Las Vegas Strip
After a few days in Pahrump, we drove up to Las Vegas. Our first stop was along the strip at the Bellagio where we parked the rental car before walking over to Caesar's Palace for lunch. Our lunch stop was Gordon Ramsay's Pub and Grill and it was, by far, the best meal we had in Vegas. All of the food was well prepared and tasty. But we weren't full yet, so we walked over to Serendipity, where Janie had a massive chocolate cake, which would make its way back to our hotel for nightly snacking while Rebecca enjoyed a milkshake while J. R. drank coffee.
We walked around the strip for awhile and then drove down to our hotel, Mandalay Bay. Check-in was uneventful but we found ourselves in the wrong type of room due to a mix-up when we changed our reservation dates. But the hotel staff was very accommodating and moved us to a much better room overlooking the pool. We explored the hotel for awhile but then had to hop back in the rental car to drive to Treasure Island, where we had booked tickets for Cirque du Soleil. We walked around TI looking for interesting food for dinner but finally decided on a local favorite, RA Sushi. We usually avoid chains we have back home when we travel but we weren't very hungry and sushi was a good choice for light snacking.
The Cirque show, Mystere, was fantastic as always and very funny and made for a perfect ending for our first night in Vegas
Mandalay Bay
The relaxation part of our vacation started the next day as we had no plans except to hang out at the resort. Janie and Rebecca took a tour of the Mandalay aquarium while J. R. took a walk over to Luxor and Excalibur. After that, Rebecca headed to the pool while the parents found a mexican restaurant for some drinks and food before joining Rebecca poolside for the afternoon. Our dinner was at Craftsteak in the MGM Grand, so we headed over early to visit the M&M store for some candy and the Coca-Cola store and Hard Rock. This area of Vegas always seems so seedy to us and is one of the reasons we don't go very often despite loving the shows and restaurants.
Dinner was very good with the steaks being on the larger side and the side dishes being exceptional. We didn't walk away super impressed, mainly because the quality of the steak was similar to what we could get here in Chicago where there are many fine steakhouses. We would probably choose a different cuisine on our next trip to Las Vegas.
After an excursion to Red Rock Canyon the next day, we returned to Mandalay Bay, which was not in our original plan. (We had booked a hotel near Red Rock but decided to cancel it and extend our stay at Mandalay for more pool time and a chance to relax). J. R. and Rebecca spent some time at the pool while Janie relaxed in the room then we found a burger bar for dinner. It was not very good despite having acclaimed chef Hubert Keller's name attached to it. We'd had better at Smashburger or Five Guys. The adults ended with a drink at the bar while Rebecca watched TV in the room and finished off the chocolate cake. Janie won a little bit of money at the casino and then it was time to pack up for the flight home the next day.
