USA 2008: The Return. New York, Washington and the West

July 25, 2008

Milan – London – New York We arrive at JFK in NY on time, around 7.00 pm. To get to Manhattan we take the airport's free Air Train to Jamaica Station and then, spending a pittance, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to Penn Station. From there with the subway (line 1) we reach our hotel, on 250 W at 77th. We get an ice cream at an Italian gelateria a stone's throw from the hotel (Grom) and after a stroll to get to know our neighborhood, around 10.00 pm we go to bed.

New York

My wife has never been to NY so we dedicate the first day to an overall view of the Big Apple. The day, which started early (thanks to jet lag), is splendid so we decide to get around (as long as we can) on foot. We cross the beautiful Central Park to Fifth Avenue, enjoying unbeatable views of the Midtown skyline. Along Fifth Avenue we familiarize ourselves with the shops that we promised ourselves to "rob" before leaving. We arrive at Times Square, the heart of NY, where we buy for 99 dollars (60 euros) two tickets for the sightseeing tour on the double-decker bus. We got the ticket valid for 48 hours (which by bargaining with the ticket seller was made valid for 72 hours) both for the tour South of Central Park, and for the one North (up to Harlem) and which also entitles you to a ferry trip to the Statue of Liberty and the night tour also on the bus.

All things considered it was quite convenient also because, being able to get off and on the bus at every stop for the entire duration of the ticket, we used it instead of regular buses or the subway. We take advantage of it right away and get on for the Midtown/Lower Manhattan tour. We get off at Ground Zero where work is now in full swing for the construction of the Freedom Tower, we visit the WTC Memorial, dedicated to 9/11 and we push on to Battery Park crossing the Financial District (Wall Street, the headquarters of the Federal Reserve and the NYSE which today, being Saturday, are closed). We also squeeze the "balls" of the bull statue symbol of Wall Street, hoping it's a good omen for the performance of world markets... From Battery Park, the extreme southern tip of Manhattan, we enjoy the landscape over the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty.

From here we resume our Blue Bus and, after passing near the United Nations Glass Palace, we get off near the Museum of Modern Art (the MOMA). We take the opportunity to visit it (besides the permanent exhibitions there's also a retrospective on Salvador Dalí). After a quick stop at Times Square to see the lights come on at dusk and to visit some of the mind-blowing shops (the M&M'S one is delirious!), we head to Grand Central Terminal, the central train station where, with 75 dollars, we have dinner at the Oyster Bar. Not satisfied with the intense day we decide to go up the Empire State Building for an overall view of the city's thousand lights. The line seems endless, thank goodness we had bought the tickets online. This saves us at least an hour of waiting! With the subway in 10 minutes we reach the hotel.

New York

We dedicate the morning to the bus tour of the Upper Town. We get off in Harlem where, purely by chance, we enter a church (the Mount Olivet Baptist Church, on Malcolm Street) where the Sunday gospel service is just taking place. They welcome us with great affection (the church is not at all touristy, outside the circuit of those that join guided tours) and we attend the whole service enjoying the choirs and the old black ladies dressed really as in the movies. The priest giving the sermon is incredibly possessed and everyone present participates shouting "Yes!" and raising their hands at every statement of his about the greatness of God, His immense goodness, etcetera etcetera. We resume our bus (passing by the Metropolitan Museum and the Guggenheim) to Times Square from where we reach Pier 83 from which the ferry to the Statue of Liberty departs. A big storm is threatening.

The ferry ride is pleasant, we see the "Lady" from the sea, but we don't get off, anyway the line to enter the pedestal is incredibly long and we're certain we won't miss anything much. Better to admire her from outside than from under her dress...! The final part of the day is dedicated to a taste of shopping: Nike Town with shoes on sale at 60 dollars, Apple Store, FAO Schwarz, etc... With the subway we get to the cheerful Soho neighborhood, where we have dinner outdoors at "Novecento", on Broome Street at the corner with West Broadway. Nearby is also the Felix Bar, which seems truly stormed by young New Yorkers. We dine well for 75 dollars (excellent T-Bone Steak). Back in the Upper West Side, after buying fruit at the very well-stocked supermarket a stone's throw from the hotel, we go to bed.

New York

After the usual breakfast at Starbucks of latte and blueberry muffin, we head to Central Park where we take a long and pleasant morning walk passing through the main points of interest, from Strawberry Fields (memorial in honor of John Lennon, killed in December 1980 at his home, the Dakota Building, a stone's throw from here) to Columbus Circle. At this point we throw ourselves into shopping as eagerly awaited as it is unbridled. Abercrombie and Fitch (trendy clothing store opposite Tiffany, on Fifth, worth seeing even if you're not interested in buying, the girls will thank me for the advice), Brooks Brothers, Macy's, Bloomingdale, Levi's. We buy quite a few things (I personally hate shopping in Milan, so I needed to renew my wardrobe). I spend a third of what I would have spent in Milan.

One thing above all: classic Levi's 501 cost 50 dollars (30 euros), while in Milan you can't find them for less than 75 euros. I'm pretty pumped. We have a packed lunch in Central Park catching some sun and trying to figure out the rules of a Baseball game being played in front of us. After dropping off the packages at the Hotel (we'll have to fit everything into our two mini trolleys, luckily half empty to begin with) we head to Rockefeller Center, for the ritual photos and, after lighting a candle for Giancarlo in St. Patrick's Chapel, we go to the United Nations, where we hope to find a spot for the guided tour. Unfortunately, as almost always in NY, it's all sold out and we have to settle for just seeing the free exhibition and the building from the outside. Interesting anyway.

We wander a bit more through the streets of the center and then decide to have dinner in "our" neighborhood, the Upper West Side. We choose Mana, at 92nd and Amsterdam. It's a very pleasant and cheerful creative vegetarian restaurant. We dine for 60 dollars.

New York – Washington. 250 miles traveled

Today we have an overnight trip to Washington ahead of us. We've decided to drive there, so we booked a car with National ($150 including a full tank). We set the pickup at Newark airport, a choice connected to the fact that tomorrow evening our flight to Salt Lake City departs from this very airport. We arrive comfortably at Newark by subway and by the train that leaves from Penn Station. In just under 4 hours we reach Washington, covering 250 miles on Interstate 95. The road offers few highlights apart from passing through Philadelphia and Baltimore, and it's quite busy. We check into the BW Pentagon Hotel and, taking advantage of the hotel's free shuttle that goes to the subway stop, we reach downtown without having to use the car. The first stop is at the Pentagon, where, incidentally, there's a tense atmosphere in the air.

No photos, no signs, no lingering too long in front of the doors, and above all no tours inside… after all, we're just a step away from the control center of national and global security… Another subway stop and we arrive at Arlington National Cemetery, the most important cemetery in the USA, an immense expanse of white crosses in eternal memory of the fallen in the many wars the USA has fought all over the world. Entry to the cemetery, if you go on foot, is free. We walk slowly along the countless paths surrounded by thousands of crosses, each with the name of the fallen soldier, and we stop in front of the graves of JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy. In the distance a trumpet and a series of blank shots let us know that burials continue here.

We watch the changing of the guard, also in the cemetery, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which takes place every half hour (and thank goodness, because the soldiers couldn't hold out any longer under a sun at 40 degrees…). All very moving. An unreal calm reigns, broken only by the soldiers' heels echoing on the marble. In the background, in the distance, the white obelisk of the Washington Monument and the dome of the Capitol. There's a strong feeling of being right in the middle of the nerve center of American power, the most powerful nation in the world.

Once out of the cemetery we walk across the Arlington Memorial Bridge that connects the cemetery to the immense area that houses the many monuments everyone knows: the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool that connects it to the Washington Monument (the 150-meter-tall obelisk), which in turn is connected to the majestic Capitol by the National Mall, an immense and very long green lawn. It's really very hot. We stroll calmly among all these symbols and I must say that the solemnity of the places, surrounded by the buildings of the ministries, the FBI, etc., is made even more intense by the fact that everything is perfectly orderly, clean and, naturally, every building is topped by the inevitable American flag. As our last stop we head to the White House at the perhaps most famous address in the world: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The feeling of having already been there is inevitable.

Personally, what strikes me most is the apparent accessibility of the building, surrounded by a fence that isn't even too high and not particularly hidden by vegetation. The presence, all around, of checkpoints, cameras and armed guards makes me think that if I only tried to pretend to climb the fence I'd be vaporized instantly… We have a pleasant dinner outdoors (the heat has subsided) at M&S Grill on 600 13th St NW. At dusk we walk to the illuminated Capitol and then take the subway back to the hotel.

Washington – New York – Salt Lake City. Miles traveled: 260

We devote the morning to visiting the Capitol, free of charge (tickets are collected at the base of the hill where it stands). It lasts one hour and the visit is guided only. Interesting. Afterwards we walk through the downtown streets in the muggy heat; we have a quick lunch at a place frequented by employees of the various government institutions and then head back toward the hotel. We need, in fact, to reach Newark in good time to catch the 7.00 pm flight to Salt Lake City. The trip takes 4 hours and we arrive really in the nick of time! Luckily we had already checked in online. We manage to save about twenty minutes. The flight, however, departs 50 minutes late and lasts just under 5 hours. We land at 10.00 pm local time (2 hours less than NY).

We pick up the car at the airport (Alamo), which we'll return in 4 days in Billings, and in a few minutes we reach our BW Cotton Tree Inn at exit 315 of Interstate 15 North.

Salt Lake City – Jackson Hole (Wyoming). Miles traveled 310

Bright and early, after the breakfast offered by the hotel, we set off for the city center, which is just a few minutes away. Since SLC is the home of the Mormon faith and, apart from that, doesn't offer much else of interest, we head straight to Temple Square, where this somewhat peculiar world officially called "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" is based. Practically it's like a small Vatican City in the middle of the city, only more accessible, in fact the Mormons do everything they can to welcome visitors and enthusiastically tell them the basics of their religion.

We can only accept being guided by the young trainee "sisters" (free of charge) inside this complex made up of a temple (accessible only to Mormons of high moral standing), the tabernacle (which houses an immense organ), the assembly hall, which houses a statue of Jesus surrounded by a dome painted with a starry sky, and the visitor centers. Very interesting even though the good will of the sisters guiding us doesn't convince me to change religion. This is also true even though the principles at the basis of the faith are, broadly speaking, agreeable: family before everything, including work, (and in fact Mormons have on average three/four children), striving to be happy and carefree (hakuna matata, in short).

After a walk through the center, as far as the Utah State Capitol (practically a miniature copy of the Washington Capitol), we head toward the Great Salt Lake and more precisely toward Antelope Island ($9 entry), which is a nature reserve and is connected to the mainland by a road. You reach it by taking Interstate 15 North, exit 332 (and not 335 as reported in guides updated to 2007!). The landscape is lunar, the air pervaded by a strong smell typical of the Salt Flats… in fact the salt concentration in the lake (which has no outlet) is about 30%, versus 3% in the sea. We stop at a beach not far from the road that lets us take a fun swim floating as if we were on an air mattress. The experience is similar to that of the Dead Sea. Just enough time to get a bit of sun and we set off again toward Jackson Hole, the gateway to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone.

As the saleswoman at a gas station advises us, we decide to take the "prettiest" road and not the "fastest" one. This translates into taking the 89 North at Ogden instead of continuing on Interstate 15 North to Idaho Falls. The distance is more or less the same, only the I-15 is a highway and, therefore, would be faster, but much less interesting. Indeed the 89 passes through truly beautiful landscapes. We go through Logan, reach Bear Lake and then head north through Montpelier and Geneva, until we reach Jackson Hole. It's right a short distance from our destination that Dany, who gets a bit too nervous when she's driving, decides to cut in between three pairs of ugly thugs (all dressed in black, with helmets topped by dragon spikes) on their Harley Davidsons. She should never have done it, the fact is these guys get really angry and start tailgating her closely.

Naturally we get scared, especially when in the distance we spot a… red light. We have to stop and here Dany is invited to roll down the window, take off her glasses and endure a sort of avalanche of insults all interspersed with "Fucking…". Luckily Dany's "sorrys" seem to soften them a little and at the green light, with our tails between our legs, we turn right while the brutes continue straight.

Apart from the objective fright (you never know what to expect these days) the funny thing is that over the next two days we'll meet our friends on the road again and again (they're evidently doing the same tour as us) and every time we were forced to disguise ourselves for fear of being recognized! In the end, though, we managed to keep all our teeth and all our bones intact…! Just enough time to recover from the fright and check into our Motel 6 (not even that cheap compared to the BW, but certainly less welcoming, though clean and absolutely decent) and we take a walk through the center of this truly cheerful and characteristic little town, a crossroads for all those who, from the south, are heading to Yellowstone, but also a renowned winter ski resort as well as the site of a ranch where annually, at the end of August, the great and powerful of the world gather.

We have dinner for about fifty dollars at the Snake River Brewery, a brewpub with food truly appreciated by the locals and, naturally, also by us tourists.

Jackson Hole – Grand Teton - West Yellowstone. Miles traveled: 142

After breakfast at Pearls Bakery, in the center, we set off for Grand Teton National Park, whose entrance is not far away ($25 entry also valid for Yellowstone). The park contains a very scenic mountain massif, surrounded by forests and lakes. It's a bit reminiscent of our splendid Dolomites. After the ritual stop at the Visitor's Center to understand what the park offers, we decide to do a trail near Jenny Lake. After 10 minutes on a little boat that takes us to the opposite side of the lake, we begin the route immersed in the pines and surrounded by streams and waterfalls. We reach Inspiration Point which offers a spectacular view of the lake and the valley surrounding it. We return to the parking lot on foot, thus covering the entire trail around the western shore of the lake. In total we cover about 6 km.

After a quick lunch of turkey sandwiches, we set off again toward Yellowstone, passing through more beautiful mountain landscapes. The South Entrance of Yellowstone, which is right at the northern end of Grand Teton, is truly the most spectacular, as all the guides confirm, from Lonely Planet to Routard. Yellowstone Park, the oldest and most famous in the world, birthplace, among other things, of Yogi Bear and his inseparable friend Boo Boo, is a concentration of nature and wildlife, not to forget that it's nothing other than the caldera of an ancient volcano located right near the "Continental Divide," the watershed line that divides North America between the basin of the rivers that end in the Atlantic Ocean and those that end in the Pacific Ocean. Secondary volcanism, which is actually the main attraction of the park, is particularly spectacular.

The road that crosses the park is shaped like a figure eight. Today, having booked our overnight stay in West Yellowstone, we decide to visit the southwestern part. First we encounter the famous "Old Faithful," the geyser that erupts at more or less regular intervals of 90 minutes with a jet of water up to 60 meters high. We're lucky and, despite the close encounter with our Harley friends, the eruption is expected within a few minutes of our arrival. Besides Old Faithful, the surrounding area is full of other geysers, pools of boiling water, gas and sulfur. All easily reached via wooden boardwalks. Almost everyone stops only to see "Him," while we cover pretty much the whole area and the landscape, the noises and the smells are fit for the entrance to the Underworld. The next stop is at Prismatic Spring, a hot spring.

The microorganisms that populate it have given the pool rainbow colors. Our friends, naturally, have preceded us, and we follow them at a distance along the walking path. In the late afternoon we arrive at the pleasant town of West Yellowstone, check into our BW Desert Inn and after a stroll through the various little shops on the main street, we have dinner for $40 at Bullwinkle, a Steak-House, very rustic. Naturally, where would our "friends" have decided to have dinner? Luckily they arrive when we've almost finished and don't notice us, since they're seated in a different room from ours. Dany is still nervous though…

West Yellowstone – Livingston. Miles traveled: 154

We devote the day entirely to Yellowstone. The first stop is at Norris Basin, a very vast area where acid springs, fumes and geysers have turned the landscape into a desolate wasteland. Very evocative. The next stop is at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the gorge carved by the river of the same name. The most spectacular part is certainly the one around the Upper and Lower Falls, two very impetuous waterfalls. By car we drive the South Rim which lets us reach a breathtaking lookout over the Lower Falls (the most spectacular). Here I recommend doing the Uncle Tom Trail which, with a very steep staircase, lets you descend almost to the base of the waterfall.

On YouTube there are various videos that give a good idea of how strenuous the descent is (which is then all uphill on the way back!) Unfortunately the North Rim is reported closed to cars for all of 2008, so we leave the car and walk only a short trail on foot, even though a sign indicates a bear sighting in the area. The trail leads in about 20 minutes to the top of the Lower Falls. There's a terrace practically right above the waterfall and this point in our opinion offers an extraordinary view of the canyon. We continue north, stopping at Mammoth Hot Springs. Visiting the site, which is surely one of the most interesting in the park, requires a couple of hours or three. There's also a loop you can do by car, for those who don't feel like walking up to the higher terraces. The site is constantly evolving and changes depending on the spring levels.

It's undoubtedly a very photogenic place. It's now late afternoon when we exit the North Entrance of the park, heading to Livingston on the 89 North. After checking into the BW Yellowstone Inn and after a short swim in the pool just to relax our muscles a bit, we go to dinner at the Buffalo Jump, a steak house we had seen on the road. The town is not very touristy, so the place is frequented by locals. We eat two excellent Buffalo Burgers spending next to nothing.

Livingston – Billings – Denver – Durango (Colorado). Miles Traveled: 138

The plane that will take us from Billings to Durango via Denver leaves at 11.00 am, so we set the alarm very early to tackle in good time the 110 miles of I-90 East separating us from Billings airport. At this hour, it's 7.00 am, the road is deserted, we set the cruise at 80 miles an hour and arrive at our destination in 1 hour and a half, crossing the splendid agricultural landscapes of Montana. The 2 flights operated by Frontier Airlines with Bombardiers are on time and at 3.30 pm we're in Durango. We pick up the car, booked with National. Among other things we have the surprise of being handed a RAV4 "extended" model, in the sense that it's much more massive than those on the roads in Europe and above all of a higher category than the one booked (without, of course, any extra charge).

It happens that you get better cars than those booked, for example when the drop-off is scheduled in another place (in our case it will be Las Vegas): the companies need them to bring the cars back to the original office. After reaching our BW Durango Inn just outside the center of Durango, we decide to take it easy before visiting the town, known for being very pretty, and decide to treat ourselves to a very pleasant Jacuzzi in the nice outdoor pool surrounded by greenery and ringed by wooden lounge chairs, an unusual setting for a pool that is, after all, a motel's. Around 6.00 pm we're wandering around the historic center of Durango. Unmissable is the Durango – Silverton railway station, still in operation with old late-1800s steam trains, very evocative as well as noisy. Durango is a typically "western" little town and, even though tourism now reigns supreme, it's really pretty.

We have a splendid dinner at Steamwork Brewing, where I recommend anyone passing through those parts order the Cajun, a spicy selection of boiled shellfish combined with sausage and potatoes. All served brutally by dumping the contents of a pot directly onto the wooden table. Delicious, as well as fun. We go back to the hotel and decide to repeat the Jacuzzi. Very relaxing to immerse yourself in the hot water under the starry sky…

Durango – Chinle. Miles traveled: 360

Today is a demanding day, at least in our intentions. The first stop is Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage site. It's about thirty miles from Durango. You can drive around it ($15 entry) stopping at the lookouts, but, apart from a trail open to everyone that lets you reach the base of a mesa beneath which the cliff dwellings dating back about 2000 years are clearly visible (Spruce Tree House, right behind the museum), the other sites of interest can only be visited on guided tours bookable at the visitor's center. We decide to book the one-hour tour that will introduce us to the Cliffs Palace site, the most famous and best preserved in the park ($3 each). Departure is set for 12.00 pm so we have time to visit all the other places by car. We drive the Chapin Mesa where there are two loop roads that allow you to enjoy exceptional views of the various sites.

We then visit the Spruce Tree House by walking a simple path. The tour of the Cliffs Palace led by the Ranger lets us understand the history of the places and their inhabitants. Very interesting and then credit must be given to the Americans, as always, for maximizing the value of the testimonies to their past (whether recent or distant). It's about 1.00 pm and at this point we decide to try to do what we had already set out to do before leaving. Reach Monument Valley, to relive the emotions of what, in 2004, had been the most beautiful moment of the trip. Monument Valley as the point of union of our two trips, in short. The detour is not short, over 150 miles more than the original itinerary toward Chinle, where we'll stay overnight, but we decide to try, even at the cost of arriving at our destination late at night.

And so, instead of heading straight for the I-60, we turn northwest, onto the 262 toward Bluff. Along the way we also stop at Four State Corners, the only point in the United States where 4 states intersect at a right angle: Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. A monument with the exact point of the intersection testifies to what, in effect, is evident looking at any geographical map. Entry, managed by Navaho Indians, costs $3 each. From Bluff we head southwest on the 163 and, from Mexican Hat to Kayenta, we retrace backwards about sixty miles of road traveled on our trip 4 years ago. We drive alongside the Valley of the Gods (what wonderful memories!) and the emotions experienced 4 years earlier are so vivid that it feels like we were here just a few days before.

30 miles before Kayenta the spectacle of Monument Valley begins, heralded by that stretch of road which, immortalized in thousands of photos and films, after a very long straight suddenly veers to the right to go around the monumental Mesas that frame Monument Valley. We reach the park entrance, pay $10 and stop at the visitor's center overlook, from which you enjoy the magnificent and classic view of the park. Beautiful. This time we don't drive the 17 miles of dirt road that goes deep into the valley. Just enjoying this view is enough for us. So many Italians! In fact this is one of the most popular destinations of the Grand Circle, the classic tour of the most famous national parks of the west, the one we had done in 2004 too.

In the late afternoon we set off toward Chinle, at the gates of Canyon de Chelly, on the 160 to Mexican Water and then south on the 191, leaving behind the roads most traveled by tourists. Among other things, unexpectedly, the stretch of the 191 between Mexican Water and Chinle passes through landscapes of wild beauty. Incredible Mesas in the colors of red, green and light brown earth create fascinating images. We're in the middle of an Indian reservation, the largest in the USA, and Chinle too is a (rather ugly) little town inside the reservation and, therefore, inhabited only by Navaho Indians. We arrive at the BW Canyon de Chelly Inn in Chinle just in time to have dinner at the Junction Restaurant, one of the few in town, excluding fast food joints. Here alcohol is forbidden, we have to settle for a couple of non-alcoholic beers…

Chinle – Winslow. Miles traveled: 210

Today is the last full day on the road. Early in the morning we visit Canyon De Chelly. Truly unexpected, very spectacular. We drive ($free entry) along the South Rim enjoying spectacular views of this deep gorge with fiery walls and a very green bottom. From the south rim, among other things, it's possible to do the only trail without necessarily relying on the Navaho with their guided tours. The White House Trail (about 3 miles for 1 hour and a half in total), very evocative, lets you descend to the bottom of the canyon by walking a steep path carved into the wall about 200 meters deep. You reach the ruins of a small cluster of little houses similar to those of Mesa Verde National Park, the White House, indeed. We set off again for Petrified Forest National Park, which also includes the Painted Desert.

Needless to say, both parks, drivable by car ($10 entry), offer evocative views, in addition to the interesting story of these petrified logs dating back 200 million years. Among the various trails we walk, we point out the Blue Mesa Trail, which lets you cross a site particularly rich in petrified logs in an environment that vaguely recalls the dreamlike one of Death Valley. In the afternoon we stop in Winslow. We haven't booked any hotel, but we had read that this little town, built between Route 66 and the Santa Fe Railway (both connecting the east coast to the west coast), is home to the "La Posada" hotel, listed among the national historic sites of the USA.

Indeed, what was originally built in the 1930s as a hotel to accommodate railway travelers, and which quickly fell into ruin because of the Great Depression, is today a beautiful hotel full of historical memorabilia that is even visited by those who don't stay overnight. The biggest surprise is that sleeping in one of the unique rooms of this hotel (certainly full of a charm very different from the all-identical rooms of motels) costs just over $100 (70 euros!), in short a price I'd dare say more than fair. In Italy a place like this would cost much more. It's a pleasure to stroll through the halls of this building designed by architect Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, halfway between a Mexican "Hacienda" and a Montana farm. We dine placidly at the hotel restaurant which, although it has pretensions of being luxurious, costs us no more than 30 euros each.

Winslow – Las Vegas. Miles traveled: 310

On the long road to Las Vegas we stop to visit Meteor Crater, a crater formed by the impact of an asteroid 50,000 years ago. If it weren't for the extremely and strangely expensive entry ticket ($15 each!), the site is certainly interesting both for the place itself and for the interactive museum you can visit. We set off again toward Las Vegas and along the way we stop in Flagstaff, Williams, Kingman. We reach the Nevada border, that is, the Hoover Dam, around 4.00 pm. It's 40 degrees. After the ritual stop to note that compared to 4 years earlier the level of Lake Mead has dropped further, we cross the dam and in just over half an hour we arrive in crazy Las Vegas.

Among other things, this has certainly been the last time we crossed the dam by car because the United States government has allocated funds for the construction of an enormous suspension bridge right in front of the dam, already in an advanced stage of construction. This is to avoid the inevitable delays due to slow traffic. And, certainly, for security reasons. The Hoover Dam is a sensitive target. Las Vegas, as expected, has changed a lot in 4 years. There are new mega Hotels, others, inhumanly large, are under construction right on the Strip. It's 104 degrees (Fahrenheit, naturally), but we don't care and we decide to walk the entire Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip, indeed) to refresh our memory.

We wander among the Luxor, the Excalibur, the Mandalay Bay, the New York New York, the Caesar's Palace, the Monte Carlo, the Bellagio, the Venetian, the Treasure Island, the brand-new "The Wynn." And then we go into the thousand useless, but fascinating shops of the Strip. We don't know why, but Las Vegas, home of the most unbridled consumerism, kitsch city, chaotic, hot and very similar to an amusement park, stirs in us an irrational fascination.

We're staying at the MGM Grand, the first and largest (I believe for a little while longer) of the city's mega resorts, with its 7000 rooms. The immensity of the hotel is disorienting: there are three 3000-seat theaters whose shows sell out twice a day, thousands of square meters of casino, dozens of restaurants, hundreds of shops, 5 pools set in a park of I don't know how many hectares. The air conditioning is impressively cold and we are, as we already expected, forced to walk around in a sweatshirt.

In the casino area you can smoke, right in the homeland that has made the fight against smoking a mission… but you know, if it means keeping the slot machines spinning at full tilt… among other things we find $20 on the ground, which we lose right away… A night in Las Vegas can be very expensive, if you choose to sleep in one of the many super-suites of the best hotels and if you decide to dine in one of the restaurants famous throughout the world. From this point of view there may be no maximum budget, you can end up spending tens of thousands of euros. But Las Vegas can also be very cheap, while still staying in a grand hotel and in a room on average larger and nicer than any other room of the same level anywhere else in the world.

For example, we, at the MGM Grand, for a superior room spend less than $130 a night (less than 90 euros) and for dinner at the "all you can eat" at the Luxor, we don't reach 20 euros each. And you can also spend less by staying, for example, at the Luxor or the Excalibur, which are also hotels in full Las Vegas style and decidedly luxurious. A tip? Want to take a nice photo that captures the spirit of this city in a single shot? Get on the elevated pedestrian walkway that crosses the Strip and connects the MGM Grand (next to the Lion statue) to the New York New York. Positioning yourself on the MGM Grand side, you'll capture in one shot the Excalibur, the Mandalay Bay, the Luxor and the New York New York with the Statue of Liberty. A beautiful effect at dusk.

After dinner and after booking two tickets for the next evening for Cirque du Soleil (there are 5 different shows in the city at the same time, we chose the one held at the Ka Theatre of the MGM Grand), we hole up in our room. To reach it from the main lobby it takes about a quarter of an hour.

Las Vegas

The day, which is also the last of our trip, is devoted to pre-flight relaxation. We spend the whole morning at the pool sunbathing and swimming in a sort of artificial river whose current forces everyone to be carried along in a 300-meter loop. In the afternoon we lose another twenty dollars at the diabolical machines, do a bit of shopping in the various hotels and have an early dinner at the Rainforest Restaurant of the MGM Grand. At 9.15 pm we present ourselves at the entrance of the Ka Theatre where we watch the incredible Cirque du Soleil show. The special effects, the stage machinery, the spectacularity of the setting justify the $160 spent for two tickets (the cheapest and moreover discounted because we're guests of the MGM Grand…).

Las Vegas – New York – London - Milan

Today the Olympics begin in Beijing, we'll spend the day between planes and airports. The flight to JFK is at 7.30 am. We arrive in NY at 3.30 pm. At 6.00 pm we have the flight to London where we arrive on time at 7.00 am on August 9. Shortly after, the Alitalia flight to Milan Linate takes us home.