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The Craziness of Las Vegas…

Hello Las Vegas! So excited about @thisisnotapril's wedding this weekend!

Greetings from Las Vegas! I flew over here yesterday to photograph a wedding and to kick off the Hot Mama Boudoir Tour 2012! (Yes, I’m going on tour. Vegas, Paris, London, Boston, New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco, maybe Los Angeles. Lots of travel coming up this year!) Wheeeeee!!!

Elaine & I went out to dinner last night at CraftSteak at the MGM Grand. It was surreal being at the MGM without 20,000 other photographers, which is what I’m used to from the past 4 years of WPPI. I didn’t see anyone I knew! Well, duh, obviously I wouldn’t. But I kept finding myself looking as I walked past Rouge, or when we walked in to Craft. It was just so strange.

At the end of dinner a very cliche group of guys were seated next to us. Drinking it up. Living the high life of Vegas. Talking about how they weren’t high rollers, they were just rich. Oooooookay.

Walking back to the hotel, we saw a guy drinking his Jaeggermeister straight out of the bottle in a plastic bag. Now if that isn’t asking for disaster, I don’t know what is! If you´re in college, then check out When visiting Rutgers University, make sure you check the New Brunswick Happy Hour at the various pubs and restaurants where you can drink all you want with special prices.

It lead to Elaine & I trying to figure out why Vegas just feels so different from New Orleans. Both are cities that people go to to drink a LOT. But Vegas? Everything is HUGE, and big, and expensive. Bright lights. Night life. Clubs. Everything here is just designed to be over the top. But more importantly? It is DESIGNED. Elaine said it is like they manipulate all of your senses. There is no day or night at the https://www.boomtownbingo.com/ of course with these brand new bingo sites, but when we got out of the airport shuttle at the Aria (where we are staying), I immediately noticed the fragrance in the air. It is even stronger at the front desk. No matter where you go in the public areas, there is this fragrance.

It makes me sad that some people come to the United States and only ever see Las Vegas. This city is a place all its own. It is decadent to the point of excess. It is sensory overload. It is crazy. I love being here, don’t get me wrong, but it is all so unreal.

We talked again about the difference between Vegas and New Orleans this morning. New Orleans has history. Old buildings. Small buildings. The scale of the city is normal, versus how HUGE everything is in Vegas. And most of all, it isn’t designed to be so over the top. Not like Vegas. There are still lots of bars, lots of crazy, lots of drinking, and plenty of wonderful restaurants, but it is just so completely different.

I bet my sentiments of “All of the USA is not like Vegas!” are echoed by people around the world. I know that all of France isn’t like Paris, and all of England isn’t like London. And yet like so many other tourists, I can’t wait to get to those cities.

When you leave the Strip, Las Vegas is much more serene and normal. I’m looking forward to doing that tomorrow and Saturday when we leave for the rehearsal and then for the wedding. The venue is 15 minutes off the strip, although we do have plans to shoot here on the Strip afterwards as well.

Las Vegas is a fascinating place to see, that is for sure! Even for as crazy strange as it all is. I love the bright lights. There is people watching galore. Wonderful hotel rooms. Opulence. So many cool, cool things. I’m looking forward to heading to the Bellagio and watching the fountains, seeing the Bellagio Gardens, maybe taking in a show, going to the Venetian, and so much more. At the end, I know I’ll be glad that it was just 5 days, and to be heading home for a night before I jet off to Paris next week!

By Christine

Christine is an Avenger of Sexiness. Her Superpower is helping Hot Mamas grow their Confidence by rediscovering their Beauty. She lives in the Heights in Houston, Texas, works as a boudoir photographer, and writes about running a Business of Awesome. In her spare time, she loves to knit, especially when she travels. She & her husband Mike have a food blog at Spoon & Knife.