Las Vegas

My homepage is about my travels. I hope you enjoy my pictures and some information. Maybe it inspires you a bit!

Viva Las Vegas

Vorab: / Just a quick note before:
Nahe Las Vegas befindet sich der / close to Las Vegas is Red Rock Canyon State Park.
Ca. 1 Stunde entfernt ist der schoene Park / not even an hour north of Vegas Valley of Fire.

Vegas besuchte ich zum 1. Mal für keine 2 Tage am 8. und 9. Maerz 2007. Der Anlass war das Konzert von
Celine Dion, die bereits ihr viertes Jahr in Vegas auftrat. Dezember 2007 sollte sie ihre letzten Konzerte geben.
Ich wollte wenigstens einmal dabei sein, auch wenn ich kein Fan bin. Ich fuhr am 8. Maerz morgens nach Vegas, schaute mir diese boomende Stadt tagsueber an bis ich um 20 Uhr zum Konzert im Ceasars Palace fahren konnte.
Das Konzert war wunderschoen, fast schon zum weinen. Celine war in super Hochform, ihre Stimme liess einfach bis zum Schluss nicht nach, die Taenzer harmonierten wunderbar mit ihr und die Buehnen Show war einmalig. Ich wollte am liebsten sofort ihrem Konzert wieder beiwohnen.
I have visited Las Vegas for the first time on March 8th and 9th, 2007. Celine Dion was the reason I have went to Vegas. I am not a fan, but I thought that I HAVE to see her live as this is a once in a lifetime chance to see such a great entertainer live.
Celine Dion had a contract for 4 years at the Colisseum of the Ceasars Palace. They actually built the stage only for her (which got dismantled after her very last show).
So I drove to Vegas on March 8th, did my sightseeing tour during the day till the concert started at 8 pm.
Celine Dion was fantastic; really unbelievable. It was an unforgettable evening with Celine. She sung perfectly till the end; the dancers were great and the the stage was set wonderful. I already wanted to come back to Vegas to see Celine’s Show again, but she did not a concert on my birthday... So I never went back to see her.

Am naechsten Morgen checkte ich aus dem Tropicana Hotel aus und schaute mir noch einen weiteren Teil Las Vegas bis Mittag an bis ich wieder nach Los Angeles zurueckfuhr.
I checked out of Tropicana Hotel the next morning, but before I drove back to LA I did more sightseeing.

Am Las Vegas Strip ist “die Hoelle los”.
Hier scheinen die Amerikaner ihrer Arbeitswoche von Freitag bis Sonntag in Vegas entkommen zu wollen. Von Los Angeles aus fahren viele bereits am Freitagmittag nach Nevada oder am Samstagmorgen, sodass es sich aus der Stadt hinaus staut.
Las Vegas is really crowded. It really seems that americans are coming to Vegas over the weekend to get away from their hard work during the week. Most people are leaving Los Angeles and surrounding already on friday lunch time. For tourists it is not recommended also to head out of Los Angeles on a friday especially around noon. Mostly they will get stuck in traffic.

FORTSETZUNG

Dezember 2008 war es dann wieder soweit. Ich fuhr ueber die Weihnachtstage vorerst nach Las Vegas. Hier naechtigte (4 Naechte) ich im Sahara.
Laengst hat Celine Dion ihre “Buehne” (die Buehne wurde abmontiert und Einzelteile werden als Souvenir verkauft) an Bette Midler abgegeben.
Ich kann das Musical “MAMMA MIA” wärmstens empfehlen. Es war einfach eine herrliche Auffuehrung.
I had my next trip to Vegas in December 2008 over christmas. I have stayed 4 nights at the Sahara which is more north on the strip (close to Stratosphere and Circus Circus). The room was okay.
Unfortunately, Celine Dion’s Show has ended, the stage was dismantled and sold in pieces mostly also available framed with a picture, ticket and whatever... Bette Midler and Cher have taken the Colisseum over. For few months, Bette is doing her show, then taking a break so that Cher does her show.
Well, this time I have seen the wonderful musical MAMMA MIA. It was written by the former “boys” of ABBA (swedish famous music group) Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulveaus.
The singers were wonderful. I loved them. I had a seat in one of the front rows. I just love to sit closer to the stage as I can be somehow “in the middle” of the show. You can see the expression on the actor’s faces and this gives an other feeling to everything than sitting far away and not really seeing much.

The other time I went to Vegas was in October 2009 when I did my roadtrip for a week. I got tickets for CHER and BETTE MIDLER. First, I’ve seen Cher on October 4th. Well what can I say. She still has a great voice, but I was kinda disappointed as she cared in getting changed more than staying on stage to sing. She also did not really move a lot. The whole show was done by the dancers and singers and Cher was only kinda coming and going. Cher was a real Diva. The whole show was only about her. Well, it is her show, but she did not do that much. They have showed inbetween her old TV Show which she did with Sonny Bono. Cher was not really worth my $ 300 for a ticket.
I was then really looking forward to Bette Midler’s show as I have expected it to be far better than Cher’s.
So I came back to Vegas on October 21st.
I have to tell that I have bought also an expensive ticket. I wanted to sit in the Front Orchestra. I picked up my ticket from the Will Call. I could not enter immediatly as there was something wrong with my ticket. Someone from the Box Office was called. I was lucky as they really gave me a ticket for a front row seat!!!!

I was sitting in front of Bette Midler!!!!!!!!! FANTASTIC. It was the best seat in the house.
Gloria Estefan and her husband were among the audience. They had seats in the last row of the Front Orchestra. Nobody was sitting to my left, but to the right. The couple got lucky as they were newly weds. Bette Midler’s assistant picked them up after the show to meet her!!!
Or to meet her, you have to be famous of course. To my left side also in the first row, was sitting George Taki who played Hikari Sulu in Star Trek Enterprise. I took my chances and went to him just before the show started. I kneeled in front of him and introduced myself. He was really nice and we had a great chat. He also gave me an autograph.
Bette Midler was fantastic. She did a wonderful show. She was not only singing, but dancing (she is over 60 years old!!!), doing a lot of jokes and no, she was not always chaning as Cher. She was mostly on the stage and did a wonderful job.

Short Index - best to scroll threw

Welcome to Las Vegas Sign
by night
Mandalay Bay
Luxor
Tropicana
Excalibur
New York New York
MGM
Coca Cola Shop
M&M Shop
Bellagio
Monte Carlo
Ceasars Palace
Fashion Outlet
Imperial Palace
Mirage
Palazzo
Paris
Secret Garden
Treasure Island
Venetian

Im Sueden liegen die Hotels wie Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Tropicana...
Aber zuerst macht man einen Halt beim mittlerweilen beruehmten “Welcome to Las Vegas” Sign.

Welcome to LV sign 01