(no subject)
So I went to Las Vegas this weekend. I've been there once before, four years ago. It's still as large and overwhelming as it was then.
Vegas actually sort of frightens me. I love cities, and I love the energies of cities and places where things are still going on past midnight, but Vegas doesn't feel like an actual city to me. It feels like a giant playground of neon lights, mega-hotels, mega-casinos, mega-malls. Everything is too large and too bright.
We stayed at the Wynn, which was large and grandiose. I think many of the hotels try to be upscale and tasteful, but once you leave the quiet lobbies and hit the casinos, it's already a lost cause.
I ogled at Cartier and Graff, Fred Leighton and Dior, marvelled that a single candle could cose $65 at Jo Malone. I ended up getting myself a teeny box of expensive chocolates, because they looked too good to pass up. I shall have to ration them out; there are only nine of them and they are small. I had a cinnamon chocolate yesterday, and it was lovely and mildly spicy and melted away on my tongue to leave just a shadow of chocolate and a small glimmering of cinnamon.
I also went around and looked at all the fancy jewelry I could, partly because I have a trainwreck kind of fascination with how large things can get, but mostly because my mind is like a magpie's and I am attracted to anything shiny.
There was much of the shiny. I probably looked very odd standing around with my nose pressed against the glass of super expensive jewelry stores, then stepping back and moving my head from side to side to watch things sparkle. But! It was so sparkly! I couldn't resist!
I actually ended up spending most of my time in the hotel room, as I was too tired to walk around. The room was cavernous. Also, I partially blame my sort-of incarceration on rachelmanija, because I got sucked into her book and never quite emerged.
Also, it had a really neat bathtub with "chromatherapy" (aka little lights to make your bathwater change color -- I'm as baffled as the next person) and a nifty keen spout that came out of the long side of the bathtub wall in a lovely arc, instead of flowing out of a spout. Plus, the hotel had little free bathsalts that I took advantage of. And a little pillow for your head in the bathtub. And lots of nice lemongrass-sage scented products (I forgot to steal them, sigh).
I did, however, nick the sewing kit, so the apartment finally has sewing utensils!
We went to see La Reve, which is apparently some highly reviewed show or somesuch in the tradition of Cirque du Soleil stuff. It was good, but I was disappointed because I found out that Avenue Q was playing as well. Wah!! (that was a wah of despair, not a wah of surprise or excitement)
There was much water everywhere. There were many people jumping in and out of the water. I dunno. It was a little too... flashy or something, it didn't quite feel like dancing or anything, except it felt like it was trying to be artsy. I'd rather have an out-and-out circus show.
And then, there was fooding! I fear I am hopelessly spoiled, as I found the food mostly very good but not awe-inspiring. Well, except the first course, in which I had oysters (hee! I always think I'm spelling it wrong like that now) with a wee bit of caviar and cream sauce on top. They were just lightly cooked, and so when I slid the whole thing in my mouth, it burst with flavor and was slightly briny yet very creamy (mmmm oyster guts... hee), with that wee bit of caviar for saltiness. The shrimp appetizer was only ok; I adore shrimp, but I prefer it freshly steamed, right in the shell with the head still on, and even cooked with nice lobster sauce really doesn't compare to fresh shrimp. And then, pigeon! I adore dark meat, and I especially adore game birds (mmmm, quail) because they're so rich and meaty and flavorful. Also, crispy skin dripping with fat is always good. So yes. The pigeon, it was good. The jus was a bit too salty for me.
I think generally I like my food to taste like the ingredient; I don't want sauces to overpower them. Especially the vegetables, because I really like fresh veggies. One of the best things I've ever had was a little bit of caviar on top of this cauliflower mousse, and the mousse was lovely and light and fresh and the caviar was rich and salty and sea-like, and it was such a lovely contrast.
Anyhow, yes. My dad had turbot, which was ok, this scallop lightly cooked on top of very finely mashed potato that was absolutely wonderful, lobster salad (mmmm lobster... but my oysters were tastier), and the best dessert ever. Well, maybe not ever. But it was very good! Mine was good too (buttermilk cake with peach preserves and raspberry sorbet), but he had an apple tart, and it had lovely flaky yet tender crust and it wasn't too sweet. It was just the right combination of sweet and tangy, and it tasted of apple. Yum.
The strangest thing was that people smoked everywhere. I was sniffing around and wondering what the strange and nasty smell was, only to realize... cigarettes! Clearly I was no longer in California.
Vegas is large and mostly overwhelming. It was fun, I had good food, but I'm awfully glad I'm back home.
Vegas actually sort of frightens me. I love cities, and I love the energies of cities and places where things are still going on past midnight, but Vegas doesn't feel like an actual city to me. It feels like a giant playground of neon lights, mega-hotels, mega-casinos, mega-malls. Everything is too large and too bright.
We stayed at the Wynn, which was large and grandiose. I think many of the hotels try to be upscale and tasteful, but once you leave the quiet lobbies and hit the casinos, it's already a lost cause.
I ogled at Cartier and Graff, Fred Leighton and Dior, marvelled that a single candle could cose $65 at Jo Malone. I ended up getting myself a teeny box of expensive chocolates, because they looked too good to pass up. I shall have to ration them out; there are only nine of them and they are small. I had a cinnamon chocolate yesterday, and it was lovely and mildly spicy and melted away on my tongue to leave just a shadow of chocolate and a small glimmering of cinnamon.
I also went around and looked at all the fancy jewelry I could, partly because I have a trainwreck kind of fascination with how large things can get, but mostly because my mind is like a magpie's and I am attracted to anything shiny.
There was much of the shiny. I probably looked very odd standing around with my nose pressed against the glass of super expensive jewelry stores, then stepping back and moving my head from side to side to watch things sparkle. But! It was so sparkly! I couldn't resist!
I actually ended up spending most of my time in the hotel room, as I was too tired to walk around. The room was cavernous. Also, I partially blame my sort-of incarceration on rachelmanija, because I got sucked into her book and never quite emerged.
Also, it had a really neat bathtub with "chromatherapy" (aka little lights to make your bathwater change color -- I'm as baffled as the next person) and a nifty keen spout that came out of the long side of the bathtub wall in a lovely arc, instead of flowing out of a spout. Plus, the hotel had little free bathsalts that I took advantage of. And a little pillow for your head in the bathtub. And lots of nice lemongrass-sage scented products (I forgot to steal them, sigh).
I did, however, nick the sewing kit, so the apartment finally has sewing utensils!
We went to see La Reve, which is apparently some highly reviewed show or somesuch in the tradition of Cirque du Soleil stuff. It was good, but I was disappointed because I found out that Avenue Q was playing as well. Wah!! (that was a wah of despair, not a wah of surprise or excitement)
There was much water everywhere. There were many people jumping in and out of the water. I dunno. It was a little too... flashy or something, it didn't quite feel like dancing or anything, except it felt like it was trying to be artsy. I'd rather have an out-and-out circus show.
And then, there was fooding! I fear I am hopelessly spoiled, as I found the food mostly very good but not awe-inspiring. Well, except the first course, in which I had oysters (hee! I always think I'm spelling it wrong like that now) with a wee bit of caviar and cream sauce on top. They were just lightly cooked, and so when I slid the whole thing in my mouth, it burst with flavor and was slightly briny yet very creamy (mmmm oyster guts... hee), with that wee bit of caviar for saltiness. The shrimp appetizer was only ok; I adore shrimp, but I prefer it freshly steamed, right in the shell with the head still on, and even cooked with nice lobster sauce really doesn't compare to fresh shrimp. And then, pigeon! I adore dark meat, and I especially adore game birds (mmmm, quail) because they're so rich and meaty and flavorful. Also, crispy skin dripping with fat is always good. So yes. The pigeon, it was good. The jus was a bit too salty for me.
I think generally I like my food to taste like the ingredient; I don't want sauces to overpower them. Especially the vegetables, because I really like fresh veggies. One of the best things I've ever had was a little bit of caviar on top of this cauliflower mousse, and the mousse was lovely and light and fresh and the caviar was rich and salty and sea-like, and it was such a lovely contrast.
Anyhow, yes. My dad had turbot, which was ok, this scallop lightly cooked on top of very finely mashed potato that was absolutely wonderful, lobster salad (mmmm lobster... but my oysters were tastier), and the best dessert ever. Well, maybe not ever. But it was very good! Mine was good too (buttermilk cake with peach preserves and raspberry sorbet), but he had an apple tart, and it had lovely flaky yet tender crust and it wasn't too sweet. It was just the right combination of sweet and tangy, and it tasted of apple. Yum.
The strangest thing was that people smoked everywhere. I was sniffing around and wondering what the strange and nasty smell was, only to realize... cigarettes! Clearly I was no longer in California.
Vegas is large and mostly overwhelming. It was fun, I had good food, but I'm awfully glad I'm back home.