[Most of] What happens in Vegas, stays in [mind for this blog entry about] Vegas.

After our brief time in the Windy City, we flew out to a city of a much different nature entirely.

Sin City.

I'll be honest: as a fairly general rule, I don't care too much for Las Vegas. It's just not how I roll. But, my experience there this time around was remarkably enjoyable.

We stayed for a few nights in a hotel off "The Strip" while we practiced new Celtic repertoire for the upcoming trip to Europe, but were soon put up in the Bellagio by a corporation for whom we played while in town.

The Bellagio is, without a doubt, the most incredible hotel in which I've ever had the pleasure of staying. There's really no easy way to describe the extreme opulence of the building...so I'll resort to posting photos:

A giant Chihuly display in the lobby.

Standing underneath the Chihuly.

The atrium.

However, the most wonderful thing about my time in Vegas was discovering the mind-blowing awesomeness of Cirque du Soleil. I went to my first Cirque show, "Ka," with Sarah.

Sarah with one of the lobby workers in full costume.

[Sarah and I didn't eat here, but I couldn't resist taking a picture
in front of a restaurant sharing my hometown's name.]

I loved Ka so much that I went and saw "O"--by myself--the next night.

Not knowing what to expect from either, I was taken aback by the visual and aural artistry of the performances, being nearly moved to tears multiple times (especially in O). Call me an ignorant starry-eyed softie, (and I hate to overuse this word) but I simply didn't know something so beautiful existed in the performing arts. After both performances I felt like I just needed to sit in silence for an extended period of time to process everything I had just experienced. It's like you take a concentrated dose of a year's emotions in an hour-and-a-half: happiness, excitement, anxiety, nervousness, shock (& awe), amazement, hysteria...and then before you know it you're viscerally overwhelmed by everything you've just witnessed.

I freely admit I'm prone to exaggeration and hyperbole, but I'd posit that that even the Grinch, whose shoes were too tight and whose heart was originally two sizes too small, would be moved by O.

And then, to top off the already incredible night, I consumed this delectable crepe from a patisserie in the Bellagio:


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P.S. Fully believing every human should have the opportunity to experience Cirque, I'm more than willing to strongly consider any offers, pending a check of the schedule and finances, to take turn-around trips to Vegas from Arizona for Cirque shows (mainly O).