Monday, July 14, 2008

Vive la (Faux) France!

I'VE BEEN A SLUG ABOUT recording my recent Las Vegas adventures here, but I do have three photos from the town of thematic interest on this Bastille Day:

Paris Las Vegas, Eiffel Tower
Paris Las Vegas, Eiffel Tower by Schizohedron. Some rights reserved.

I blasted this one from my car while heading south on Las Vegas Boulevard. The need to keep half an eye on the stoplight explains the trimmed tower tip. You can go up the tower to a restuarant (whose logo is visible through the palms), which affords a great view of the Bellagio fountains across the street, or travel to the top for the second highest public view of the Vegas Valley in town.

Paris Las Vegas, south side
Paris Las Vegas, south side by Schizohedron. Some rights reserved.

I don't know precisely which Paris structure the main façade of the hotel mimics — a university or library, I'd assume — but this shows some of the details. This is one of the more cohesively and pleasantly themed properties in town, and still holds up well after 10 years, which is an eternity in this town.

Should you stop by, the Le Village Buffet is excellent, one of the best I've had there. Your best bets are breakfast and lunch; they also offer a Champagne brunch on weekends.

Paris Las Vegas, Arc de Triomphe
Paris Las Vegas, Arc de Triomphe by Schizohedron. Some rights reserved.

This Arc de Triomphe stands in the center of a cobblestoned traffic circle. You enter the property to the left here, and the parking garage is to the right and straight on.

Note to poker fans: If you like the poker room at the Planet Hollywood casino one property south, but hate the ¼-mile trek through the mall that lies between the PH parking garage and the casino, park at Paris, walk out to the Strip, and enter through PH's main entrance; the poker room is just inside.

As I begin this day, my own thoughts are on the buttery, flaky, chewy croissants available just across the street. The demands of the weekly eating regimen, sad to report, forestall indulging in one of these Gallic belly bombs. Quel dommage.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Dude we share a birthday....As well....on 11/1/07 I had enough of being a fat boy...I am 6 feet tall and wwighted in at 250. I told myself by 6/27/08(turning 35) that i was going to lose 30 lbs. I did it, in fact I'm at 40 lbs currently. My motivation was my 2 little girls.(3 & 1 year old). The best thing I did was early get a trainer, to push me to where I could not push myself. Well worth the money. Good luck!!

Schizohedron said...

Thanks for sharing your success story and the good wishes! Awesome job on the weight loss. And the kids will doubtless benefit from having you around and better able to keep up with them, not to mention watch them grow up. A sales rep at my last job who had to weigh something like 350 and was over 6' died of a stroke and heart attack at 36. The worst part is he left behind a wife and months-old child. So you did yourself and the wee ones a HUGE solid in dropping the weight. Congrats!!