9. Las Vegas, Nevada

Dates: December 21-24 and 29-31

After lots of time spent looking up various places to spend our winter holidays, we decided on a mixed trip of Las Vegas, Nevada and Honolulu, Hawaii (see next post!). We flew out on Sunday, December 21 using Allegiant Air. We stayed for 3 nights at the Flamingo, then flew to Honolulu for 5 nights, then back to Vegas at the Riviera for 2 nights. Even though many people had tried to describe Vegas to me, it took seeing it and experiencing it firsthand to understand. Everything was huge, and as soon as we got to our hotel, I could see why Will had been so adamant about staying in a certain section of the strip. The Flamingo was a neat, older Vegas hotel to stay in- I loved all of the pink everywhere! I will admit, my initial reactions were not all that positive- the over-stimulation of lights, people, smoke, and sounds was too much. We ventured out on the strip that first night, exploring casinos and hotels and the street. I spent a lot of time wondering why so many women torture themselves with the highest of heels! That said, the people watching was great! 

On our second day, we hit the ticket booth and CVS for discounted tickets for Zumanity and Absinthe. We also walked to the end of the strip one way, exploring all the hotels out to the Luxor. We were given $50 each in gambling coupons for a casino, which disappeared within 20 minutes (the absolute extent of our Vegas gambling experience!). We then ventured to the Yard House, where they had 160 beers on tap (aka Will’s paradise). We had fun trying different ones before heading to the Sugar Factory for a delicious dinner (lamb for me, salmon for Will). We then went to New York, New York for Zumanity. It was very different than any Cirque show I had seen or heard of before, but it seemed to be a perfect fit for Vegas (acrobatics mixed with burlesque). They put on a great show that was quite funny. 

The next day, we walked all the way through downtown to Freemont Street to check out the old casinos. It was kind of cool to see the “old vegas” along the way, complete with many chapels! After walking back, we hit the Cravings buffet at the Mirage, which was really yummy (but oh-so-filling)! After some downtime in the late afternoon, we went out to see Absinthe, which was a really incredible show. This would be our top recommendation to anyone visiting Vegas. There was a lot of amazing acrobatics mixed with comedy. The trust one must put into someone else in order to do some of the things we saw is really something else! We finished the night off with a trip through the Bellagio, where we wondered at their beautiful Christmas decorations and displays, and ended with their awesome fountain show set to Christmas music! 

Will just had to try a deep fried oreo!

The next morning we headed off to Honolulu, but returned to Vegas on December 29. We got into Vegas at 6:45pm, and after a long time taking the shuttle and checking in, we went to the Comedy Club at the Riviera, which was pretty funny. We had dinner from Wicked Vicky’s Tavern afterwards, then enjoyed more of the street sights and sounds. The rooms at the Riviera were not great, but luckily, we weren’t there very much. In the morning, we walked up to the Aria to meet up with Corissa and Grady. We had found out that we were all going to be in Vegas at the same time a few weeks earlier and had made a plan to meet up. We got tickets for Jersey Boys that night, then wandered through the Venetian, settling then at B & B Burgers and Beer for a delicious lunch. We had a great time hanging out with them in the afternoon, then ventured off for dinner and drinks. I had been told by many people that the food in Vegas was expensive, so I had found some groupon’s before going. Although they did get us some great meals, they made us feel held to certain places and choices, so I wouldn’t do that again unless there was one for something I knew I definitely want. Our dinner at Serendipity 3 was a perfect final Vegas meal though, with yummy salads and pizza and then a yummy frozen hot chocolate for us to share. As was expected by this point in the trip, we were absolutely stuffed afterwards! We had a couple last drinks at the Yard House before heading over to see Jersey Boys. Although it had not been one on our radar beforehand, it was a great show with awesome acting and singing. Afterwards, the four of us went to a couple piano bar shows- the first was at Napoleon’s with Billy and Tall Tom, which was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t believe the talent these guys had- their ability to play/sing anything and continue playing while entertaining the crowd and holding conversations. Corissa and Grady had seen Billy at New York, New York’s dueling piano show and they said that one was even better. The only problem with this one was that it ended at 1am, so we headed to Harrah’s for another show. The girls playing at this show were not nearly as good and did not play or sing very much, but the entertainment provided by the drunk crowd made it a worthy stop! After goodbyes with Corissa and Grady at 2am, we headed back to our hotel. In the morning, we headed back to the airport, escaping the “crazy” we saw the strip being prepared for – New Year’s Eve. We are very glad to have escaped that, especially after feeling how chilly it was going to be and hearing about all of the flight delays because of the snow they had. 

Mmm frozen hot chocolate for two from Serendipity 3!

We did really enjoy everything we did in Vegas and with some breaks from the strip, we were able to manage the change in pace. However, for the whole time walking around Vegas, I kept looking out longingly at the beautiful mountains surrounding the city. If we come back in the future, we will definitely venture out there and explore!

The Burgess Duo