Our next stop after the Grand Canyon was Vegas, and to get there we got to drive through Route 66. This included a necessary photo stop with American flag included. I do wish we had driven through Monument Valley on this trip as well. But that will have to wait for my next trip to the States, in particular Arizona. The Arizona desert was one of my favourite landscapes of my trip. The drive from the Grand Canyon through to Yosemite I could barely keep my eyes off the views.
We pulled over in a little town called Seligman, which served as one of the real life inspirations for the movie Cars. When we stopped in there was actually a car drive/ meet up going on. It was a very specific and unique vintage style car that everyone was showing off to each other. I wish I could remember what this car was. Imagine a combination of a James Bond Aston Martin and a old polish car known as a Trabant.
We only really stopped in for a pit stop for snacks and a toilet. I wish I still had the photos off my camera from this little town though. There was a bar that we popped into for a cheeky pint, where the walls were covered in a combination of $1 bills, road signs and desert animals taxidermied torsos. We stopped in a diner as well and chatted with the server for a while who was a true local. It was really interesting to hear her stories.
We obviously took some obligatory group photos and then we were back on the road. We all slept majority of this trip to prepare our body and souls for what was to come.
If you didn't know there is actually a huge line to get a photo with this sign. Fun trick if you are low on time or just can't justify waiting in a line just to take a photo, just move to the side. Its a lot easier and if you just wait for the people who are standing in front of the sign to move for the next people you can easily get a photo with no one in it. We obviously waited to take another must have photo, tbh worth it.
So here's the deal, I completely forgot about Vegas when I was packing/ preparing for this trip. My usual black dress that I dress up for nightclubs etc when travelling was dirty and I had no high heels. My heeled boots I would have worn I had left in San Diego like an absolute idiot! My solution to this was while everyone was having drinks and waiting for dinner at the Hard Rock I ran down to H&M and quickly bought the cheapest dress and heels that slightly matched that I could find. I think I only spent about $50 AUD, which wasn't bad. Despite what they tell you, it isn't actually cheaper to shop in Vegas unless you actually go out of the way to the Factory Outlets, which aren't close to the strip at all.
I found this red dress and these nude heels that worked well for the night. I was still probably the least dressed up person from our group. This is my roomie Maddie and I having some drinks at a random bar rooftop. Honestly couldn't tell you where or when this happened if I tried so I am just going to slot these photos in here.
Next stop was Freemont Street to see the light show. While we waited for it to start I put $5 on a Simpsons slot machine and lost. That was my gambling experience in Vegas. We genuinely didn't actually do much gambling while we were there. We had so much other stuff to see and do. We sat outside a bar, had some drinks and watched the show. It was cool, good to see with the family but it wasn't really anything to write home about. I think Freemont Street is just an area you should visit in general, the lit up signs are a sight in themselves. Fun fact, Freemont Street was actually the first paved street in Vegas in 1925. The history behind Vegas is pretty interesting as well but I will leave that to you to find out either through the internet or doing a tour yourself.
Our next stop was a surprise for the whole group especially two people. I don't really want to spoil for people who are wanting to go on a Contiki in Vegas, but in short, I met Elvis and we sang together.
We were then taken to this terrible Contiki favoured bar where we were meant to be meeting up with another couple of tour groups. This bar was horrible and we only got two free drinks each and the rest was horribly expensive. I cannot remember the name I can only remember that the only reason they pick this bar is because it has a nice view of Vegas.
Our Superclub for the first night in Vegas was Marquee, which was having some sort of University party that night. Maybe I've aged too quickly but this was just not for me. Heck these clubs were expensive! A vodka soda was over $20USD easy and a tiny bottle of water, I'm talking 200ml was $12USD!!!! Absolute outrage! Especially considering that you could not refill these bottles in the bathrooms or at the bar. They made you buy more. Maybe this is a common thing but in Australia it is straight up illegal for a venue to not provide free drinking water. The RSA people would lose their minds at this place!
That night lasted until sunrise and the next day we spent mostly in bed trying to get some sweet hours of sleep. It was raining the next day in Vegas so we didn't get to go on the Rollercoaster or do much of the outside activities. A lot of rides and attractions were closed which was unfortunate.
Our first stop on our day of Recovery was an oxygen bar. You will see these all over Vegas. You basically put this little contraption up your nose and get flavoured oxygen pumped into your system. It is a weird experience but it does make you feel a bit better. They also had a lot of IV hydration drip stations around but it was way more expensive.
Next stop was a French themed buffet called Le Village Buffet. This was round 1 of about 5. No shame, living my best buffet life. That night we went to Omnia where we watched Steve Aoki, which was out of this world! His set began at 3am! I lasted through most of it but tapped out eventually. We spent the rest of the night trying to deliver one of our contiki dudes back to his room where his girlfriend was waiting. She would not answer her phone and he could not remember his room number. Shenanigans were experienced all round.
The next morning we sadly had to leave behind a few members of our contiki family as their particular trip ended in Vegas. I had to say goodbye to Tawz who I had only become fully acquainted with in Vegas so this really sucked. But luckily she lives near Sydney so I have seen her since we parted ways in Vegas. Next stop was Yosemite! No one spoke on this bus except Maddie who couldn't sleep so she just spent majority of the trip standing in the aisles among a bus filled with corpses. Vegas baby!
Our first stop was a lookout where you could see Half Dome and El Capitan. This is hands down one of the most beautiful National Parks I have ever been to. My jaw was on the floor. This was just the first stop. We were here for another two nights and I was so excited!
After the obligatory scenic group photoshoot we arrived at our gorgeous cabins at Bass Lake. I would love to come back to this place in winter, the photos just look out of this world! At this stop we were staying in Cabins in groups of 4. Maddie and I partnered with Brooke and Serena and we such a great couple of nights. First night was a pizza party in one of the cabins. We all felt terrible so we took some pizza back to our cabin and watched the sunset together on our verandah. It was a perfect evening. We then took some edibles, watched a movie and passed out asleep before 9pm.
I have no idea how or where these bruises came from.
The next day was one of my absolute favourites, we went hiking in the Yosemite National Park. The scenes were honestly out of this world. I thought the Grand Canyon was the most beautiful place I had been, this was on a whole other level.
I hiked with the girls most of the time all the way to under a huge waterfall and then I stayed behind because my fitness levels just weren't there. Plus I also wanted to spend some me time with nature. I stopped off at one point and meditated by a stream. Goal in life is to meditate in all the most beautiful places in the world.
We were absolutely soaked in swear and waterfall but it was so worth it. I cannot wait to come back and revisit Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. They are both just places you can't ever fully experience, there will always be something you haven't seen before. I most likely won't revisit Las Vegas as I had my fun there and I don't really see a need to go back. It is worth the trip though and my only regret with Vegas is that Britney wasn't performing her live show anymore. Absolutely heartbroken.