We are now back in New York after spending the last 3-4 days in Las Vegas. We had a great time but both agreed that our time there was long enough!! As a parting token we contributed $5 to the poker machines in the airport prior to boarding our flight (yes the poker machines are the first thing you see after getting off the plane)!!!
We left NYC early on Tuesday morning after catching subway and shuttle to the airport. We flew direct to Las Vegas and caught shuttle to our hotel – the Aladdin (soon to become Planet Hollywood). We were directly opposite the Bellagio hotel which was truly spectacular!! Everything in Vegas is over the top and each hotel themed such as Venetian (Little Venice complete with gondola rides), Luxor (pyramid shaped with sphinx out the front), Paris (with eiffel tower and other Parisian monuments) – I'm sure you now get the idea!! Underneath each unbelievable hotel is a casino that goes on for miles with poker machines ringing day and night.
Our main purpose for visiting Vegas was to see Cirque du Soleil resident shows (there are 4 in total and we saw 3). Tuesday night we saw Ka (their newest show) and words can't describe how amazing it was with revolving, flipping, rotating stage and pyrotechnics, arrow battles and much more. It has to be seen to be believed!! Wednesday night we saw Mystere which is a more traditional cirque show with acrobatics, clowns etc but nevertheless breathtaking. There is so much to see in all of their shows you could see them all many times over. On Thursday our show was O which is based on water complete with huge lake which the performers dive into, appear from, disappear into, walk on, ride horses on, play pianos as they sink etc etc These three shows have long been on our list of shows to see and are definitely glad we have seen them. We didn't get to see Zumanity (their fourth show) but heard that a new one is opening in 2007 so that will be an excuse to return.
As we continue on our theatre visitations across the US, we did secure tickets to see Dame Edna in her first Las Vegas appearance. The show was very entertaining and she certainly has a knack for picking on people in the audience and embarrassing them, noting everything from where they live to their shoes!!! One couple ended up on stage with Dame Edna ringing the woman's mother at home which happened to be in the middle of the night!!
We also went up the stratosphere tower but didn't go on the roller coaster or other rides that hang over the top of the building (big sigh of relief from Andrew). We used the monorail to get around and walked through streets and streets of shops. At night, it got a little scary but we kept safe and saw the main highlights!!! Our flight home included chatting with a woman from New York who has her own "clutter therapy" business which was most entertaining. Christopher asked if she would travel to Australia to therapise Andrew!!! Her partner also worked in the bakery business so we had lots to talk about!!
Tomorrow is New Years Eve over here and yet to decide if we will battle the crowds on Times Square – we have been given some insiders tips of where to go to see the ball drop from other locations around the city plus vantage points to see the fireworks over Central Park!!! Happy New Year to everybody and thanks for the comments on the blog – we enjoy reading them!!!