My “Vegas Musts” list is more of a “Vegas Would Like to” list, if my health and finances hold up.
My first “must” is to have at least one “fancy” meal per trip. My definition of fancy may be different from others, but it usually involves an upscale restaurant that has a "fixed price" menu; that way you can have a nice steak dinner without taking out a second mortgage on your house.
Secondly, I “must” see multiple shows. Some trips I see as many as 5 or 6 of them. I love almost all shows. Some people will sit through a production without cracking a smile or clapping their hands. I don’t have very kind thoughts about these people. If the performer is up there busting their butt to entertain me, I am darn well going to offer them my encouragement and appreciation.
My third “must” would be to watch the Bellagio fountain shows at night from the sidewalk right in front of the fountains. You cannot watch it from any other location; not from your hotel room, not from a bus going by, not from a crossover bridge. No other vantage point will afford you the complete experience. You have to be right in the center, leaning against the railing, with the spray from the fountains in your face, in order to get the full effect. Also, it has to be playing one of the truly Vegasy songs. I can remember a night many years ago when I was walking the Strip and I just happened to be right in front of Bellagio when the fountains went off. All of a sudden Elvis’s Viva Las Vegas filled the air; the fountains went BOOM, and I was mesmerized! This experience never gets old for me.
My fourth “Vegas must” is startlingly similar to my third “Vegas must.” (Do you sense a pattern emerging?) I must stand in the middle of Fremont Street and watch the Viva Vision canopy light show. The lights go off on all the casinos, the music starts, beautiful images float over your head, and hundreds of people all start singing along. I have never seen that happen anywhere else in the world.
My favorite aspect of Vegas is the spectacle of it all. At any given moment you may find me staring up at some glittery thing, transfixed, with drool coming from the corners of my mouth. It might be the chandelier at Cosmo or the porte-cochere at the Plaza or just a sparkly slot machine. I have a long-standing love affair with coloured lights, and things that twinkle.
In fact, I think if Vegas had no lights or sparkle, I would have no interest in visiting. My strange glitter addiction brings me back time after time.
Photos: Kodidog, Joe Califiore, Scottt Roeben ,Chris Johns, Giphy.com, Steemit,
BLT Steak, Destination360, Gelenbeck.de
