There's an appeal to Las Vegas that I can't entirely put my finger on. The first time I was here in July 2003, I didn't even want to go, but had a good time. This time I was more positive about going, but then didn't really get out of the Venetian much (not exactly by choice).
So starting with The Venetian, I really like the hotel itself. Very nice. Not cheap, but very nice. The casino is OK I guess, even though I didn't do any gambling. The Canal Shops are neat, but there isn't anything in there I'd ever buy anything from.
I already blogged about Blue Man, so we'll leave that be.
I finally connected with Mary again yesterday afternoon, at which time the first words out of her mouth were, "Get me out of this fucking hotel!" So we went over to the Fashion Show mall to check out the Apple store. We also went to this little art gallery that had hundreds of paintings by her favorite artist. Weird to see a few Picasos and such too.
I wish I would've had more time to move around The Strip, but as I've learned again, you basically need 12-hour recovery periods when you do Vegas. Throw in a conference like this and I think you need even more. So one of these days, I hope I can do this city right, but I don't know if I want to spend so much time here since there are other cooler places. I need to get out to the Grand Canyon too.
I love Vegas...not just the gambling, but wandering though all the hotels, seeing the sights and sleeping all day and staying up all night. And the food.
There was a neat place we ate at in the Venetian when we took Ian years ago. Wish I could remember the name, but it overlooked the turnaround above the canal and had the best south american cuisine--black beans and tamales wrapped in banana leaves.
I could spend a week there and never get bored.