Viva Las Vegas

In 'Vegas, you greet more new days than anywhere else, you have more brunches than breakfasts, you have more Martinis than you've ever had in your life, and you do more gambling than you've ever done.  I've heard it be said there are more churches in Las Vegas than casinos, but I haven't seen one.  In this city, in my experience, the casino is the new house of worship, and liquor is the Holy Communion.

It's a valued thing here in 'Vegas to have a flashy casino.  There's the pyramid at Luxor, the volcano at the Mirage, the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge of Venice.  Also here is Rome's Collosseum, the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline, and of course the Eiffel Tower.  You just need to be a billionaire to build a casino. Jean and I have had lengthy discussions about what we would do here if we were billionaires.

Jean would build London's Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  In her casino, London buses would ferry visitors from one end to the other.  In her casino shops, souvenirs like little London buses and black taxis would be on sale.  Her casino would feature a British pub.

My casino would be a reconstruction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  Folks would see it all the way down the other end of the Strip.  Like that ancient wonder, it would have multi-layered terraces with trees of all kinds hanging down over the terrace below.  Like that ancient wonder, it would be a sight to behold for miles around, and people would come.  Inside, the architecture would reflect the east.

Another casino option could be to have a replica Sydney Opera House here.

The casinos we visited today were the Riviera, Circus Circus, the Mirage, Treasure Island, Casino Royale, and Flamingo.  Jean remembered being at the Circus Circus as a 12 year old with her parents. At the Mirage, we collected tickets for tonight's Beatles show by Cirque du Soleil.  At the Flamingo, I decided to go up the nearby High Roller, a Ferris wheel which claims to be the tallest observation deck in the world, rising to a height of 550 feet.  It was good to appreciate 'Vegas from that height.  I never knew that so close to the Strip is a massive ground-level car park.  Also very nearby is an 18-hole golf course.

After a buffet dinner at the Flamingo, we made our way back to the Mirage for the Cirque du Soleil Beatles Show.  It was fantastic.  A very fitting event for our last evening in the United States.  After the show, we stood on the Strip in front of the Mirage and watched the volcano erupt.  It was pretty impressive.  

This is now the end of our holiday.  Tomorrow, we will fly to LA, and then catch another plane home.  I will most likely do one more blog post tomorrow. 

The Mirage, where the Cirque du Soleil Beatles Show was held tonight.

A volcano erupts here regularly.

Inside the Mirage

I took a ride on the High roller.

Looking into the distance from the High Roller

The Flamingo and its swimming pool.

Here is what looks like an 18-hole golf course.

The fountains going off outside the Bellagio

Jean with a couple of pink Chilean Flamingoes - actually native to South America

We saw an excellent show tonight.

Much Beatles memorabilia was on sale at the Mirage....

...and plenty of Beatles decorations

This is the volcano erupting outside the Mirage after the show.

Caesar guiding us home to our hotel.  Or is he pointing towards Australia?