20.august: Las Vegas, Nevada -> Death Valley and Baker, California

Theme songs: "Leavin' Las Vegas", Sheryl Crow and "Time to say Goodbye", Sarah Brightman

So we did not get up as early as we wanted (surprise...), but we still managed to get a good 30 minutes in the pool and sunbathing. Then we had to seriously re-pack our suitcases. Too much stuff! But such beautiful stuff :) We checked out of Luxor at 11 AM, so sad to leave the hotel (and the 3 pools)!! We loaded the car with bags and suitcases and left it at the hotel as we went sightseeing. The city is so much fun! Things happening all the time, everywhere. I really wanted to see the New York, New York hotel, and we did. UC went on the rollercoaster, but as I am really afraid of heights and not too fond of rollercoasters, I stayed on the ground. Instead I window-shopped (and wisely let my card rest for a day..hehe!) We gambled at the Bellagio, UC played Roulette and I spent $ 20 on the one-armed bandits. We didn't win...wish we had so we wouldn't feel so bad for shopping so much yesterday :)

Here are some pictures from inside the Bellagio:


And here we are gambling:

We also went to see Caesars Palace as we both love the movie "Hangover" and wanted to see the hotel for ourselves. But there was no mattress on the roof, no tigers and no Bradley Cooper...hehe. But the hotel was still wonderful.

The reception at Caesar

We had lunch at a french restaurant on the Strip called "Mon Ami Gabi" where UC had a glass of wine (since I was driving..we have not gotten used to the fact that you can drink and drive here..feels like one of those things one shouldn't do even if it is allowed...). I ended up eating Mac'n Cheese (yes, very french) and UC had a crépe with chicken.

 We walked back to Luxor full and happy, but sad at the same time. We are definitely going back to Las Vegas sometime!! Note to self: Bring mo' money!

We left Las Vegas at 4 PM (16:00). But leaving the city seemed to be harder than we expected it to be. The GPS was too slow, the map was not detailed enough and we were tired. But we got out (even though we both thought about just staying there...) and headed straight for Death Valley. As tradition is for us now, we saw it bathed in the light of yet another beautiful sunset. Or, if I am to be exact (as I should) we only saw a small part of Death Valley, called Zabriskie Point As we set of to see more of the valley it was so dark we could hardly see the road. But Death Valley is the most quiet plae I've ever been! There was no sound at all besides people whispering..
We made it to Furnace Creek, and then we turned and went to Baker to find a motel for the night.

We ended up at Will's Fargo Motel which has a pool that is open all day and night :) We know how to pick'em. Today it has been really warm everywhere we've been, so a dip in the pool will be highly appreciated.

Tomorrow we're heading for the Seqouia national park!

Vib

Uploading pictures in the motel in Baker is impossible (the wi-fi's name here is actually "overprized"! Love it! So as soon as we get somewhere with decent internet we'll do it :)

Note: uploading pic's in Monterey works fine :)