On our last day in San Diego, we picked up our rental car to use for the rest of our time in the US. Thankful to finally be rid of public transport (no more chicken buses for us thank you very much), we set out on our journey to Sin City - Las Vegas. After a few hairy starts as Adam got used to driving an automatic, and driving on the wrong  other side of the road, we were well on our way.

Five hours of driving on the same long stretch of road later, we saw our oasis in the desert - the bright lights and high-rise hotels that make up one of the world's most notorious cities.
We stayed at the Tropicana, the main reason being that it was one of the cheapest on the strip (ahh the life of a traveller), but it was perfect - great rooms, an even better pool area, and close to everything else - just what we wanted.

As soon as we got out of the car the heat hit, and continued to be relentless for the few days that we were there. We spent our time at buffets (one buffet sesh was enough to feed me for the whole day - the one at Bellagio is particularly good), waddling back to our hotel pool, and exploring the hotels at night (with a bit of gambling thrown in of course).

Vegas is delightfully tacky - everything is completely excessive and over the top, but there is nothing else like it. Even the newer hotels with their designer shops and sleek modern interiors, are brought down to (Vegas) earth with their clunky slot machines complete with neon lights off of the 80s.

Besides being offered services from 'hot babes' every five minutes as we walked down the strip, I loved Las Vegas, in all its tacky glory.