We would visit the northern part of the Strip today starting with the Mirage. Here is a description from the Web, “The Mirage Hotel is a magnificent establishment with 2,763 exquisitely furnished and decorated guest rooms. It typifies what Las Vegas is all about. Guests enter via a lush tropical rainforest and there is a large aquarium full of beautiful fish in the Reception. The hotel has an air of sophistication and luxury.”
We spent most of our time here taking pictures of the aquarium and the flowers in the seasonal garden. It was nicely done and a pleasant change from the heat outside and the noise of the casino. We did go back and check the location of the Love Theater—plotting out our rout for the evening. On the way to the theater is the Revolution Lounge. Its hallway wall consists of large black letters filled with red light spelling “REVOLUTION” (reference to the Beatles’ song). We took turns sitting inside the “O” and taking pictures.
Following the Mirage we walked down the Strip to Caesar’s Palace. The glory that was Rome is on display in this casino/hotel. Caesars takes up a large amount of real estate on The Strip - it is HUGE. There are nearly 100 shops in an ancient Roman marketplace setting. We unexpectedly found a wonderful aquarium at the end of a branch of the marketplace. Many pictures were taken of the fish, the marketplace and the statues.
We then wandered through the casino in search of the replica of Michelangelo's David. We found The David in a neat little shopping area. We all took pictures of The David making sure we got a good shot of his butt.
Outside once again we went picture crazy over the beautiful angel statues and fountains. In front of Caesar’s is a 20-foot statue of Julius himself—hailing a cab. Las Vegas gave us a beautiful day for taking pictures. After wandering around the grounds we crossed the street in search of lunch on our way to Venice. We looked at a couple of places and decided to try the Outback Steakhouse there on the strip. That turned out to be a great decision. The restaurant was cool and quiet. Our server liked her job and had a good time waiting on our table. The food was good and reasonably priced.
After lunch we ventured back out into the hot dry Vegas air and completed our journey to the Venetian. The Venetian transports guests to the Italian city of Venice. Approaching the hotel you see graceful arched bridges, flowing canals and vibrant piazzas, the famous Campanile Tower, gondolas and gondoliers welcoming you. We entered through the shopping area and never got to the lobby of the Venetian. So we missed the gold and marble fountain and Italian marble floors and pillars and gallery of Italian art that are there. The shops that we did see are on cobblestone walkways that line the banks of the indoor canal which, like the outdoor canal, are full of gondola’s with singing gondoliers (male and female). We came across some performers dressed in 18th century (?) garb. Later they put on a lively show in St Mark’s Square with singing, dancing and juggling. We sat next to the band, which was also in costume, and Kathy had to be careful not to get a flute stuck in her head. The man on the flute moved a lot and was not careful where he swung his instrument.
It was then back to the car to return to our hotel and rest up before returning to the Mirage to see Love.
I had told everyone that the show was at 8 o’clock and we set up our schedule to meet and head back into town. Fortunately for me I checked the tickets before relaxing and found the start time to be 7:30. I revised the schedule. To save money and keep our schedule uncomplicated we all had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the room before going to see Love.
Love was awesome. It is performed in a custom-built theater with 360 degree seating. I didn’t know what to expect and the show started off a little slow with dancing and acting out to songs but very little of the world class Cirque du Soleil artistry we saw in La Nouba. Love turned out to be an interpretation of the Beatles lyrics in a series of scenes involving aerial acts, extreme sports and urban dance. The sound system was perfect. The show’s original score was created by using the master tapes at Abbey Road Studios. The show captured the surrealistic nature of the Beatles songs and provided what could only be described as the equivalent to a drug-induced trip with fantastic light effects, costumes and performances. My favorite scene was done to “Octopus’s Garden”. The theater was lighted to give the appearance of being under water and performers, suspended high in the air were “floated” around in costumes that looked like big jellyfish. However they did it, between the lighting and costume design, it looked very much like real big jellyfish floating around.
I think the creativity and genius that goes into these shows is fantastic. Add to that the best-in-the-world performers and it becomes an experience that you won’t forget—and that you don’t want to end. I did note that the several Volkswagen beetles used in the show were accurately right-hand drive English versions of the car. A small touch that demonstrates the care that goes into planning these shows. We left the show pleased with the performance and chatting about how they did all the effects.
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