Sin City

Ah, Vegas! What can I say after my first visit? Out of the great flatness rise a dozen square blocks of towering kitch excess. Overwhelmingly tacky and yet strangely compelling, it's a testimony to too much money, not enough taste and the desire to give the already-wealthy your own money too. It's a marvellous achievement.

Sidestepping the casinos (or at least walking through them to get to the other side), we saw Cirque du Soleil's magnificent "O", which puts all other performers (ie: me) to shame for their laziness and lack of athletic prowess. A flight over the Grand Canyon was equally humbling, with it's sheer beautiful greatness. Oh- and the Paris isn't a bad hotel, complete with a 50 story Eiffel, dodgy fake French accents and the simple pleasures of pain au chocolat...