Fervor

We had a wonderful time. It seems as though it was a whirlwind trip but we managed to see so many great things.


A very different city in the sense that now that we have been we will probably never go back. C was seemingly surprised by the presence of slot machines the minute we walked out of the gate at the airport and I was taken back by the number of bio hazard needle disposals in the women's washroom there.


Our first night there we went to see "O" which was most definitely the highlight of our trip. We heard over and over again that it was the best Cirque du Soliel show anyone had seen and now the bar is set . I'd love to see more of their shows (and we did see a second just before hopping to the airport to come home) but I don't think any will ever have the magic that was "O". The first 15 minutes were incredibly overwhelming. There was so much going on and I didn't want to take my eyes off the technicality of the synchro routine. I felt I had missed out on some of the other elements of the show and things would just appear and I had no idea how they got there. Once the introduction was over I was better able to see all the other goings-on. Whether I had simply gotten used to there being so much to see or whether there was less happening at the same time I will never know. I was a feast for the eyes. The stage itself was something to marvel about. One minute there were high divers that would presumably need a good 5 meters plus to dive into and the next performers would run across the stage splashing through half an inch of water.

While C attended the conference I explored the strip. I weaved in and out of each of the hotels seeing each ones unique draw. Flirtatious gondoliers at the Venetian, fantastic shops of Caesars Palace, King Tut Museum at the Luxor, Fountain Show at the Bellagio...

I discovered that I am a horrible tourist. I didn't purchase any souvenirs. Picked up a few great deals for Christmas presents I was already planning to buy. I had a hard time finding anything that I thought was worth while or reasonably priced to fill the requisite M&M's World bag carried by every other tourist on the strip. Twenty two colours or not, the only thing I even thought of purchasing was a cute pen to fill E's Christmas stocking and at $9 for a pen, I wasn't buying.

We had a great party night at Studio 54. The conference had had dinner there and I was snuck in after 10 to join the already well liquored up motley crew. Didn't have any problem catching up, my rye and gingers hadn't a trace of ginger to be tasted. Nightmare on 54th Street was the Halloweeny theme and all bartenders and dancers were dressed up in very well done makeup and costumes (I wouldn't expect anyless than the best from a Vegas Club). I was about to wipe the drool from my chin before I got close enough to the bar to realize that the incredible six packs on the zombie barkeeps were cleverly enhanced by make up. Either way a very enjoyable evening. Great company, great "scenery" and lots of fun.

I can't say anything great about the flight home except that the airline finally located my luggage 36 hours after landing. If only I was as lucky as my suitcase and able to spend and extra 48 hours in Vegas myself.