Vegas, Baby

Okay, so there is no way we can come to Las Vegas and not get down the strip to see the sights.  Again, John and Denise were our very gracious guides.  They knew where we could park the truck and what time different things were happening in several of the casinos.

We started out on Las Vegas Blvd, aka The Strip in the late afternoon.  So as we walked from the parking lot of Excalibur (the one that looks like Camelot Castle), the sun was beginning to get low enough to throw long, cool shadows on the side of the street we were walking on.  This is the side that has New York, New York and the Omni.

Standing on the foot bridge over Las Vegas Blvd looking down the strip.  New York, New York on the left side and MGM Grand on the right.
We wove ourselves in and out of casinos for about a mile until we came to the Bellagio.  The slot machines and gaming tables don't really do that much for me but the size of these places blew me away.  And most of them spared no expense at making their creations architecturally interesting.

Around these parts, size IS important.  I don't know how many stories tall this lion is but those tiny little shapes below him on the sidewalk are people.


As big as the lion is, even he is dwarfed by the hotel he is associated with.  The MGM is virtually an indoor city unto itself.

Paris' casino is beneath the base of the tower, incredible architecture inside and out, but the hotel is the massive white building behind the balloon.
Our arrival at the Bellagio afforded us the opportunity to see the last few minutes of the fountain show that is presented several times a day.  I had hoped to be able to be down on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, which is right up against the fountain, and at night so that we could enjoy the lights as well but we're going to have to make that a to-do item the next time we are in town.

 

Another attraction inside the Bellagio, besides the casino, is a conservatory of sorts.  They have a large room just off the hotel registration desk that is a botanical garden which is themed to the season or holiday at the time. 

 
 With it being October everything was decked out in a fall and harvest theme.  Like everything else in Vegas, this place was over the top.  Flowers so numerous and perfect you had to touch them to make sure they were real.

 
On one end of a display there was a large cornucopia with a huge mound of pumpkins and gourds, each one impressively large in its own right, pouring out.
The big pumpkin in the center is a five hundred pounder.
 On the other end of the cornucopia is this creature.  One of the most impressive paper mache creations I have seen.

 
Directly across from the cornucopia creature is this "living" tree.  Another creation of the artists at the Bellagio. 
 
This old tree's face was plenty expressive just on its own but when it started talking and moving the crowds started gathering.

 
The fall display also included this two-story tall water mill.  I was told that this structure is not part of the display all the time, they build and raze it with each change of the theme.


 
 One last photo on the way out.  The plaque in front of the pumpkin reads; "740 lbs". 


Our exit from the Bellagio found the sun setting and just enough time for a portrait of it.

We started our return walk down the miracle mile as light of day waned and the dazzle of neon and LED took center stage.  I was really enjoying the architecture of the half-scale Eiffel Tower. 


Even at half-scale this thing is 541 feet tall.


Back on the foot bridge the Excalibur was showing a lot of color.  The iPhone is not the best camera for these kind of pictures but it is what I had.

 
When the night rolls in and the lights come up there is lots of sensory input.


 
 A little bonus was that on our walk through the parking lot to the truck we were treated with a great view of the Luxor pyramid beam.

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