Viva Las Vegas (Signs)

I'm in Las Vegas this week, attending the massive IPW, an annual travel trade show at which the USA sells its attractions to the world.

It's been a busy schedule, but on Monday night I finally got the chance to walk along The Strip, on the way to and from my accommodation at the Tropicana and a show at Planet Hollywood.

The Strip is rightly famous for its vast and sometimes bizarre resorts, often shaped into outlandish themed landmarks. New York New York has its Statue of Liberty and cityscape facade, Paris its Eiffel Tower, and Excalibur an eye-catching set of Camelot turrets and towers which glow at night.

This, for example, is the nighttime view from my hotel window, looking out toward the MGM lion:

Big resorts aside, I had fun on my walk in spotting smaller signage and other items that were still garish but presented at a more human scale (well, comparatively). Here are a few examples...

To start with, I passed this this beautiful car parked permanently in front of the Tropicana, recalling the resort's 1950s origins:

Then I saw this huge old-school Pepsi ad on the side of New York New York:

A lurking demon atop the sign for Cantina Diablo:

The garish disco entrance to Planet Hollywood:

A giant motorbike suspended high above the street at the Harley-Davidson Cafe:

And finally, the sign for a McDonald's. In Las Vegas, it seems, even mundane fast food joints become glam:

Disclosure time... On this trip I was hosted by Air Pacific and IPW.