Day 9 - Leaving Las Vegas

Lights so bright
Palms Casino, back sweat
On a Friday night
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My second day in Vegas was spent in the most boring way possible. I stayed in my room and caught up on correspondence. 

In the evening, though, I ventured out for my second show, Cirque du Soliel's Zumanity. 

I am a huge fan of burlesque done well. In Portland I had the pleasure of knowing pole dancers, fire dancers, and hula hoopers. The best performances always have a sharp bite of humor along with their beauty and skill.

I was not disappointed by Cirque's take on burlesque.

A wonderful feature of Zumanity is the wide variety of artists included in the show: a drag queen hostesses, a muscular man stomps, two female contortionists swim, one male contortionist bends like a pretzel, two women of size strut, a couple with less than perfect bodies tell jokes, another muscular man strips, plenty of beautiful women dance, and one little person flies through the air, etc.

The little person was the most interesting because the audience wasn't sure whether or not to laugh. But by the time he was done with his performance, no one was laughing -- we were mesmerized by his skill.

Alan James Silva

My favorite performance of the night was the two female contortionists swimming in a waterbowl.

Thankfully, I was close enough to have an excellent view and far enough back to not be invited onstage. The majority of audience members interacted with were great sports, although a poor French Canadian woman found herself becoming awfully familiar with a barely dressed man and I'm not sure she knew what she was getting into -- we later found out she'd come to the show with her son!

It was an excellent and fun introduction to the Cirque family of shows. I would love to see another one . . . but probably not again in Vegas.

After the show (at about 11:30 PM) it was still easy to find good food. I followed 418 recommendations from Yelp and went to Wolfgang Puck's Bar and Grill at the MGM Grand -- and I could have eaten plenty later as they are open until 6:00 AM.

The service was amazingly attentive despite the packed house and late hour -- although I may have been the only person to ever ask them for a cocktail without alcohol (the pineapple mojito I highly recommend). My main course was a mushroom fettuccine and I was surprised to find myself a member of the Clean Plate Club -- mushrooms and all.

This second night helped quite a bit to erase the taste of my first night. I could see how it can be an enjoyable place, but the clouds of smoke, booze fumes, and desperation were quite a lot to wade through before getting to the pleasant parts. I am no longer opposed to a return trip as I feel much more aware of what I'm getting in to, but I think I'd like to have a friend with me the next time.

I mean, where else can you sit on the Brooklyn Bridge with a view of Hollywood and the Grand Canyon before walking a few blocks back to Paris.

"The Brooklyn Bridge"

"The Grand Canyon"

"Hollywood" and "Paris" in the background

Saturday I'm off to the one natural wonder destination I will go out of my way for: the Grand Canyon. For real!

Odometer Start: 35552
Odometer End: 35822
Miles Driven Today: 0
Miles Driven Total: 2002
Today In/Around: Las Vegas, NV
Tomorrow: Grand Canyon, AZ
States Visited: 4 (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada)
Boobs Seen: 37
Women Walking Barefoot on the Strip While Boyfriends Carried Their Shoes: 4