Running in Las Vegas

Last weekend the husband and I were in Las Vegas for my cousin’s wedding.  We were there for five days and it was quite the trip!  We got a phenomenal deal to stay at the Bellagio and I may or may not have tried the $20 trick upon check in.  This was the view from our room:The hotel is gorgeous and the room was really nice.  The best part of staying at the Bellagio was being able to watch the fountain shows from our room.  We never ate at our hotel at all – instead opting for more casual meals at the Paris or the Forum Shops and fancier meals at other restaurants on the strip.  Probably our most amazing dinner was at Tom Collichio’s craftsteak.I admit it, we are huge Top Chef fans and the head judge’s restaurant did not disappoint.  We also went to Firefly on Paradise (delicious tapas and pitchers of sangria), Scott Conant’s Scarpetta in the Cosmopolitan Hotel (delicious, highly recommend), and Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in the Venetian (also very nice).

We drank delicious cocktails – I highly recommend the Fusion Latin Mixology Bar in the Palazzo and our favourite, the second floor of the Chandelier Bar in the Cosmopolitan.  There are three levels to the Chandelier, each very different.  The second level is where the bartenders get super creative.  Tell them your favourite liquors, if you like sweet, sour, savoury and they will mix a unique drink for you.We also took in a few shows (Cirque du Soleil’s O and Mystere – call and ask for Canadian resident discounts), we walked the strip and we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.We even spotted Elvis as he was officiating my cousin’s wedding.We checked out the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.And we ventured outside of Vegas by spending the afternoon exploring Red Rock Canyon (only 20 minutes west from Las Vegas).I also took advantage of the fact that running shoes are so much cheaper in the US than in Canada ($140 versus $200…yikes!) and picked up a new pair of Asics Kayano 17s.Then I put them to test while running the strip one morning!  I went out around 8 am when much of the strip was still shady, so even though it was hot out it was still relatively comfortable.  Outside the Monte Carlo.Over the Brooklyn Bridge at New York New York.On my way to the Excalibur.As I ran past the Planet Hollywood I realized I needed water.  I had hoped to find a bathroom and water fountain near the entrance of the shops but no dice.  Instead I ducked into the casino and drank out of a tap.  Blech, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do!  Then as I ran past the Flamingo we got detoured off the sidewalk and into the smoky casino.  That was interesting!  Outside the Venetian.And the Palazzo with the Wynn in the background.At Treasure Island – time to turn around.At Caesar’s Palace.  From the Bellagio down to the Excalibur, then up to the Palazzo, over to Treasure Island and back to the Bellagio was about 4.1 miles.  It was nice and quiet out there with tons of runners.  This was my first trip to Vegas where I’ve actually been up early enough (and motivated enough) to go out for a run.

Back from Vegas!

The weekend in Vegas was a blast. Our flight was late getting in on Friday night so by the time we headed over to the MGM Grand the best room we were able to get was on the 3rd floor looking at the side of a building. We dropped our bags and headed over to a terrific tapas restaurant just off the strip, Firefly on Paradise. This place had fabulous tapas and really good sangria and mojitos by the pitcher. It was probably the best food we had all weekend, so definitely worth the cab ride there. When Saturday morning came around we were able to switch to a new room on the 23rd floor with a view of New York New York - definitely worth the switch! That night we had dinner at Seablue at MGM, then went on to see KA. Seablue had a wine list that read like a book, complete with table of contents and all. KA was an absolutely amazing show - a little different from most Cirque du Soleil shows - but very well done. We spent part of Sunday checking out the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton (because yes, I am a closet Star Trek Next Generation fan), hanging out at Quark's Bar, and seeing a few of the hotels on the strip. Dinner was at the French steakhouse Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris. After having Monday morning to toodle around town a bit it was time to head home. All in all a great trip...good food, good drinks, good times and actually no gambling....and in case you didn't read between the lines I did not run the strip while I was there. Oh well... Truthfully this bronchial thing is rearing its ugly head again and hanging out around the smoky casinos didn't do too much to help. Fingers crossed it actually clears up sometime soon...

Getting out of dodge

Let's just say that I'm very happy I'm flying out to Las Vegas tonight where it looks like it is infinitely warmer than it is here. I haven't done anything since Tuesday....but I have my running shoes packed because a part of me really wants to say I've run up and down the Vegas strip. Have a good weekend all!