Las Vegas, city of razzle-dazzle

And jarring juxtapositions

Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, through June 30, 2019

I started this post intending to critique Las Vegas. Call it fake and off-putting. Excessive and bleak at the same time, lacking in any real culture other than money. And it is all that.

But the truth is, I sorta liked it. I had a lot of fun there and found it curiously charming — a place where there is little pretension and few social norms, just a price of entry. No matter where you’re from, who your family is, or where you were educated, Vegas only cares that you can pay.

Though, true to most of the advice I got ahead of my first trip there, I was done after a few days on The Strip. I did a lot in those few days, and would go back to do more in another 4-day stint.

We went off The Strip for dinner at Raku and it was epic.

The stimulating, enchanting bits about Las Vegas

Great high-end shopping

There is no lack of luxury on The Strip, so you should have no problems unloading your wallet quickly. Many brands have multiple doors in close proximity to each other (Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Chanel — the complete list is much longer), and there’s one each of Saks Fifth Avenue…