Jetted off to LA in the only way that us Selfys know how to, Club Class with British Airways, the best way to travel!
Drove to our hotel in our Cadillac Escalade, the first half of our trip we stayed in the Lowes Hotel, Santa Monica.
We were all a bit tired from the travelling, Louis fell straight asleep, so went off exploring on my own, I wandered down to the beach and had a go on some of the “gym” equipment there like the bars, ropes and rings.
We were all shattered so first day of the holiday was one that ended with an early night!
With our body clocks not adjusted we were all awake before the crack of dawn the next day, and in true selfy style we got up and went out! We went down to the beach and a stroll along the pier, albeit in the dark.
When the rest of the world was up and about, and after I had a train in the Hotel gym, we went off to hire some bikes and rode down to Venice Beach.We also hired a segway which is great fun.
Venice Beach was not how I remembered it, and not what Jo and Louis were expecting to see; there were lots of down and outs, beggars and tattoo parlours.
LA is a great place to go on holiday, we went to some great places while we were there, including the famous Brit Pub The Kings Head, I was hoping that I may well have seen some familiar faces in there, but not this time. We did the usual shopping, but Jo missed out on Rodeo Drive, as she was too tired to shop! Yes really she turned shopping down on one of the worlds most famous shopping strips, and for those of you worried she is fine and made up for it in Las Vegas!
And of course what trip to LA would be complete without a visit to the famous Hollywood sign, set in the Hills over looking LA, we drove as close as we could to it, and got some great pictures.
We set off for our drive to Las Vegas, taking Route 15 from LA to Las Vegas. I thought it would be fun to detour and take the famous Death Valley route 127, getting to the Death Valley Junction and onto Route 190 which is the famous Death Valley Road. Travelling at 94mph, with no other cars in sight, I was stopped by the highway patrol who kindly issued me a speeding ticket. I was under the impression that speeding tickets were given in regards to speeding in build up areas, so this ticket amazed me! The temperature in the Death Valley was 115-120 degrees, and we stopped at some places along the way, including a proper red neck hill Billy gas station to fill up on petrol,
We eventually got the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where we were given the wrong room, after making a fuss, the only way that I know how, our suite was upgraded, the suite we were given was massive and we were able to enjoy the extras that a 3000 square foot suite can offer, 2 bedrooms, steam room, Jacuzzi bath, lounge, dining room, kitchen and much more, what an upgrade!
We enjoyed staying at the Mandalay Bay, Louis likes the wave pool and the lazy river, and Jo was able to relax by the side of the pool.
There are great restaurants in Las Vegas, and on our first night in the Mandalay we enjoyed dinner in one of the restaurants within the hotel.We did the Las Vegas strip visiting Hooters Hotel and Casino, Planet Hollywood Miracle Mall, and Louis and I went and checked out the Hard Rock Hotel for the Pool and the pretty girls!
Las Vegas operates a great monorail system which makes it easier to get between the hotels and up and down the strip without getting hot and sweaty in the 100 degree heat out on the strip!
We got the Monorail down to one of the strips oldest hotels the Harrahs, and onto the Venetian where we had a gondola ride, from there we went on down to the Wynn hotel, we wanted to go shopping in the Fashion Mall on the way back but the shops were shut.
I had a little flutter on the tables while we were there but no wins, Vegas is such a great place to go, but it had to come to an end at some point so it was back off to LA for one more night, and then fly home.The final hotel was the Ritz Carlton in LA, when we arrived for a split second I thought that the paparazzi were there for me, once we got through the throng of paps and checked in we went through to the hotel pool, and there we saw Britney Spears, that accounted for the paps, she was being photographed from every angle from everyone, people were standing on ladders, massive long lens cameras, all just to get a picture of her sat by the pool.
What a way to end a star studded holiday, can’t wait for our next little break away! 
