At last, undiluted sunshine as we woke on our first full day in Vegas, although the deaths of movie icon Elizabeth Taylor and English cricketer Fred Titmus cast a cloud over the morning.
This was our third trip to Vegas in the past 16 months and fourth in 3 years, so, with a show booked for this evening and a full day tour tomorrow, we decided just to spend the day strolling the Strip. Required to collect our Cirque de Soleil “Viva Elvis” show tickets from the Aria box office at midday we had a late breakfast there whilst we waited. We walked as far as Tropicana Avenue, returning on the other side of Las Vegas Boulevard.
We stopped for a beer outside Planet Hollywood where, at Pink’s, I also partook of a veggie hot dog with cheese (why are they, on the rare occasions you can find them, so much smaller than the “meat” ones?). By this time, around 2.30pm, the sun was at its most powerful. Although we were in the same state as the one we had left the previous day, we could have been on another continent and in a different hemisphere.
With spring break still in full swing the sidewalks were full, not just with tourists and people trying to thrust in your hands cards advertising call girls and adult shows, but with numerous celebrities, including around a dozen assorted Elvises, ranging from the ages of 25 and 60 and weighing between 140 and 250 pounds. In addition, we could have had our photograph taken with such diverse characters as the Fantastic Four, Elmo, Freddy Kruger, Marilyn Monroe and Spiderman. We also passed beggars with placards inscribed with several variations on the “homeless and hungry” theme, the most interesting of which was “we’re not in Oregon anymore Toto”.
Meeting Janet’s parents at 5pm we had dinner in Treasure Island before getting a taxi to the Aria for the show. Sad to report but neither of our cabbies this evening had opinions on any subject other than other road users – they were plain nice guys, nothing more.
The show was terrific, more, understandably, given the subject matter, a variety show with exuberant, high energy dance routines than the gymnastic extravaganza of other Cirque de Soleil shows that we have seen, although the athletic performances were no less spectacular for that. The merging of big screen clips from Elvis’s life and performances with the excellent singers, musicians and dancers in the company worked very well. If you’re in Vegas or the show visits your town I would unhestitatingly recommend it.
Following drinks and another break even session on the penny slots, we returned to our room where I intended to complete the previous day’s blog. The same issue with accessing the wireless network that I had experienced before resurfaced, but my frustration was mollified by the excellent IT support person in the hotel fixing the problem. I went to sleep satisfied that I had avoided missing my deadline for the first time on the vacation.
Tony Quarrington 