What do you expect when visiting the so-called Sin City? I believed most of you only think of mega-casinos in Las Vegas but more on that it has a lot to offer to its guest and visitors. As you know Las Vegas is the largest city of Nevada state in the US. If you feel like seeing different places in the world, Las Vegas is the perfect place to go. Because of its themed casinos, you seems like having a trip to some places of the world that evoke romance, mystery and far-away and exotic destinations.

Las Vegas is best seen during the night when you see all those glittering colorful neon lights around the city especially in Las Vegas Strip. You can't believed that this desert will turned-out to be the "Entertainment Capital of the World"....Only in Vegas, as what the others have been telling.

During my two months vacation in Las Vegas last 2008, I am always on the strip, walking around, sightseeing, window shopping, dining, etcetera..It was so far one of the best holiday I had. Here are of the snapshots I had from Vegas

Washington Square Park is a public park an done of the best-known in New York City. It is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity.

The entrance to Paradise Pier in Disneyland in Anaheim, California. I love this park of Disneyland. We had a visit here last June 2008. I wish to visit the Disneyland in Paris next time.

If you want to see mega-luxury hotels, one of the best place to go is Las Vegas. I was amazed seeing these huge and interesting architecture of the hotels in this city. One of the super luxury resort and hotel you can see there is Wynn Las Vegas, shortly called as Wynn. This hotel opened in April 28, 2005 and is located directly across The Strip from the Fashion Show Mall.

This is not really a good shot below but I guess it is better than nothing at all.

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, simply known as the Venetian Las Vegas is a luxury hotel in Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada, United States. This is the first hotel where I stepped on during my first night in Las Vegas. My sister and her hubby brought me here to take my first dinner in Vegas. The tiresome long hours of flight was gone when I see this place especially that waterfall inside the hotel.

This hotel features a life-like replica tower of St Mark's Campanile in Venice, Italy.

the waterfalls on the lobby of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas during my two months vacation last 2008.

Disneyland where millions of dreams come true...a place to be happy and forget all your problems for a while..Disneyland Park creates a thousand different memories, from joyful times in a kingdom of storybook enchantment to a thrilling journey in to the realm of pioneers in the Old West...

I will be sharing to you next time more photos from Disneyland park!!! keep reading friends!!! hope you enjoy your visit here!!! take care everyone!!

This is the United Center, an indoor sports arena Near West Side community area of Chicago. It is so far the largest arena in the United States talking about its physical size and not its capacity. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League and the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association. The United Center is currently owned by Rocky Wirtz and Reinsdorf.

Some events that were held here include Cirque du Soleil, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice, University of Illinois basketball, the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament and some other more.

The Iowa State Capitol is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Iowa. It was constructed between 1871 and 1886. It is located in the state capital of Des Moines at East 9th Street and Grand Avenue and houses the Iowa General Assembly.


The present capitol is on the same grounds as the old, and is the only five-domed state capitol in the country. The building is brick with limestone from Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio, and Illinois. Iowa stone is the foundation for the many porticoes of the building. Both front and back porticoes have pediments supported by six Corinthian columns each. The dome of the capitol is gilded with tissue-paper thin sheets of pure 23-karat gold, with a protective layer sealing the gold from the weather, and the top of its finial peak is 275 feet (84 m) above the ground. From its opening during 1884 until 1924 it was the tallest building in Des Moines, and probably the tallest in Iowa. credit

The Luxor Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino located at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. It is very well-known for its spotlight that points directly upward and is claimed to be the brightest beam in the world.

I also have an image of the Luxor Galleria below. It is a shopping promenade with various retail stores inside. Fashion 101 is located on the casino floor and the LX Fight Shop is located on the atrium level.

If you want to go shopping, dining or simply entertain yourself, you are always welcome in Downtown Disney, located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. There are also a lot of attractions in this part of Disneyland Resort. It is also known as a Shoppertainment Center.

It seems that I am missing my visit in Disneyland.

This is a super luxury hotel located on Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada. It is located across the strip from Fashion Show Mall. The hotel was opened on April 28, 2005. It is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world.

This is not really a good image I have here because the camera I had last time was only a very ordinary one. I wish to take a shot again in my next visit. I was there last 2008.

Luxor Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located in Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada. It is named after the city of Luxor in Egypt. It is said to be the second largest hotel in Las Vegas, next to MGM Grand and the third largest in the world.

Are you familiar with the Great Sphinx of Giza? It is commonly called as Sphinx, a mythical creature which resembles lion's body and a human head. In Egypt, it is located on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza.

You can also find a Sphinx statue in front of Luxor hotel in Las Vegas.
Below are some images I took during my visit last 2008 in Las Vegas

Designed by hotel architect Veldon Simpson and interior designer Charles Silverman, the Luxor has received recognition as being among the most recognizable hotels on the strip because of its unique design. The main portion of the hotel is a 365-foot (111 m)-high, 30-story pyramid encased in 11 acres of dark bronze glass. The guest rooms are situated on the outer walls of the pyramid and are reached by riding in "inclinators" that travel along the inner surface of the pyramid at a 39-degree angle. The hotel also features a 29 million cubic feet (820,000 m³) atrium, which was the largest open atrium in the world when it was built in 1993. The hotel is marked by a 140-foot (43 m)-high obelisk and a 110-foot (34 m)-tall re-creation of the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The light of the Luxor

The tip of the pyramid contains a fixed-position spotlight that points directly upward and is claimed to be the brightest beam in the world at over 42.3 billion candle power. The light is created by 39 Xenon lamps which use computer designed curved mirrors to collect the light and focus it into one intense beam. According to the Luxor website, “engineers say that an astronaut could read a newspaper by Luxor’s Sky Beam from ten miles into space” and “on a clear night, the Sky Beam is visible up to 250 miles away to an airplane at cruising altitude. more here.

The Sleeping Beauty Castle is an iconic symbol of Disneyland. It is based on Neuschwanstein Castle of King Ludwig II, king of Bavaria, Germany. I am happy to see the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland, Anaheim in California. I am happier as I saw for the third time the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. Both are amazing architectures but of course King Ludwig's castle is the best!

This is not really good shot of Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. I just want to show how this hotel look like. I was there!


The Flamingo Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada and is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp.. The property offers a 77,000 sq ft (7,200 m2) casino along with 3,626 hotel rooms. The 15 acres (6.1 ha) site's architectural theme is reminiscent of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style of Miami and South Beach, with the central outdoor area housing an exhibit of flamingos as part of a wildlife habitat. It was the home of penguins, but they have since been moved to the Dallas Zoo. It was the third resort to open on the Strip, and the oldest resort on the Strip still in operation today. more about Flamingo here

This is one of the attractions in this luxury hotel. The Atrium at the front entrance of the Mirage Las Vegas is one of my favorite part in this hotel. I was amazed how this so-called Tropical Rainforest is being maintained. No wonder four full time gardeners are assigned to maintain this beautiful part of the Mirage.

The dome inside is 100-foot high and houses palm trees above cascading waterfalls. Trees, orchids and most of all one of my favorite flowers named bromeliads are also displayed in this atrium. It seems like a paradise when you are inside in this part of Mirage.

palm trees inside the Atrium..sorry folks not a good photo here..this is only to give you some ideas how the dome looks like. I took these images during my 2008 visit in Las Vegas.

The beautiful bromeliads (family of Pineapple or ananas) in the Atrium in Mirage Las Vegas. Over a hundred of different kinds of plants are found in Atrium. There are more than three hundred fresh orchids and a thousand bromeliads are are also inside this beautiful place.

Honestly, I haven't been to this city yet. Chicago is one of the cities that I would love to visit in the United States of America. It is the largest city in the state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the USA. I would love to see the tallest buildings in the U.S. in this city. These are the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), and Trump International Hotel and Tower.

There are still a lot of things to see in this city and I know one day, I will be there! wink!

This is one of the luxury hotels I had visited in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its architecture looks like the pyramid in Egypt. Actually, it is themed from Thebes, Egypt where the famous Luxor temple is found. It was opened on October 13, 1993 and has 4,407 rooms. Luxor has received recognition as being among the most recognizable hotels on the strip because of its unique design.



Address:
3900 Las Vegas Blvd South.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119

It is almost three years now since I visited Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. Time truly passes-by so fast. Special thanks to my sister and cousin for touring me here. I truly had a great time. Visiting this place was one of the most memorable travels I had. Just sharing some of the images I took during our visit last June 2008.




EARLY YEARS OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Universal was founded by Carl Laemmle, a German-Jewish immigrant from Laupheim who settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he managed a clothing store. On a buying trip in 1905 to Chicago, he was struck by the popularity of nickelodeons. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the day's take. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first of several nickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on Edison's patent for the electric motor used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution. It was believed that the productions were meant to be used for another company but the firm turned Universal down. more here

The Statue of Liberty is the famou symbol of the United States of America. It is a gift to the United States from the people of France. The statue is situated in Upper New York Bay on Liberty Island, south of Ellis Island.

ORIGIN

The origin of the Statue of Liberty project is generally traced to a comment made by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye in mid-1865. In after-dinner conversation at his home near Versailles, Laboulaye, an ardent supporter of the Union in the American Civil War, stated, "If a monument should rise in the United States, as a memorial to their independence, I should think it only natural if it were built by united effort—a common work of both our nations."

Laboulaye's comment was not intended as a proposal, but it inspired a young sculptor, Frédéric Bartholdi, who was present at the dinner. Given the repressive nature of the regime of Napoleon III, Bartholdi took no immediate action on the idea except to discuss it with Laboulaye. Instead, Bartholdi approached Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, with a plan to build a huge lighthouse in the form of an ancient Egyptian female fellah or peasant, robed and holding a torch aloft, at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal. Sketches and models were made of the proposed work, though it was never erected. There was a classical precedent for the Suez proposal, the Colossus of Rhodes: a bronze statue of the Greek god of the sun, Helios. This statue is believed to have been over 100 feet (30 m) high, and it similarly stood at a harbor entrance and carried a light to guide ships. more here

Th Hoover Dam Bypass, also called as The Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is a concrete steel arch bridge connecting the states of Colorado and Nevada. It runs accross Colorado River and was opened last October 19, 2010.

During our visit in Hoover Dam last May 2008, this bridge was still under construction. This is again another architecture in the United States considering that it is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in this country.

an image taken by my sister during their recent visit. The bridge is already in used now.

The bridge provides a crossing of the Colorado River for U.S. Route 93, linking the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona 1,600 feet (490 m) downstream from the Hoover Dam. It is located approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The bridge is the 2nd highest in the United States, behind Royal Gorge Bridge, at 840 feet (260 m) above the Colorado River. Built as part of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project, which successfully finished within budget at a cost of $240 million, the bridge portion cost $114 million (2010 USD) more here

The tamed Colorado River where the Hoover Dam Bypass crosses. It was still under construction during our visit last May 2008.

Its construction begun in 2003 and construction contract for the arch bridge was awarded in October 2004.
It is truly amazing how such high-tech engineering are happening nowadays. I believed the traffic in Hoover Dam is now very better with this new bridge.