Sphere Experience: Las Vegas
Birthday trip continues! Taking the Duece bus to the Strip, we passed by an oddly placed car. I never really figured out why it was there… like one of the cars in Amarillo, Texas. A nice young man took us under his wing and helped us figure out which stop to jump off the bus. When we reached Treasure Island Resort, he told us to get off… we crossed the street to the Venetian and posed in front of the fountain. The greatest thing about Las Vegas is the hotel themes. Walking up to and into the Venetian was like stepping into Venice, Italy… the sights and the smells. Crazy!
We walked through the casino on our way to find a pre-concert dinner. There were SO many options inside the Venetian. Sushi, steak, Mexican, Italian… how could we make a decision??? We had started the day with a Loco Moco from Fremont Casino restaurant, so we weren’t starving… but we needed to eat so we continued on our search.
After walking up and down the restaurant area, we settled on a small cafe. Outisde the door was a sign that caught our eye… “Happy Hour”. Our timing was perfect for discounted cocktails and appetizers. Lori enjoyed a margarita and I had Sangria. Our waiter/bartender, David, took pride in his work. He polished the glassware and carefully created our beverages.
Appetizers were $8.50/each and incredibly delicious! We each ordered Asian rib tacos. So good!!! Lori ordered fried zucchini, and I had avocado wontons. The wonton itself was gluten-free, which made it the best appetizer ever! Stuffed with ripe avocados, it also had a dab of cream cheese. Cocktails were half off. Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian, ended up being the perfect place for a pre-show dinner. The atmosphere was relaxing, and we got the last two bar seats…
From all around Las Vegas, the Sphere adds a constantly changing colorful addition to the skyline. We first noticed it as we taxied in upon landing. During my planning, I secured tickets for the U2 Virtual concert. Researched showed that seating in the 200 section was the best, so that’s where we sat! There was a long walkway past the Venetian convention center ballrooms… it led right to the venue. We didn’t have to go outside at all. Just before the doors to the Sphere, a viewing area had been set up. One security guard made sure that the view was shared, giving as many people as possible a photo op.
Though we didn’t explore the main level, it appeared to have much to see. We were just anxious to get inside the Sphere and seated.
Up the giant escalator we went! We were pretty excited about this event. There were no live shows playing during our visit, but we had the option of either “Postcards from Earth” or the U2 virtual concert. The Eagles have several shows scheduled… I would love to see them, but $500/ticket seems rather excessive!
In our seats, we noticed a window in the ceiling. Just before the concert began, we heard the sounds of a helicopter approaching. Of course, this was also AI but looked so real! The helicopter hovered over the small opening giving the impression of Bono and the band being dropped off for the show.
If someone had taken me to the Sphere and told me I was seeing U2 live… I would have believed them. It’s actually a little scary… the only thing that made me realize it was AI was the fans that were “on the floor”. They were oversized. Otherwise, the band movements, playing the instruments, singing… everything looked so real! The lightshow on the walls of the Sphere… incredible.
The graphics during the show… impressive. At times, the walls were covered with colorful, neon looking items and others, very futuristic. If I didn’t know better, I would think we were really looking at the planet Earth.
It took a minute to understand what we were seeing… Initially, we had an amazing view of the Las Vegas skyline in the area of the Venetian. The lights, neon and buildings were exact replicas of the outdoor views. Slowly, we saw large cranes waving in the skyline. The buildings disappeared one by one. We were experiencing the reversal of Las Vegas growth. It started with the way it looks now and it methodically deleted each building in the order it was built. By the end, we were looking at a blank desert… it was crazy! Quite powerful…
After the show, we took a bit of time exploring the “Venice” part of the Venetian. First, checking out the shops and eventually finding the canals/cafes.
Despite the fact that it was 11pm, it looked like day… cloudy skies above us made it seems much earlier. We walked the canal area, listening to the gondola singers. A couple of them were extremely talented! What a fun day!!! Time to take a rideshare back to our neck of the woods…
