Anyway, I've been wanting to go back to see some more shows and marvel in the spectacle of the strip. Because it really is a spectacle.Just walking around the strip is fun. You can people watch, window shop, and explore different worlds in the different casinos. I'm not a gambler, but I enjoy them as an observer. The lights, the sounds...I'm repeating myself, but it's a spectacle!
I guess it's so much of a spectacle that I was just living in the moment of it all. While I did take some pictures, I kind of surprised at how few I took and most of them seem to be from the evening even though I wasn't actually out and about in the evening very much. And my strongest images of Vegas don't seem to be reflected in the pictures that I have so I'm not really sure what happened there.The resources that have been invested into the resorts is incredible. From the casinos, the restaurants, the shows, the hotels, the shopping...it's unreal. The Vegas strip is another world. I mean, c'mon - they basically re-created a chunk of Venice and stuck it in the Nevada desert. There are canals outdoors. There are canals indoors. Only in Vegas. It's crazy.
But it's also a little (well, a lot) over the top. I like window shopping. And window shopping in boutiques that I wouldn't regularly shop in. But that's basically ALL that's there. I never thought I would get tired of window shopping, but I did. It's extreme. It's an overload. It's too much. It's Vegas. And again, Vegas is a different world.Oh, I had a Rush Hour 2 moment when I saw the forum of Caesars Palace. That was funny.
For the most part, I stayed on the strip. I just wanted a couple days to get away from things. The semester has just ended, and I was feeling exhausted. This was a little escape before spending some time with family for the holidays and then having some more quiet time before starting back up for what I knew would be a busy start to the New Year.On the trip, I fell into a nice pattern of sleeping in, taking my time in the morning, a quick check in to work (although I did didn't do anything work related for about two days at the beginning - which felt like an eternity, but quite nice in the end), and then heading out for relaxing stroll (I was staying on the north end of the strip) towards the main drag before immersing myself in the spectacle of it all.
I basically chose a different section of the strip to explore each day and wander around, window shop, and soak in the lights and sounds and scenes of it all. I'd find some random, silly places to get food that were either: a) places that in my head were so typically American (whatever that means) that I couldn't get at home...for example, In-N-Out Burger and The Cheesecake Factory, or b) something Vegas-y (again, in my head)...for example, Bobby's Burger Palace. I'd head back to the hotel just after dinner (unless I was going to see a show) for a quiet night in and an early bedtime.
For the time of year when the weather was already cold and I wasn't spending as much time outside, this trip was nice because I spent the whole day outside (well, expect when I ducked into the resorts to explore) walking...walking...and more walking. And during the day the sun was out. And the sun felt nice. It was about 10-15 degrees during the day. While this wasn't the warm beach weather that a lot of people go to at this time of year, this was perfect for me because I didn't want to sweat, I just wanted some warmth. It was like a warm hug. and I needed those. When the sun set, it got quite cold (desert, right?), to the extent that I ended up wearing my winter coat that I had worn in-transit. And I had my toque on every night walking back to the hotel.
I saw two shows. I was only interested in seeing Cirque du Soleil and I had no problems splurging on tickets. There was one show that I have always wanted to see: O. I had such high expectations, and was not disappointed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, mouth-open in awe, totally mesmerized. I know the soundtrack inside and out, and I was finally hearing it in the theatre...and it was amazing. I'd seen scenes from the show, videos on their website and other places, and I was actually watching it live in front of my eyes...and it was amazing. It's great when something you build up in your mind, and have been waiting and waiting for is everything you imagined it would be.
The second show, I wasn't too sure of. I mean, I knew I wanted to see more than one show on this trip, but other than O, I didn't have something that I desperately wanted to see. After looking into all of the other Cirque shows, I decided to go with KA. I like acrobatic shows, so this seemed to be one that would fit the bill. I actually saw this show earlier in the trip than O, and as soon as I got to the show venue was getting giddy. There was an act in the lobby of the venue.
And the theatre itself was amazing. Other Cirque shows that I had seen were in the big top or arenas. This (as was O) in a legit theatre. And everything in the theatre was part of the show. Cirque shows usually have pre-show acts going on in the aisles, but this was taken to the next level. As you can see, the "wings" of the theatre extend out into the audience and there were performers everywhere. And the typically "in the aisles" interactions are as floor-level, but this took it literally to another dimension - there were sights and sounds coming from all around and at different heights.The show itself did have some interesting acts, but as a whole, but there were some moments that I didn't enjoy as much. In my opinion, the show seemed more focused on the narrative rather than the acts. And it actually didn't feel like there were as many acts as I was used to in a Cirque show. In part, I think this was because I interpreted some of what the company might have identified as "acts" as "narrative". Remember, I like acrobatics and spectacle, so the acts that I didn't feel delivered, I probably just saw them as transitional. Yet, there were moments of the show where I was open-mouthed and/or beaming with excitement so I really can't complain too much.
Vegas has enough to entertain. It's a place (for me) to go just for 3 days. Walk around, get a couple shows in, marvel at it all...but then you're done. There's only so much, that I feel that you can do until you get bored of it. Unless you're there in weather where you can go to the pool (which I wasn't), love to gamble (which I don't), or take an excursion further away from the strip like the Grand Canyon.
There was one day that I did go off the strip. And kind of sussing out where I was going, it wasn't too far away, so I decided to walk there. So that's the crazy thing, the strip is a weird bubble. It's like thing that had clear boundaries. Not really in a physical sense with a fence or something like that, but this sense of, on one side of the street are LIGHTS! HOTELS! SPECTACLE! FLASH! SHINY! NEW!, and then the other side of the street are strip malls, poverty...reality. And no pedestrians. There are pedestrians everywhere on the strip. Yet, you walk the same distance (or literally even just one block) in the opposite direction and all of a sudden you're the only one on the sidewalk. In one instance, I was waiting for the streetlight to cross the street and a gentleman who was panhandling in the middle of the intersection came over and asking if I was lost and needed directions. I got confirmation of where I was heading to and felt (imagined, or real, it's unclear) eyes staring at me from the inside of cars driving by. I have a colleague from the US who jokes about Americans and on many occasions, he has spoken about how "everyone in the US drives". When I was walking off the strip, it was this interesting experience and, not really "realization", but I guess some sort of internalization of sorts. About a lot of things (not just about driving vs. being a pedestrian). Interesting emotions and thoughts. So I appreciated having that moment.
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