Nevada

“Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire.” – Viva Las Vegas, Elvis Presley

I’ve decided that Las Vegas is a place everyone should visit at least once in their life, and not just because I happened to double my money while I was down there! The lights, the shows, the restaurants, the hotels, the interesting characters, the history – it all adds up to make a very worthwhile few day vacation. As you know, readers, I was there between Christmas and New Year’s this past year and it was a great time to go. There were lots of shows going on and the weather was perfect for walking the Vegas strip. Mind you, there were also a TON of people there, but I guess that’s to be expected any time.

We had the pleasure of staying at the Venetian Hotel, which was lovely. Inside the place is decorated very elegantly, and they’ve even recreated St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal, complete with gondolas and gondoliere. You almost felt like you were in Italy. Plus, my room was equipped with the most comfortable, plush, marshmallowy bed I’d ever slept in. Between eating expensive food (Starbucks is the cheaper option around there) and trying our luck in the casinos, we took in three shows: Elvis impersonator Trent Carlini (I LOVE Elvis, by the way), the musical Jersey Boys, and the (amazing) singing ventriloquist Terry Fator. We managed to snag discounted same day and next day tickets for the shows from the various Half Price ticket sellers along the strip. We went to the one closest to the Ventian, just down the strip beside the always-packed Denny’s.

We spent our days walking the strip, checking out the other hotels, and visiting the casinos. We had Margaritas (yum!) in Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, went to a shooting range, visited a “classy” jewelry pawn shop and also visited the Mob Attraction. Mob Attraction? Yeah, like THE Mob. Like Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Siegel and the boys who helped put Vegas on the map. Las Vegas’ history is inextricably linked with that of the Mob. For someone (moi) who considers The Godfather one of her all time favourite books and movies, this was very interesting.

So enough with the words – Las Vegas is a feast for the eyes and ears. Here are some photos of my little trip: