I’m writing all these posts about our vacation from Boston. Vacation are over for a while, that’s why when I go through my notebook or pictures and videos, it’s all about nostalgia. But for Vegas… well it’s different. At first, I didn’t really want to stop there. But it was on our way to the Far West and my friends really want to stay for one night. So, does Vegas really worth to stay? Full disclosure.
Music: AC/DC Highway to Hell
We left to Death Valley the morning – silence, no one, a good vibe. On our way, Léonore was reading the guide about Vegas, and I liked the stories… Las Vegas, aka The meadows in Spanish, was at first a quiet Mormon village, founded in 1855. In the 30’s, the economic crisis and Prohibition lead Nevada to legalize gambling and to be very liberal with weddings and divorce. And then the well-known stories about mafia. This island in the desert, far away from everything became… Sin City!
Pierre planned this stop in Vegas. He booked an room on a big resort outside the city. When we get there, we were welcomed like pashas in this huge hotel, with golf, a pool, a spa, a casino, a gym… You may want to live there. After the past few days with modest comfort, we were glad to have a real big bed and a nice bathroom. First key moment of the day: pool and cocktails. And second one: manicure (I still remember the girl putting some kind of warm towel on my shoulders, I felt so sleepy). Manu and Pierre went to a sauna, and then they went to the casino to lost some money. The casino looked old, with stinky rugs on the floor and it seems that dozens of bus had dropped GrandMa Yetta.
I’m gonna spend all my money in Vegas, B*tch !
The Strip. We get ready to go on the Strip, the street with all the attractions. We started to cross the boulevard on the car, to get an overview. It’s full of lights and music – Times Square seems really ridiculous compare to that! Eiffel Tower, Kheops Pyramid, Empire State Building, Plaza San-Marco: it’s a nice mess, with tons of neon, Harley Davidson and ads for a Shania Twain show. We are close to epilepsy. We parked the car, it’s easy: everything is free so you can spend all your money on the casino. Once we’re out, it’s really hot outside (don’t forget that we are on the desert) and crowded everywhere. In front of the Bellagio, there’s a huge fountains show – Versailles fountains look like nothing compare to that. It’s insane. On the sidewalks, Marilyn, Freddie Kruger and SpongeBob asked to have a picture with us. Bachelor parties are all around, drunk and excited, we get some tiny cards to see an escort. We feel dizzy because of all this excitement and get into a steakhouse. From the window, we see as if was perfectly normal a volcano eruption. Magic Vegas !
The casino. We chose the Venetian, with architectural reconstitution of the Dodge’s Palace, Rialto Bridge and Grand Canal. It’s not that bad, and to come up to the Rialto, there are escalators, it’s even easiest that on the real one. We went downstairs to the casino. We followed Pierre who started with one-armed machine, and then serious things get started: black jack table. Back then, Pierre hadn’t trained us yet, so I didn’t understand everything. I just get that he lost pretty quickly. Some tables had very happy people. You can smoke, drink, it seemed fun. Léonore and I weren’t dressed with the appropriate dress code: too good girl style…
It wasn’t that bad to stop there. I’m glad I saw this unique place, crazy, luxurious and false. We could have seen big shows such as Cirque du Soleil, Céline Dion, David Copperfield. But well, that’s not really the stuff I like to see. It may be festive for a lot of people, but I find this place pretty gloomy, in a way. Maybe that’s because I don’t like crowds. Or just because I’m boring. We met a old lady on this trip, way later. She told us that Vegas was her favorite place in all the United States. She likes to spend 600-800 dollars in one week-end. I guess I may change my mind in a few years.
Next stop, Bryce Canyon.
