Las Vegas, NV
OK, I'm finally caught up on blogging our travels since marriage. We just recently got back from our trip to Vegas. We LOVED it and went with great friends from college. They flew in Thursday night and we came in Friday afternoon. We stayed at the Mirage which was very nice. I think it was perfect for our first trip to Vegas. We got a great deal and it was perfectly located. We spent most of our time walking around and admiring the different casinos. They are all so different and full of details. We really liked the Bellagio, Venetian/Palazzo, and Caesar's Palace. The Cosmopolitan was also really nice, and our friendly cab driver on the way back to the airport suggested we stay there next time.
Like any good vacation, I feel like all we did was WALK and EAT. However I think we could have walked all day everyday and still not burned enough calories to cover what we ate/drank. Some of the restaurants we enjoyed:
- BLT Burger in the Mirage. It was just what we needed when we arrived in Vegas. How can you go wrong with a beer and a burger (or a buffalo chicken sandwich in my case)?
- We had a hard time choosing where on the strip to go for our 1st night's dinner. We decided on Todd English's P.U.B. It was a really fun atmosphere with great food. Andrew and I tried their carving menu and were really impressed. 3 things: turkey. warm pita. black truffle mayo. Andrew had beef brisket and our friends had the lobster rolls which they said were delicious.
- We had heard good things about the Bellagio Brunch Buffet. I'm not a huge buffet fan, but it did not disappoint. It was worth the $25 and we should have done the unlimited champagne for $5 more. It was not your typical buffet. Everything was very fresh and there were lots of healthy options.
- After the buffet, we did not see the need to eat again until dinnertime. Our wonderful friends had done some research (not to self...travel with a laptop from now on...cell service in Vegas sucks.) We decided to go off the strip for dinner. We went to this tapas place called Firefly. I would recommend it to anyone. What we payed in cab fare to get there, we definitely saved in dining away from the center of the strip. They do not take reservations so we called ahead and the told us to be there by 6. Well, we didn't make it until like 6:30. There was a 45 minute wait, but what's a wait when you're with your best friend and they have homemade (3 day marinated) sangria?? Once we got seated, we ordered a pitcher of mojitos and ordered tapas dishes 4 at a time. We ate 11 different dishes, which is why I love tapas. A few bites of many different things. Our favorites were: tuna tartare (delicious and melted in your mouth), roasted eggplant cannelloni (stuffed with goat cheese, be still my heart), patatas bravas, and chocolate cherry bread pudding. Fun atmosphere, great food, great company. A+
- The next morning before our friends left, we walked to the IP for breakfast at Hash House a Go Go. They call their cuisine "twisted farm food" which describes it perfectly. It was another fun meal, very hearty food. My only complaint was the ridiculous portions. Each meal was easily enough for 2-3 people. Next time I'm going to be brave and try the chicken and waffles.
- Our last night, we had dinner in the Mirage at B.B. King's Blues Club. Good BBQ, great live music.
- We tried the Mirage breakfast buffet before heading to the airport. I think it would have been good IF we hadn't already eaten at the Bellagio's buffet.
- On the plane ride to Vegas, URBAN MEYER sat two rows in front of us. I got my picture taken with them and talked to him for a second. He was just like you'd expect nice and laid back.
- We had a very angry cab driver on the way to the Mirage. I asked him how long he'd been a cab driver and he proceeded to scream at us for the 20 minute ride about politics and "stupid, moron criminals" then he charged us $25. The ride from the hotel back to the airport was a very nice cab driver who told us jokes and helpful information for our next trip. He only charged $13!!!
- The first night we saw the Cirque du Soleil "O" show at the Bellagio. It was amazing! Personally, I was most impressed with the set design and the actual acrobatics. The whole story line just confused me. Once again, I don't think I'm artsy enough to understand.The cast was incredibly talented and I really appreciated the live music.
- We walked down to New York, New York to their piano bar. It was kind of crowded and they were playing a lot of older music, but it was an open air bar (you could hear everything perfectly outside or the bar) so instead of paying cover we grabbed drinks at the bar across the "street" and listened for a while. Wouldn't do it again. We didn't enjoy that end of the strip as much.
- Like I said, we spent most of our days just walking through the magnificent casinos. We didn't do too much gambling, just a little bit of the slot machines for kicks. We really liked the Price is Right and Deal or No Deal games. Mainly because they were fun, not because we made a lot of money. This is why I'm a bad gambler.
- Our last day, we went back to a few casinos so Andrew could get some photos he wanted to take. We also took a cab down to the Luxor. We got a pass to do Bodies and Titanic (at the Luxor) and The Secret Garden & Wildlife Habitat at the Mirage.
- Bodies was really interesting. The exhibit is full of REAL bodies that have been preserved. Each part of the exhibit features a different part of the human body. Everything in the exhibits (except for the eyes) is completely real. It was so neat to see how complex our bodies really are. It strengthened my faith in our Creator. How incredible our bodies really are! The part of the exhibit that stuck with me the most was the fetal room. They had actual babies who had died in-utero at all different stages of development. At first it made me incredibly sad, but then I tried to see past the emotion and into the beauty of how a child develops in the womb.
- We weren't really sure how we were going to like the Titanic exhibit, but it turned out to be really cool. They did a great job making the whole experience personal. Before we went into the exhibit we received cards with a passenger's name and information about them (age, class, hometown, occupation, where they were going in America and why, and who they were traveling with). Throughout the exhibit there was information about and artifacts from different passengers. Having the card helped you realize this wasn't some fictionally glorified event, it was real life for these people. My card ended up being the last survivor from the Titanic. She passed away only a few years ago and the entire exhibit was dedicated to her.
- Then we went to the Secret Garden at the Mirage. It was well done. We happened to be there when the dolphin trainers came out and did some tricks with the dolphins. There is also an underwater observing area. The lions and tigers were also very cool. But BE CAREFUL! We saw a lion spray unsuspecting observers more than once. We talked to an employee walking around about the tiger that bit Roy a few years ago. She had some very interesting theories, including the tiger saved his life by biting him exactly where he had an aneurysm on stage and allowing the blood to release. We did not hangout for too long, but overall enjoyed the exhibits. It would be a great thing to do with kids in Vegas.
- Our last Vegas adventure was the Improv Comedy Club at Harrah's. Harrah's itself was not impressive compared to all of the other grandeur of Vegas. The room the comedy was in was as you'd expect... a dark room with a small stage. You sit at tables with strangers and order overpriced drinks. The comedians were really funny though. We saw Dana Eagle, Mike Burton, and Gary Valentine.
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