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Bakersfield Breakaway: Las Vegas
Topics: Travel
Posted by lakessler1 Fri Dec 29, 2006 15:53:14 PST
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0 responses 0 comments I expected to be surrounded by smut. After all, what is Sin City if not a town full of graffiti, trash, and an endless barrage of adult temptations?

In fact, the last time I was in Vegas some 30-plus years ago, it was indeed dirty, seedy and not that spectacular –– not in my mind, at least.

And so it was with some reluctance that I agreed to go to Las Vegas for Christmas. But my photography-loving husband wanted to try his hand at capturing the brilliantly lit city at night, so if only for that, I reasoned, the trip would be worth it.

To my complete astonishment, life along the strip turned out to be clean, exciting, and filled with buildings so full of grandeur that one three-day trip barely scratched the surface of this magnificent city.

We stayed at the Hilton Hotel and were well taken care of by an endless parade of employees wearing Barry Manilow buttons advertising his "Music and Passion" show (playing at the same hotel). In fact, it was Barry, Barry, Barry everywhere one looked, from the flyers in the room to the signs in and around the hotel. Buses and taxi cabs whizzed by with ads of the man’s show, and an on-site store, aptly called the Manilow Store, sold a wide variety of memorabilia, including his own brand of perfume, scented candles and wine.

Manilow Merlot –– can you believe it? It’s a good thing I’m a fan of his or I might have suffered from high levels of Manilow toxicity.

However, Barry was out of town for the holidays, and prices in the orchestra pit are too pricey for us anyway (ranging from around $190-$250 a pop), so we settled for two tickets to the musical "Menopause" which was also playing at the Hilton. For a more affordable $45 each, the show was hilarious!

One of the attractions of this city is the monorail. For a mere $15 per person for a day pass, Doug and I traveled to the MGM grand hotel, the Luxor (a huge Egyptian pyramid), Mandalay Bay (where we visited the Shark Reef aquarium), Sahara’s, Caesar’s Palace, the Stratosphere (a needle in the sky) and re-creations of Paris, New York city and Venice, Italy. The ambition of the men who erected these architectural wonders is astounding, and only by looking at Doug’s photos can you get a genuine appreciation of this over-the-top city.

In fact, truth be told, the Hilton pales in comparison to the other hotels we visited ––  if it wasn’t for Barry Manilow, I doubt this hotel would be a top pick for lodging.

We’ll be back –– we’ll have to go back if we want to visit the rest of the city. And we’ll probably ditch the Hilton: after all, rooms in the finest hotels across Vegas are just as cheap, ranging from $65-$110 a night because they’re expecting you to gamble your life savings away (and maybe buy some Barry Manilow wine).

So, a toast to you, Bakersfield! Happy New Year!

         

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