All Quiet on the Western Front

That sounds like a good book title. Yes, I know it is and everyone should read it from time to time. This is not a book review, however, it is about travel.  Considering that I live in the East (in the U.S.), when I travel West, I find that it is very different from the East. Travel energizes our spirits as nothing else can match. Maybe that is why we spend more time planning a trip than any other activities that we do during the course of our lives. It is also more tiring than any activity I do during the course of my regular days.

Weeks in Nevada remind me that moisturizer is my best friend and that water costs about as much as liquid gold or at least as much as booze. Altitude doesn't bother me, but dryness is a constant companion in the West of the U.S. 

The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas

Naturally, five hours on a plane must include a trip to Vegas--love that glitz and glamor and gambling.

 

The glitz can be found in extravagant, crystal dripping opulence at the new Cosmopolitan hotel/casino on the strip. How quickly they put up a new hotel. It wasn't there the last time we visited.

The glamor can be found at the production of Phantom of the Opera at The Venetian. It closes in September so it was a good opportunity to see it again while it is still in Vegas. All of the shows are a big draw at Vegas and the Penn and Teller comedy/magic production at Rio was worth the trip. Most shows begin with people being told to shut off the cell phones, but they take it to a new high. Their first trick ended with the cell phone ringing inside a fish, so a word to the wise was sufficient in that show. We skipped the Cirque shows on this trip since we have seen all of those. We will catch a few next time.

 

Bellagio display, Las Vegas

More glamor is on tap at the Bellagio with ever changing lobby displays and the outdoor evening music/light fountain shows. The Monet exhibit at their Gallery of Fine Art was visiting from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and well worth the time we spent browsing through it. The art shops of Peter Lik, Vladimir Kush, and Chihuly lure tourists to some unusual displays. A little culture in sin city--imagine that. It's expensive stuff that won't be on my walls, just in my mind.

 

Real flowers in a frame-Bellagio, Las Vegas

The gambling is ever-present and fun from time to time. I was able to play the slots for three hours one afternoon and only spent $5. The very entertaining Casino Royale is a throw back to Vegas of old and I wouldn't have it any other way. Such nostalgia--low ceilings, low lights, loud music, chiming slots, smoky haze that I could do without, but it feels like 1950.

Half-size Eiffel Tower, Las Vegas

Where else can you have breakfast in the desert, lunch at a deli in New York, and dinner at a sidewalk cafe in Paris? We like to stay at Planet Hollywood which used to be the Aladdin attached to the Desert Passage, which they now call the Miracle Mile. 

I love the restaurants which are unique and feel like the great outdoors, but have clouds painted on the inside of the roof. It seems like an evening in the streets of Paris inside the hotel/casino of the same name. The upside of indulging in all the great restaurants is that there is so much walking, I lost two pounds.

We like to make Vegas a place to meet friends who live in the West and can drive to meet us. It was a busy visit with friends as well as a family reunion in Reno. That's another city with gambling everywhere, but we weren't there to gamble. However, we saw a great local stage production of Anything Goes at the university. 

Wynn Hotel-Casino, Las Vegas

I always find the West to be tiring, but relaxing, and entertaining. I love doing Vegas "My Way."

Sin City

Many things found in Las Vegas are fake, gaudy and over-the-top. However, not even Lyme Disease or antibiotics can keep me from my annual Vegas odyssey. I sometimes ask myself why it is one of my favorite vacation spots because I never tire of visiting it. I like the variety of experiences available and I always find something new to see or another extravagance to observe.

On this trip, we saw the new City Center complex which has opened with another experience for tourists. The City Center is so huge, a monorail snakes around from hotel to hotel which is helpful in hot weather. It has all the usual shops, hotels, restaurants, casino, and the required Cirque du Soleil show which we haven't seen yet. The Beatles show at The Mirage is fantastic, but we aren't Elvis fans so we skipped the Elvis show at Aria in City Center. Instead we repeated a trip to see KA at MGM Grand. KA, as well as O at Bellagio are my favorite Cirque shows because of the technology and high level of performances in both. Many Olympians in swimming, diving and gymnastics find employment in these shows which I feel are worth every penny in entertainment. 

We aren't devoted gamblers, but we hit the slots briefly. We spend less than it would cost to attend a pro athletic event in any big city. It is just entertainment and soon bores because you know all the bells and whistles just mean we donated to the casino again. The winners are few and far between which we already knew.

The dichotomy of the city is jolting. A street minister stands on a street corner and yells about Sodom and Gomorrah in the middle of a group of immigrants hawking the latest peep shows and snapping brochures in your face. A woman wearing religious head gear walks down the street while passing behind her on The Strip is an advertising truck proclaiming "Hot Babes, 24/7 in your room in 20 minutes. They want you!" Of course, they mostly want your wallet. It must be hard for those serious poker players to concentrate on their game while a pole dancer slithers around on a table in front of them.

The location of Vegas makes it a good home base to take side trips to visit the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Red Rocks Canyon or other points of interest outside the city limits. We like to drive outside the city at times and take in the nature scene too. The environment is very different from our region.

Vegas is amusing and it makes me smile but after a point, enough already and I've had enough for another year. I know I'll return because it is full of noise, energy, audacity and defiance. It is a great place to meet friends or family from other parts of the country because there is something for everyone to enjoy. As long as the city continues to put up new, more exciting extravaganzas to enjoy, people will continue to trek through the desert to waste gasoline, money, water and their time in the name of entertainment for a brief time. 

Planet Hollywood, The Lady Luck of Las Vegas

I can't get enough of Planet Hollywood and Las Vegas. Can you beat that view from the room! The fountains across the Strip sound like canons booming, no matter what time of the day we happen to stop back at our room. Our friends who meet us to visit several days have been upgraded to beautiful suites, but he is always the lucky one of the four of us. From huge, purple, fuzzy, stuffed elephants won at beach arcades, to video poker, he carries around a winner halo. Unfortunately, it hasn't rubbed off on me yet. I keep hoping I will be the lucky one next time we play the slots. I love staying in Planet Hollywood when we go to Vegas for easy access to the rest of the area attractions. I enjoyed the hotel when it was the mysterious Aladdin, but I find the glamorous renovations to Planet Hollywood to be invigorating. Pictures taken at the entrance really sparkle. Having the Miracle Mile shops joining the casino was a stroke of genius. We are off again to explore Vegas, the shows, and nearby Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Freemont Street. It is like coming home from a long day when we can take off our shoes in our room in Planet Hollywood.