Exploring Las Vegas

Our trip to Las Vegas began focused on running the ½ marathon. Once that was over we were able to take in the sights of this ever changing city.  I hadn’t been there in many years and it was the first time for everyone else, so ultimately it was like experiencing  a new place.  I imagine it is like that for most people unless they go there every year.  We spent the day after the race walking to all the casinos and hotels and soaking up all the sights on the strip.  We were lucky enough to see them lit up even more than they normally are,  due to Christmas displays everywhere. 

The amount of good restaurants Las Vegas has to offer it was difficult to choose where to have dinner.   We settled on Fiamma at MGM Grand one night and the buffet at the Wynn on the other.  Our post race dinner ended up as a combination of McDonalds and Subway so we really wanted to enjoy a couple relaxing dinners out the other nights.   I think our choices ended up perfect.  Fiamma is an Italian restaurant reasonably priced yet a nice menu and long wine list.  We took our time through dinner to enjoy both the food and atmosphere.  Since Vegas is known for their buffets we felt it should be a must do eating event.  Since we missed lunch the one day we managed to spend a late afternoon and early evening at the Wynn buffet.  Having lunch and dinner at the same sitting was a treat as well as a challenge.   Because it was post race (2 days later) we felt it was ok to eat more food.  :-) We spent over 2 hours of slow and well planned eating.   They offered crab legs, turkey, sushi, curry, mashed potatoes, burgers, pizza, salad, and so much more. The dessert bar was beautiful which was like an array of petit four like creations. 

Since we spent so much time exploring the strip we took the time on our last night to walk around downtown Las Vegas.  What is a trip if you don’t go to see some of the older casinos that are still standing.  Although there are some new additions such as the roof and zip lining down the middle of the street you can still feel the essence of old Las Vegas.  It is a must do especially if you recall any of the old movies featuring this part of town.  I thought it was a perfect end to the trip. - P