep me going after that long flight.  I have on a good pair of walking shoes, camera, my Tube pass (London Travelcard) and my maps ready to go. The travelcard is a must to have as it gives you unlimited travel on the Tube and city busses for a set number of days. There is also The London Pass that is like the London Travelcard but the London Pass also allows you to get into several London attractions for free. You will need to see which one works best for you as many of the sightseeing tours will cover the same attractions. So you would be paying for the same attraction twice.

My goal for the day was to find the first Hard Rock Cafe. I was lucky as the day promised to be sunny and clean with my map in hand off I went.
I was in no hurry as I had all day to explore London. I had booked a city sightseeing tour the next day. My first stop was Trafalgar Square it is one for, if it not the most famous squares in the world, with it's huge lion statues, Nelsons column and those pigeons. Next stop is St. James Park, this time of year the daffodils are blooming everywhere.


If hurry I can make the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. During the winter/spring months it doesn't happen everyday, so check with your hotel they should know the days. I find a good spot in front of Buckingham Palace and wait along with the hundreds of other people wanting to see what the British do best, put on a show.

I was starting to get hungry so I better find the Hard Rock Cafe fast. I knew from my map that it was near Hyde Park Corner Tube station. It's not far from Buckingham Palace. It doesn't take me long to find, and none too soon.  Finally I had reached my goal for the day. By this point my feet were killing me, I was glad to sit and rest while I ate. After buying a few t-shirts it was time to move on.






As I wander thru Hyde Park the flowers were in their full glory.  I was making my way to Kensington Palace. This would later become the home of Princess Diana.

The jet lag was starting to kick in so I decided to head back to my hotel and call it a day. Tomorrow I had an all day sightseeing tour. I would be pickup at the hotel at 8am and not get back till after 6pm. What took me most of the day walking only took minutes by the Tube back to my hotel. Thank goodness I was ready for a hot bath for my sore feet. As I pulled myself into the bed I knew tomorrow would be just as fun.

The morning came early but I was ready to hit the floor running. Maybe today I will wear two pair of socks to help my poor feet. The bus was right on time, today I had signed up for a full day city tour. The tour guide laid out the day for us letting us know how important it was that we stay on time. Letting us know that if we were not on the bus when it was time to go that we would be left. Our first stop was St Paul's Cathedral, the present building was built in the 17th century from a design by Sir Christopher Wren. This is the church where Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married.

Back on the bus the tour guide took a head count and we were missing two people. We waited what felt like hours but was only about 5 minutes. As the bus pulled away without the missing people the tour guide again told us how important it was to stay on time. She advised us with it being a full day tour we can not get behind waiting on people to get back to the bus. Next on the tour we would drive thru London having various sights pointed out. Up next was to drive by Big Ben (look kids, Big Ben) then Westminster Abbey and then the Royal Albert Hall.

Lunch was on our own, then it was off to the Tower of London. The Tower of London is over 1000 years old and it has been a royal palace, an armoury, and a place of imprisonment and execution most noted was Anne Boleyn. The Beefeaters that guard the tower walked us thru telling of its past and stories of ghosts and the ravens that live at the tower. Legend says that if the ravens leave the tower the British Kingdom will fall. So the Beefeaters keep a small group and keep their wings clipped so they can't leave. If you look around you will see the graveyard for ravens that gave their live to save the empire.

As we weave our way thru the colorful history of the Tower of London our next stop is the crown jewels. It's hard to believe the size of the gems and what the value of them would be. It has been said they are worth as much as 2.5 billion dollars........wow!

This was the end of our tour for the day so we were taken back to Victoria Station. I was told by some people on the tour that Piccadilly Circus is something to see at night. Piccadilly Circus is like Time Square in New York City.  With my London Travelcard and Tube map in hand off I went, it took no time to get to my destination. As I walked out of the Tube stop I understood what they were talking about. It was a circus, people of every shape and size. There was a punk rock guy with an acid green mohawk so drunk his buddy was helping him get back home or to the next pub so he could drink some more. The neon signs were shining with all their glory, reds, blues, yellows it made the whole area glow.

It was getting late and I was hungry ...oh look a Burger King. I didn't think I would travel all this way and eat somewhere I could get in the states, but at this point any port in a storm. After eating off I went to the hotel for a good night sleep. Tomorrow I had another full day sightseeing, this time the english country side.

The next day, my last day in London, I woke to clouds and a light cold rain. I turned on the tellie (as they call TV) and the weather forecast called for this to pass early and the sun to shine. The tour bus was waiting for me as I walked out the doors of the hotel. Today we would see Warwick Castle, Stratford, Oxford, and a drive thru the Cotswolds. First stop Warwick Castle; as we pulled up to park the tour guide started giving us some history of the castle. It was built in 1068 by William the Conqueror and sits on a bend of the river Avon. Our guide sliced thru the crowd like a knife thru butter to get us to the front of the line. With a tour you can do that as the tour company buys tickets in advance. Inside we were given more history of the castle, we made our way to the Madame Tussaud's waxworks part of the castle. This display shows castle life in the 1800's.

Time flies as you walk thru the castle as you are transported back to another time and place. But the clock says it's time to head back to the bus and I'm not going to be left behind because I took too long in the castle. We head off to Stratford upon Avon the birth place of William Shakespeare, we would visit Anne Hathaway's cottage. Touring thru the cottage the one thing I notice right off is the low doorways. I mean these people must have only been 5 feet tall....watch your head.

With it getting close to lunch we would drive to an area of England called the Cotswolds known for charming thatched roof cottages, picturesque villages, tea shops and ancient inns. Here we would have lunch on our own.

Now that I'm full and ready for a nap we head off to Oxford, home to one of the world's most famous universities. Our guide would give us a walking tour thru the area that makes up the university. We looked like a bunch of baby ducks following its mother as we made our way around the grounds. Our guide gave us some history: Oxford is the oldest English speaking university in the world and dates back to 1096.

One more tour done and time to head back to London, the day goes by so fast. Well tomorrow I head back home my first international trip is almost over. It's time to pack everything up to get ready for the trip home tomorrow. It's amazing how fast you can throw your dirty clothes in the suitcase, when it took you what felt like hours packing to go on this trip. Ok the suitcase is packed and I found room for all the junk I bought to bring back.

The morning comes too early and I turn on the tellie as I'm getting ready, only to hear what no one wants to hear as they are getting ready to go to the airport. The trains and Tube are on strike today and today only. Now what do I do?......I call the front desk and hear the bad news that a TAXI is my only option. Well I better get moving as this will add time to me getting ?....yes...ok hurry let's get checked out of the hotel and get a taxi to London Gatwick. Good there are several taxis out front just waiting for stupid tourists that have to fly home today. Off we go into the great London traffic, thank goodness the big backup was going into London as the people that work in town had to drive into work. The taxi driver assured me he would get me to Gatwick in plenty of time to catch my flight. As the meter ticks away I start to panic wondering if I will have enough money to pay for this. Turning into the airport and up to the doors the meter shows 72.35 pounds. Thankfully I had 80.00 pounds left so I still have a little money to get me something to eat and drink in the airport. The flight back home was uneventful and I slept most of the way back.

Just remember to keep a little extra cash on hand for those unforeseen things that pop up during a trip.