We celebrated Christmas in Las Vegas this year and it was glorious. One whole week together, relaxing and enjoying the opulence that is Vegas. I took a bunch of pictures on our trip, as usual, but this was far from an action packed vacation. We did a lot of walking, spa-ing, napping, and shopping – fun for us but not exciting enough to include in my recap. So I’m going to change it up a little bit and bring you just the highlights of our Vegas trip in three separate posts this week – The Sights, The Attractions, and The Food.
I could go to Vegas just for the sights – the Strip, the people watching, all the different hotels and casinos. It is always fun and never gets boring. We’ve been to Vegas four times now with a return trip planned for sometime in 2014-2015. We just love it there!
The Strip during the day is fun, much more tame of course, and full of families, believe it or not. Late December weather in Vegas is 60’s and sunny skies so walking The Strip was just perfect.
But let’s not forget The Strip at night…
The lights, the music, the fountains, the people – it’s flashy and crazy, everything you’d expect from Vegas.
Let’s talk about the hotels. John and I always make a point to walk through as many of the hotels as we can when we go to Vegas. Not that they change that much but the differences between them all are just so cool to see – some are super lux, some really hokey and chintzy, some gaudy, some modern, and some old school. It’s what makes Vegas Vegas; a little bit of everything. Also, the holiday decorations up for Christmas are always bonkers so we wanted to check those out too.
Up first, The Venetian. This is where we stayed for the week and it was fabulous. It was definitely the nicest place we’ve ever stayed in Vegas. I would come back here again in a heartbeat.
The Venetian has the Grand Canal Shoppes inside – complete with an actual canal going through the mall on which you can take a real gondola ride!
The Luxor isn’t one of the most extravagant hotels in Vegas but I have a soft spot for it since we stayed here in 2008.
New York, New York is super fun to look at from the outside with the Statue of Liberty and the roller coasters. NY NY is such a prominent part of The Strip and I love seeing it every time we go.
Caesar’s Palace is awesomely fun and has a ton of great things to see inside including the many fountains and the Atlantis Aquarium.
Last but not least, The Wynn never disappoints in the opulence department.
Two of my favorite decorations there this year were the all-flower, full size, working carousel and the gingerbread replica of the Wynn and all of its luxury shops.
Another one of my favorite sights in Vegas are all of the malls and shops inside the hotels. We had a ton of fun at the Fashion Show Mall, the Mall in the Cosmopolitan with Liberace’s car on display, and City Center.
My all time favorite mall is The Forum Shops in Caesar’s though, it has all the best stores and is gorgeous inside.
And finally, the sights off The Strip. We rented a car one day during our vacation (I’ll talk more about that in tomorrow’s post) and drove through Old Las Vegas. I love the look and feel of Old Vegas, it harkens back to a simpler, yet seedier, time. The people watching is even more ridiculous, the food is awful, the casinos are pretty gross, and everything happening there seems pretty dubious. That said, it’s exactly what it should be.
Last but not least, the surrounding mountains. From any angle in Vegas, you can’t miss them. It’s a constant reminder that Vegas really is a secluded utopia in the middle of the desert (probably another origin of the phrase ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ – it kind of has to, you’re in the middle of nowhere).
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog on The Attractions of Las Vegas!
