Everything is sweeter in Paradise, Nevada — that’s what we concluded after our four-day trip.
“Ouch,” my friend said, biting into strawberries from Target that were so sweet, they nearly hurt to chew.
The McChicken at McDonald's had a surprisingly sugary kick, more intense than back home. But nothing beat their iced coffee that claimed not to have French vanilla syrup — it was so sugary I couldn't even get past the first three sips. The only thing I savoured was the plastic straw (sorry!).
It wasn’t just the food that was sweet, it was the essence of Paradise itself — the friendliness of every restaurant, hotel and bar we visited; tourists beaming, sipping their slushies down the Las Vegas Strip. It was the cinnamon autumnal scent of Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, my $15 half-sweet (half-sweet!) Urth Caffe Wynn matcha latte and the cocktails at Beauty & Essex. It was the thrill when my friend turned $2 into $45 on a slot machine.
The Strip grew on me each day we set foot on the seven kilometre stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, home to some of the most iconic hotels and casinos in the world.
The Bellagio in particular is truly a must-see in Vegas. The stone pathway that led us from the Strip to its grand entrance was framed by arched ceilings and columns, offering breathtaking views of the hotel, its manicured gardens and fountain.
The largest glass sculpture in the world sits in a lobby of marble floors and stunning high ceilings. “Fiori di Como” by Dale Chihuly resembles a floating flower garden. The sculpture features 2,000 pieces of uniquely shaped, coloured and sized hand-blown glass flowers, stretching across 2,000 square feet of the hotel's ceiling.
The entrance to the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens awaited us beyond Chihuly’s masterpiece. We wandered into “The Garden of Time,” a seasonal installation in the gardens that celebrates the passage of time through art and nature. The air was infused with sweet scents of fall, cinnamon, pumpkin and vanilla, and the space’s designer Ed Libby took us on a journey through an enchanted and mythical forest passing through autumn.
After we realized we couldn't afford to sit in the installation’s cafe, an intimate dining experience in the rustic wooden cottage of the garden, we opted for In-N-Out instead.
Later that evening, The Chandelier in the lobby of The Cosmopolitan immediately caught my eye. The three story bar serves cocktails from each floor and is the centerpiece of the hotel, featuring a stunning two million dollar chandelier dripping down three levels of the hotel.
Like the grandness of “Fiori di Como,” the chandelier itself is composed of thousands of crystals which sparkle and shift with the light. The chandelier casts a rich purple glow over the hotel's atrium, enhancing the ambiance. Despite foregoing a drink at the bar, we decided to check out two out of the four speakeasies rumoured to be in the hotel.
Beauty & Essex is a classy restaurant hidden behind a functional pawn shop on the third floor. Inside, the edgy vibrancy of New York’s Lower East Side met the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas.
Our hostess brought us to a dimly lit dining room, where we sat on a green velvet couch surrounded by walls covered in antique golden frames and vintage mirrors.
Unlike the sweetness of the city, the shareables we ordered were packed with a savoury garlic taste, infused with earthy flavours of truffle that lingered on our tongues.
Full from Beauty & Essex’s signature cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, we stumbled upon a barbershop concealing a prohibition-style speakeasy. Someone was getting their haircut as we walked in — I couldn't tell if they were a paid actor or not.
We passed through multiple doors before getting to Barbershop Cocktails and Cuts, a stylish, spacious bar and lounge buzzing with energy. A band performed with an electric energy on stage under fluorescent lights, playing a mix of Sublime, Maroon 5 and some older hits I barely recognized.
At one point, the singer asked, “Who here is a '90s baby?” Not us, that’s for sure, as we were freshly 21 years old, and evidently the youngest in the establishment.
Our last night in Paradise was bittersweet knowing after four sun soaked days in Nevada (did I mention it was a scorching 40°C everyday?), we were about to trade the desert heat for Vancouver’s grey skies and chilly temperatures.
But we refused to let that cloud our spirits — after all, we were only going to be 21 in Vegas once. We wandered through Paradise’s casinos one last time and used the rest of our cash to make a small and predictable loss on the slots.
We eventually found ourselves in the New York-New York Hotel and Casino. We walked past the Statue of Liberty and down Wall Street and Broadway before landing at Shake Shack, where the fries were mouth watering and the strawberry milkshake was exactly the sweet treat I needed to end our unforgettable trip.
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