Where Venice and Paris are Within Walking Distance...

Hi guys. It've been back from Las Vegas for a week now and owe you some pics other than my shopping exploits. Here are a few very representative ones. It probably comes as no surprise to you that Vegas is loud, bright and over the top. Very. I stayed at the "Palazzo" hotel, which together with "the Venetian" next door, pretends to be in Venice. As in Venice, Italy. If you don't believe me, check this out:

As if a concrete St. Mark's and singing gondoliere ($75 a ride, I heard) weren't enough, you have a Canale-Grande-themed mall with a fake sky, that I found pretty freaky in a Truman Show kind of way. The Forum Mall (adjacent to Caesar's Palace) also has a fake sky and there might be more that I didn't discover. Yep, that sky you see in the image below is just a painted ceiling:

Paris, or rather "Paris", is a 7-minute-walk from "Venice" and of course has an Eiffel Tower:

I wouldn't choose to go to Vegas just for its own sake and didn't even gamble once, but it certainly was cool and impressive in its own way, by night in particular. This is a view of the strip (facing South) in the evening, with the Venetian on the left and Fashion Show mall and Treasure Island on the right. I took the photo standing on one of the footbridges/flyovers over the Strip a.k.a. Las Vegas Boulevard that make this area a very pedestrian-friendly place, unlike many other US cities:

When I took the bus to the North Premium Outlet Center on Friday afternoon, I passed through so-called "historic" Vegas, which of course also has bright lights and casinos:

Unlike many other North American cities where you are not allowed to drink alcohol in public places, people walk around with huge plastic margherita "glasses" everywhere and lots of "naughty" things are advertised. I didn't buy any, in case you were wondering:

From my suite on the 10th floor at the Palazzo I had an amazing view of the hotel pool and the hotels opposite, such as the golden Trump:

I have many more pictures of the bizarre themed locations on the strip, but am just going to show you one more well-known sight, the Bellagio Fountains:

Here's a video that might give you a better idea: