I think Vegas should be called Binge City, as in you’ll have to go to the bathroom and make yourself throw up after visiting. It’s a flashy reminder of the idiotic excesses of humanity that I generally find irritating. (I’m all for moderation not bulimia.) Yet, Vegas does have a few things going for it like sunshine, food, and shows. Jason and I made use of all of those few things a few weeks ago.
Like Carnival, Vegas seems to suspend normal social conventions. Any reminder of responsibility has been carefully removed from that town. You can’t find a recycling bin anywhere and no one talks about conserving water, even though Bellagio has its fountains blasting and Nevada is the driest state in the union. Visitors eat booze for breakfast so they can delay their hangovers. Hopeful gamblers pull slots like cheese-crazed rats in windowless mazes. And don’t even get me started on Vegas’ archaic representation of women.
Yet, I’ll admit, several aspects of Vegas do have undeniable appeal. Vegas’ weather is inviting when it’s frigid elsewhere. The restaurants are luscious. The shopping is tempting. And the entertainment is ample, even if you’re looking for PG productions.
Jason recently had to travel to Las Vegas for a business conference. I joined him on the tail end of his meeting and stayed the weekend. We had a great time. (That kind of invalidates the rant I just went on doesn’t it?) We spent our Saturday afternoon devouring sun by the hotel pool. I had to do homework during this stint but I got to do it in a tank top. Why the homework? I’ll cover that another time.
We caught the new Cirque du Soleil show called Zarkana. I cringed at what the performers were doing many times during this program but I couldn’t take my eyes away from them. I’d recommend checking it out.
We took advantage of Vegas’ culinary excellence with dinners at Sage and Wolfgang Puck’s Cucina. Plus, we helped ourselves to the biggest macaroons I’ve ever seen at Jean Philippe Patisserie… and some stuffed crepes… and several piles of chocolate.
Vegas is best experienced in small doses. With just a couple days, you can enjoy its finest and mostly ignore its worst. That’s how I prefer to revisit Binge City.