01/17/2001   English German
  Edition # 28  
San Francisco, 01-17-2001

Vacation in Las Vegas
Figure [1]: Intrepid newsletter reporter Angelika is taking photographs at a location at the end of the world.

Michael Hey, and we went on vacation again: We actually wanted to go to New York before Christmas. New York during the Christmas season--whether or not Christmas means anything to you--is simply stunning. Overall, New York is a fascinating city. But it didn't happen this year because apparently all of America goes to New York during the Christmas season, and hotel and flights were astronomically pricey, even for us earning in dollars.

Angelika then came up with the idea of simply checking us into the "New York New York" hotel in Las Vegas instead. This hotel looks like the New York City skyline, has the Statue of Liberty in front, and even features its own roller coaster. Las Vegas is just a good hour's flight from San Francisco, so we flew there on a Wednesday evening in December. We planned to stay in Las Vegas for just one night and then drive to the more easterly located Death Valley to explore the desert landscape there. But more on that later.

Let your newsletter reporter tell you: Las Vegas has changed, my friends. Perhaps you know that Angelika and I first crossed paths there almost 14 years ago. I remember affordable hotels and restaurants -- every casino offered buffet for $1.99 or so, where you could eat until you burst, which Huber and I did extensively back in the day, as we were getting by on 30 dollars a day.

Figure [2]: Slot machines in the casino

Figure [3]: The hotel "New York New York" in Las Vegas with an attached roller coaster.

Of course, these buffets do get tiresome; by the third meal at the latest, you're fed up with the food. Until recently, there were no decent restaurants in Las Vegas for spoiled Californians--but that has changed by now. We dined out twice, once at "Il Fornaio" (Casino "New York New York") and once at "Cafe Puck" (by the Austrian Wolfgang Puck, "MGM Casino"), and both times the food was excellent.

Figure [4]: Las Vegas hotel room

The hotel room was amazing. We paid about the price of an upscale motel room and got a luxury suite that was as big as our apartment in San Francisco. In the living room, there was also a huge bathtub with a faucet that bubbled like a small river (see picture 4). By the way, if you want to stay in the same room, the room number is 534, in the so-called "New York Tower" at the "New York New York" hotel.

Figure [6]: Las Vegas bathroom

Figure [7]: Hot tub in our Las Vegas hotel room
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