Las Vegas 2009

As I mentioned in my last post, we went to Vegas for a few days.  Sorry for the delay but finally, here's the play by play:

Sunday - We arrived in Vegas at around 9:30am and checked into our hotel, Mandalay Bay.  We headed to Monte Carlo to check out the new restaurant, The Pub, fka Monte Carlo Brewpub.  They used to brew their own beer but stopped shortly after MGM bought them late in 2006.  We had the Rustico flatbread which had fennel, leeks, fig jam and prosciutto.  Super yummy.  We enjoyed a few brews too;  I had Stone IPA and Stone Arrogant Bastard and Bill had the Alaskan Amber and the Big Butte Porter.  We then walked around and gambled a little and stopped by Sin City Brewing at Planet Hollywood before heading to The Palazzofor a few appetizers at Lagasse's Stadium.  We had the Arancini and the BBQ shrimp and then headed to Ceasar's Palace to see Cher.  Her show was terrific.  It's hard to believe that she's 63.  There were clips of the Sonny & Cher show on the video screen and it reminded me of when I was a kid.  I always watched the Sonny & Chery show and one time I was at my grandparent's house and we were watching it and my grandma said, "Oh, she needs to put some clothes on."  My grandpa and I laughed at that.  Anyway, after the show, we ate a late dinner at Olives in the Bellagio.  We started with the crispy fried eggplant parmesan ravioli and I had the butternut squash tortelli and Bill had the petite shrimp tagliarini.  It was pretty late by then and we were tired, considering we'd been awake for about 20 hours at that point, so we took a cab back to our hotel.

Monday - We ate breakfast at House of Blues.  I love their breakfast burrito.  It's huge and very tasty.  We headed down the strip stopping in a few casinos to gamle and then made our way to Ellis Island Brewery.  Chris Cognac, aka The Hungry Detective, had featured it on his very first episode and I wanted to try one of their brews.  It's a few blocks off the strip and it was a longer walk than we had thought, mainly due to construction behind the Paris hotel but it was worth it.  I had the amber ale and Bill had the stout.  They were both very good.  I played video poker and won $1.  Woohoo, big gambler.  The casino is a little "scary" meaning that it's kind of like the downtown casinos in Vegas; not dangerous or anything like that, just a different type of clientel.  Anyway, we then walked through Planet Hollywood casino and headed back down the strip, stopping at The Pub again.  This time I tried a Dilirium Tremens which was good, although a little sweet.  We then stopped by New York, New York and gambled for a little while before enjoying a brew at Pour 24.  We headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Red Square.  We eat there every time we're in Vegas.  I love their gorgonzola encrusted filet.  In fact, this is the only place I ever order a filet.  I'm not much of a steak eater but their filets are amazing.  We had one of their Red Square martinis and strawberries romanov for dessert.  After dinner, we stopped by House of Blues to listen to music and have one last brew and yes, we were still able to walk back to our room...hee hee hee.   

Tuesday - We ate breakfast at House of Blues again and then sat on the "beach" at Mandalay Baywhile enjoying a "fluffy" drink (aka a strawbery colada and a strawberry daquiri) before heading down the strip to Ceasars to visit the Forum Shoppes.  We ate lunch at Treviwhich is located in Ceasars next to the "fountain of the gods."  We had two appetizers, the polenta fries and the eggplant parmesan.  We made our way back down the strip, stopping to gamble along the way, before making a final visit to The Pub.  This time, I had another Arrogant Bastard which Bill says I like ordering just so I can say, "Arrogant Bastard"...hee hee hee.  We then headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.  We headed to the lobby and guess who we saw?  Kenny G!  We walked by him and then turned to each other and both said, "Hey, that looks like Kenny G."  We were able to confirm that it was indeed him.  He is shorter than I thought he'd be and he looks younger in person.  Anyway, we then took a cab to Fireflywhich is a tapas restaurant on Paradise Road.  We ate outside on the covered patio and since it was a little cooler than usual, the heaters were on so the temperature was perfect.  We shared the stuffed peppers, baked tetilla, albondigas, camarones a la diabla and then I had the tortilla a la espanola and Bill had the calamari.  After dinner, we stopped by Red Square for one last Red Square martini at their bar.   

Wednesday - We ate breakfast at the Mandalay Bay buffet before heading to the airport.  It was extremely windy as it usually is in Vegas and the flight was very bumpy which always makes me nervous.  I keep thinking that there is no way an object as heavy as a plane should be able to fly so when it starts bouncing around, I'm convinced that it's going to fall out of the sky.  The flight attendants were instructed to remain seated for longer than usual which always freaks me out.  They also had to take their seats again about half way through the flight due to terbulance.  Anyway, we did land safely, obviously, and arrived in St. Louis around 4:40pm.  As usual, we had a great time in Vegas and are already looking forward to our next visit.

 

Comments

[zuzuernie.wordpress.com]

Melanie, I just read your blog for an hour and really enjoyed it! Your cards are awesome and I'm not surprised you have made it into magazines! I can't wait to spend more time reading your past blogs!

[Barb]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time in Vegas!!!! You are sooooo lucky to see Cher's show. I have LOVED her since I was younger (that's a long time!!! LOL!!!). I think she is such a good performer and used to love watching the Sonny and Cher Show!!!

P.S. GO PHILLIES!!! Sorry - I couldn't resist!!!

[Las Vegas Hotels]

Hey.great post. what a lovely year (2009) it was for vegas.i visited there 3 times and it was amazing.my kids had a blast!the weather was great.