VIVA LAS VEGAS !

Two flights later on Sunday the first of October, we touch down in Las Vegas and make our way to the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, where we will spend three nights and meet up with the Coleman's, the other Aussie family we will travel with for the rest of our holiday. The Hotel is awesome! It's a giant castle and inside it has some dragons and Knights and all sorts of cool stuff. The first night we just walk around a bit near our Hotel, have some dinner, check out the kid's Games Room, and then have an early night because we are all really tired.

Day two in Las Vegas and we start off with a look at some of the other Casinos near us and find somewhere for breakfast. The "New York, New York" Casino is across the road from us and it is amazing. On the outside it looks like the whole city of New York shrunken to fit in one block. There is a huge Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. It also has a Roller Coaster inside the Casino grounds and lots of nice shops inside that all look like they are on a New York Street. It is so clever how they have all the themes in the Casinos.

After another Mexican breakfast we caught the shuttle to the outlet mall to do some shopping. They had a great Disney store and we bought things there and at some of the other shops. After that we caught the Shuttle all the way to the end of "The Strip" (the main street of Las Vegas) and in the evening we got to see the Pirate show at the "Treasure Island", the erupting Volcano at the"Mirage" and the beautiful fountains at the "Bellagio". Back to the hotel to eat at about 9:30 at night and then in to bed for a deserved sleep.

On our final day in Las Vegas we caught the shuttle all the way to the end of "The Strip" and started walking back. We went to "The World's Biggest Souvenir Shop" and tried on a bunch of crazy hats, and bought a few souvenirs. The next place we stopped at was "Circus, Circus", this is the Casino we were going to stay in but changed our minds. It has a Circus "Big Top" tent set up in the casino and a huge theme park at the back. People walk around juggling and stuff and they have circus acts through the day. We got to see the Trapeze act and they were really good.

We also got to see the White Tiger at the "Mirage". It belongs to Siegfreid and Roy who were some of the best magicians ever until one of the tigers attacked Roy and he nearly died. Then we went to the "Venetian" where they have canals and gondolas that you can ride all the way through the inside of the casino. On the way back to the "Excalibur" we made a final casino stop at "Paris!", a French style casino with a giant Eiffel Tower and an Arch de Triumph! Our final stop was the M&M Museum and the Coca Cola Museum. I finally found a mug with my name on it so I bought it!

I DANCE, I DANCE, I DANCE..... AROUND THE MEXICAN HAT!

The big problem with going on a big holiday in a place like the USA is that you have to spend so much time in airports, especially with the extra security they have now. Two flights and most of a day later, we arrive in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. The first thing you notice is how hot it is! Not the temperature but the humidity. You start sweating the minute you get off the plane. I got to use some of my Spanish I had learned by saying thankyou to the lady in Immigration, "gracias". Next we had to fight our way through the dozens of people selling "time share holidays", they all wanted you to talk to them and promise free tours and stuff like that. Finally we got the right Taxi and got to our Resort.

The "Crown Paradise Club" was a fantastic place to stay. When we arrived they tied a wristband on each of us which meant we could eat, drink, and play anything we wanted in the whole resort without having to pay for it. Even the kids could go up to the snack bar and get some chips or a cheeseburger, or go up to one of the grown up's bars and choose a kid's cocktail without mum or dad being with us. Some of the drinks were a Shrek Straight Up, a Frozen Nemo, but my favourite was a Winnie the Pooh, it was made of lots of different fruit juices and I had about 20 of them during our stay! The kid's pool was the other great thing about our resort, it had seven different types of water slides, squirt canons on a Pirate Ship, a Castle which dumped huge buckets of water on you, and fountains spraying water everywhere. AWESOME!!!

Day two and dad had organised for the seven of us to go on a private tour of the area with a man named Tony Sanchez. Tony is from Mexico City but he has lived in PV for a long time and knows all of the best places. First he drove us around the Marina area where all of the rich American retired people are building ugly big houses and blocking out most of the old historical buildings. Then we went to an old residential area and got to visit a little factory where they do the dying and printing on lots of the souvenir t-shirts and dresses. It was really interesting and I got to buy a dress. Then we got to walk around the town for a while. All of us kids wanted an ice-block but we couldn't speak enough Spanish to tell the shopkeeper what we wanted, and they did not speak English. We might have been the first Aussies ever in the shop!

We drove around a lot of interesting places, saw some great scenery, shopped at some local art and craft stalls and then went for a swim in the waterfall that Arnold Schwartzenegger and the Predator used in the movie. Then down the road for a nice Mexican lunch of Quesadillas and Tacos. Two real Iguanas were above us on the rafters while we ate and we got to feed them. They eat flowers and we fed them from a long pole. Then we went to visit a Tequila factory and finally back to the resort for a much needed swim.

Friday the 6th of October was one of the very best days of my life! We spent the day on a Pirate Ship and got to be involved in almost every game, show and activity on the day. The "Marigalante" is a full sized, hand built replica of Christopher Columbus' ship the Santa Maria. It was built in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Americas, and has sailed around the world. Now it is full time used for the awesome Pirate Adventure. I got selected to be in the singing competition, but had to be put in the stocks, have marshmellows in my mouth, and sing "La Cucaracha". They said it was a tie and so the other girl and I had to be blindfolded and feed yogurt to our mums. We made a huge mess and it was really funny. Being up in front of everyone was a bit embarrassing but lots of fun, and I won a Pirate T-shirt.

Mum and my friend Mitchell got chosen to be in the Pirate show. Mum as the Captain's wife, Pocahontas, and Mitch as the Captain's son, Jimbo. They both did great acting and we all had great fun. They took us to a secluded beach were we could snorkel, paddle kayaks and have Banana Boat rides. Mum and I went Kayaking and then I had three rides on the Banana Boat. After that we were taken back to the ship fir a yummy lunch and then the adults got to play a really funny dancing game. Finally it was back on the ship for lunch and the trip back to the Marina and our Resort. What a fantastic day, definitely one I will never forget!

Saturday we all went into town, shopping at the Mercado (art and craft markets), walking along the Malecon (a lovely walkway right along the edge of the bay with lots of cool statues and artists), and had lunch at a crazy place called the Zoo. We went to a great shop called Senor Frogs which had some fantastic clothes and stuff. I bought a shirt there with my birthday on it! That night we went to a Disney show that the staff at the Resort does. It was pretty cool with lots of songs and Disney characters. The Mexican friends I had made got to play two of the dwarves in Snow White, they are very nice and I hope to become penpals now that I am back home..

Sunday was our last full day and we spent the whole day at the Resort. I was allowed to get my hair braided. It took nearly an hour to do and it looked so awesome! Late in the afternoon Dad went back into town by himself while we all stayed and swam in the pools. This has been the most fun Hotel I have ever stayed at! The only problem was the humidity and how hot it made the days. Even the pools were almost too warm sometimes! All of the staff were fantastic and we made friends with some of them. Maybe we can come back here one day because it really was awesome.

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