Imagine a bright, glowy city that sparkles and shines at the start of nightfall every single evening. Envision all the abounding lights that you are overwhelmed by all the colors, shapes, and different sizes of the buildings, vivid signs, and landmarks your eyes must absorb. Now visualize being over four hundred feet in the air to experience the aura from a diverse perspective. With wide, sparkling eyes, you feel the gentle, smooth wind that is blowing through your hair as you gaze onto the city. It is one of the most visited places in the whole world, with over 38 million visitors a year; and as you nudge your friend (who is in just as much awe as you) to point out another luminous monument that caught your eye, you are suddenly inspired to walk through it, take it all in, and not miss a single thing.

Standing on top of the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas is where you can really experience the excitement of all that is around you. Although the Eiffel Tower in Vegas is half the size of the actual one, you can still lose yourself in the impression of the glimmering city that surrounds you. As you go back down the elevator, you quickly hop out and go outside where you smell the delicious French food from the restaurant to your right, you see the shoots of water launched up in the air from the Water Show outside of the Bellagio in front of you, feel the mist from the water fountain at your left that is a remake of the Fountaines de la Concorde in Paris, and hear the cars and taxis driving by on the streets in the foreground. It is here that you only get a small bite out of the commotion in Vegas.
As you continue your journey north, you will walk past the white coliseum-like hotel that is Caesar’s Palace and the honey-colored, reflective hotel that is the Mirage. You find yourself ending up in between the tall, wheat-colored Venetian hotel and the brick undertone Treasure Island hotel with too many white bordered windows to count-two very popular resorts in Vegas. Whether you are a tourist or a local, this spot can leave you feeling astonished as you have such a beautiful, awe-inspiring, and beaming cityscape in front of you. On the outside of the Venice themed hotel, there is a bridge that crosses over the canal where people get a taste of Italy, ride around in gondolas, and get sung to by gondoliers in straw hats and striped shirts. On the inside is something you have never quite seen before. As you walk past the cobblestone ground to get into the main entrance of the hotel, you are welcomed by a beautiful gold sculpture with water gliding down it, columns with caramel structures at the top against the walls, the angelic ceiling painted with angels, gods, and goddesses up in the clouds, bordered with blond-colored patterns, and the floor carefully tiled with beige and mellow yellow tiles. As you look further to your left, you see the gorgeous pathway where the reflection of the lights gives off a soft, glowy gold color throughout the entire, wide corridor that leads you to the rest of the undiscovered hotel that seems much greater in size on the inside than the out. The tiles below your feet turn into a checkered brown and rich, goldish-beige. There are great, long columns that hold up the round ceiling. Intriguing vertical posters are hanging from some of the columns advertising the play “Phantom”. With such dazzling interior design, you cannot help but smile and stare at the breath- taking view surrounding you. If you had never seen such a thing, then a sweet, ecstatic feeling of hysteria would come about

As you find your way into the Forum Shops, you will see that it is decorated like Venice on the outside-only this is the interior. It leaves you feeling eager to explore as there are not many places in the world that have their internal architecture modeled to the T as an exterior. To add to it, there is another canal that goes through the forum shops where gondola rides are also offered. The ceilings are painted like the sky with light blue overcast and some puffy white clouds. When you look down at your feet, artificial cobblestone is spread underneath them with a glossy finish laid on top. There are scattered bridges that cross over the canal where you can encounter other emporiums and restaurants that fill the sides of the “streets”, where you can sit “outside” to enjoy the atmosphere. In the hotel section, where all the gaming happens, there are thousands of slot machines and poker tables that fill the extravagantly- patterned carpet floor. This, unfortunately, is where the acrid aroma of smoke is the most abundant.
The Venetian is home of many shows such as “Phantom”, “A Bronx Tale”, “Blue Men Group”, “Jersey Boys”, and more. “Phantom”, arriving only in 2006, has been named #1 show in Las Vegas, receiving five out of five stars. Forty million dollars was spent building the theatre, modeling it just like the Opéra Garnier, or the Paris Opera House in France, with its abundance of archways on the bottom, many tall columns above, carefully carved statues aloft that, two great gold statues on the corners, and the wide, pistachio- green arch-ceiling behind it all. As soon as you enter, you feel as if you have entered the real opera house, the Phantom’s lair, with en eerie perception of darkness. As the play begins, gold statues, broken pieces of a chandelier, and seats to a theatre are revealed. The play, overall, leaves you with a “sweet intoxication” and wanting more. The music puts you in a hypnotic trance from the beauty of the notes played. The orchestra is so strong, you feel the sound waves, and the plot of the bitter-sweet love triangle leaves you feeling heartbroken. Even with the obvious sentiment of anguish, it is still an excellent play that will make you not only go home and download all of the songs onto your iPod, but sing out loud obnoxiously when no one is home.
The Venetian’s pool deck is spectacular. There are three pools total and one hot tub. There are so many lay-out chairs that from a bird’s eye view, it would like a huge crowd of people surrounding the pools. There are columns outside also, and statues all around, making the atmosphere very beautiful and original- far from looking at all similar to your average community pool. There are even little islands built into the pools with great plants sitting on top of them, so tall they grow far above anyone’s head. The design and architecture makes being out there so enjoyable and paradise-like that, of course, does not even compare to any other public pool. Being out there- usually in the dry heat of the summer- is a little overwhelming as a kid. There are adults everywhere and finding a chair to place your stuff on and claim is yours can be tricky. However, it is worth it in the long run as you get to lie out, enjoy the cool water and soak up the warm sun.
All of the luxurious hotels in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada are not far off from a dazzling display such as the Venetian. Each upscale hotel is astounding in its own way. They are all unique. There is no lack of a grand atmosphere in Las Vegas, inside or out. That is what makes the view so sensational- even when observed from any perspective. It is a view that when seen asymmetrically from the norm, even catches the staring eye of the locals. It will leave you forever touched as it is thrilling and unforgettable.