Flashy Hotels and Casinos of Las Vegas

Finally, I am done with my Las Vegas fotos, more than 100 new fotos of Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos, 90% are interiors of interesting reproductions, i.e. Paris, Venice, Rome, New York, Egypt and many more. Dutchman and I really enjoyed our trip to Las Vegas and our side trips as well in Nevada and further across the border. Las Vegas alone, the strip is enough for 2 days. We are not gamblers, as well as we are not into shopping in cloistered environments, i.e. malls, so after 2 days of traversing the strip from one hotel to another we had our fill. Las Vegas is really good for just a weekend getaway and if you are staying for more than 2 days --- get out of the strip!

Now my impressions... the massive and incredibly ostentatious hotels and casinos are one of a kind, in such a way that you can just walk into the lobby with your shorts and running shoes, sit in a bar, order a drink or play poker with a group. It’s definitely nothing near snooty Monte Carlo in Monaco or even our very own Holland Casino in the Netherlands where “proper attire” is required, while the former will scrutinize every inch of your wardrobe.

In Las Vegas, it doesn’t matter who you are, how you are dressed and if you are lurid, everyone is welcome to come in and go as they please. Umm, liberating? Yes, of course! The concept indeed shows a new twist to freedom and capitalism however the downside would be compromising “sophistication” (if you care about the finer things in life).

Some will probably disagree with me and that’s perfectly fine. Divergence is the key to run this complicated world we live in =)

Cesars Palace's Rome


Cesars Palace Hotel and Casino's lobby and one of the casino area called, 'The Colosseum Way'.


Cesars Palace's Hotel and Casino with Rome theme, here with Trevi fountain replica.


Every hotel and casino has its own mall annexed to the hotel. Cesars Palace has 'The Forum Shops' offering mid range designer labels to haute couture.

Palazzo Hotel and Casino


Venice replica with the gondola rides. The gondoliers actually sing opera!


More fotos of Palazzo Hotel and Casino. There is a second (separate) gondola ride inside the hotel and mall.


All Venetian architecture inspired here except the poker table.

Excalibur Hotel and Casino


Excalibur's theme is obviously royalty and the turbulent medieval ages.

New York New York Hotel and Casino


The New York New York Hotel and Casino has its own roller coaster ride and of course the Statue of Liberty replica.


Inside New York New York food mall showing Manhattan style apartments.

Luxor Hotel and Casino


Luxor Hotel and Casino, a slice of Egypt.


Inside the pyramid hotel there is a Titanic exhibition.

Paris Hotel and Casino


Paris in Las Vegas and the Eiffel tower is a restaurant. Reservations a must.


Parisienne style casino and food gallery as well as the malls.

Treasure Island Hotel and Casino


Pirates of the Caribbean searching for treasures theme here with 2 replica 17th century boats.


Lobby and casino floor of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino and an exquisite piece of motorbike art on display.

Bellagio Hotel and Casino


Bellagio Hotel and Casino is my favorite on the strip.


Not really sure what the theme of Bellagio is but they have a Chinese Year of the Tiger exhibition in the lobby.


The casino at Bellagio is HUGE, I think the biggest I have seen so far.

My friend’s relative living in the USA who recently visited Las Vegas told her, “I don’t have to go to Europe anymore, I’ve just seen Paris, Rome and Venice!”

For the rest of the hotels and fotos (102 fotos to be exact! whew!), go here: Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos, Nevada - USA

I have videos as well. To follow, will just edit the entry.
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Daydreams

Cycling through the city yesterday, I almost felt as if I was being shown one of those videos of "How Boston Could Be 5 Years from Now"... except it was real.

Passing through a stretch of the Charles River trail, it seemed that almost everyone sitting by the water had arrived there by bicycle. And the majority of the bikes looked to be personalised and well-ridden - rather than the sort of bicycle that is either a rental, or ridden once in a while on a sunny weekend. The velo-atmosphere is distinctly different from last summer.

Having crossed the BU Bridge, which is now under construction, I then looked at it from the trail and thought about the Charles River Bridge Campaign that I had mentioned in a previous post. This campaign aims to ensure that along with the scheduled repairs to the bridges, practical improvements will also be made that will make the bridges more walkable, more cyclable, and generally more enjoyable. The possibility of benches and shady promenades was mentioned.

Can the huge, dangerous bridges over the Charles really be made to resembles these lovely smaller ones? That would be utter Utopia.

And Utopia is not necessarily impossible.

At least the bicycles of Boston are hopeful.

Wool/Poly Blends for Cycling?

While merino wool has become a popular fabric choice for bicycle clothing, it seems that many manufacturers choose to use wool/polyester blends instead of pure merino, believing that the right combination can deliver the best results. Rapha and Road Holland use a fabric called SportWool. Shutt Velo Rapide usesMerinoPerform. Swobo refers to their blend as Merino 753. I am sure there are other proprietary names, but judging by the descriptions of these fabrics the idea is essentially the same: The blend is formulated to have wool fibers on the inside and polyester fibers on the outside, which the manufacturers believe delivers ideal performance properties.






Observing the way these blends have been marketed over the past couple of years, I've noticed an interesting dichotomy. The fiber content shows that merino comprises only 20-40% of it, whereas polyester comprises 60-80%. Yet the names of the blends inevitably feature the words "merino" and "wool," with no mention of the dominant synthetic content. To me this suggests that the manufacturers are eager to promote their use of wool given its current popularity, but in fact do not believe it is possible for wool to be a performance fabric - hence the idea that wool needs to be improved upon (by adding polyester) in order to be used in cycling clothing. All of this has made me highly skeptical about the wool/poly blends. But over the past few months I've had the opportunity to wear several garments made of these fabrics, and gave them an open-minded try. What follows are my impressions.






Having joined a local cycling club last December, I receivedtheir club jersey (right), which happens to be made by Rapha out of the aforementioned SportWool. A couple of months later, I received some items for review from Shutt Velo Rapide, including the Women's Training jersey (left), made of MerinoPerform. Both jerseys are 40% wool, 60% polyester. The texture and weight of the fabrics appear to be identical.






On the outside, the wool blend fabric is smooth and has a slight sheen to it.On the inside it is matte, soft and slightly textured. To the touch, neither the outside nor the inside feels like true merino, but the inside comes closer.




I have worn both jerseys over a (thin, 100% wool) base layer as well as directly next to my skin. I am sensitive to polyester was was curious whether this blend would engage that sensitivity.





In cooler weather, over a base layer, both jerseys feel pretty good. In fact, as mid/outer layers, I have to admit they regulate temperature better for me than the pure wool equivalents I own. I do not experience any sensitivity wearing either of these jerseys over a wool base layer.





However, worn directly next to skin I found the jerseys inferior to the pure wool alternatives. In warm weather the wool/poly blends do not breathe as well for me, and I feel clammy wearing them. I also find them less versatile for temperature regulation when worn on their own. On one ride I found myself too hot in the jersey at 85°F and too cold at the end of the ride at 65°F. I know that my long sleeve 100% wool jerseys are more versatile over the same temperature range.





Rapha, Shutt Velo Rapide and Road Holland each offer lighter weight versions of their wool blend jerseys in an airy eyelet fabric. I've tried the one by Shutt Velo Rapide (above) and it did keep me cool in hot weather. The downside was that as soon as the temperature dropped a bit, I felt chilly. In my experience, pure wool is just more versatile in this respect.





As far as polyester sensitivity, I experienced it with the Rapha jersey when worn directly next to skin, but not with the Shutt Velo Rapide jerseys. I think the reason is simply that the former fits me tighter, so it comes into closer contact with my skin. Either way, after wearing the Rapha jersey in 80°F weather without a base layer underneath, I promptly got a rash under my arms. To be safe, I won't be wearing either of the wool blend jerseys without a base layer again.





Finally, some are probably wondering about the BO factor. Wool is well known for its odor-resistant properties, whereas polyester is known for quite the opposite. I found these jerseys to be somewhere in the middle in that respect, but closer to polyester.





In summary, I have learned that for me the wool/polyester blends function extremely well as outer and mid layers in cool to freezing temperatures. However, they do not function well for me when worn directly next to skin in warmer temperatures - both failing to provide the same temperature regulation as pure wool and activating my polyester sensitivity when coming into close contact with my body.




I am curious about others' experiences with wool/polyester blend fabrics from these and any other manufacturers. How do you find them for cycling compared to 100% wool or 100% synthetics?