Venice, Nevada

*backblip

I took this photo during a family trip to Las Vegas in the spring of 2011. Sadly, it's not Venice, it's the Venetian Hotel. :)

It was surreal, knowing we were indoors, yet there was a canal flowing through the "streets". We did get to ride on a gondola. Of the 3 songs that the gondolier sang, the 2 that I remember are "Santa Lucia" and "O Sole Mio". :)

I read a few of the novels in the Stravaganza series, written by Mary Hoffman, when I was in... elementary school, I think. The stories take place in an alternate version of Italy. Ever since I read the books, I've wanted to visit Venice. It must be such a charming and magical place, with its old streets and intricate waterways...

The trip was fun. In truth, I didn't really want to go. All I knew about Vegas was that there were a lot of casinos, and that was a repelling, rather than an attracting, factor for me. I hated that we had to walk through the casino every time we left or returned to our hotel room (we stayed at the Palazzo). I hated the smoke... But that was the worst part, really. The other stuff we did was fun. We visited several of the other hotels. My favourite ones were the Venetian and the Bellagio. We also watched The Lion King show in the Mandalay Bay theatre. I enjoyed that very much, since I already loved the movie.

Every time I hear "Circle of Life", emotions and tears start welling up towards the end. It is such an extraordinarily majestic song! I also love Scar's voice in the movie. He was voiced by Jeremy Irons. "Be Prepared", which he sang, is a cool song too. I love old Disney movies and their songs...

Extra Photos


I took these inside the Wynn Hotel. I thought the lanterns were beautiful.