Sunday, December 9, 2012

vacation part 1::: vegas

last saturday b-rad and i were up early to fly out to vegas. i got some gorgeous pics of the fog/mountains/sun coming up as we were leaving.

we landed in vegas as scheduled around 1 (via atlanta) and took a shuttle to our hotel, new york new york [no we did not plan this, it just worked out that way!].

our room wasn't ready yet so we dropped off our luggage and made another important journey [the most important thing on brad's vegas list].
he'd been talking nonstop of animal style burgers and fries since we booked the flight.

after in and out we went back and checked in. we were pleased with our room, it was smaller than the last room we had in vegas [at the venetian] but the price was great and the rooms were clean and had everything we needed. well, scratch that, i would have loved a fridge, but no dice.

we took the monorail down to the venetian for the expo and packet pick up. [i bought two monorail passes via the RnR website at a discounted rate and they came in handy. i don't mind walking but the strip drives me crazy because you can't just walk. you have to go up and down stairs almost every block].
dinner the first night was okay. we ate at chin chin which was a sushi/chinese type place in our hotel. then we played some blackjack.

on sunday [race day] we got up and ate breakfast at il fornaio [in ny,ny]. it was convenient and really cheap because they were doing a 2 for 1 deal for runners. i had a waffle with strawberries and it was delicious! kind of nice to carb load at breakfast since i never get to. after breakfast we played some craps then went to a sports bar to watch some of the football games. brad stayed there while i went to get ready for the race [full post on that coming later].

after the race i met up with brad and we took the monorail back to the hotel so i could shower and get ready for dinner. we had reservations for julian serrano [in aria].
most of the tapas were great but those meatballs were not. they were apparently made ahead of time and were served after they were reheated, however mine didn't get reheated. yuck. we have an amazing tapas place in asheville though, so i'm pretty partial to it. [if you're ever in asheville you have to try it, it's called curate].
after dinner... yes brad has on a suit and i have on jeans. my only dressy outfits required heels and that was not happening an hour after 13.1 miles.

on day 3 we mostly walked around and looked at the shops.we had a great lunch at max brenner [in the forum shops] and i fell in love. we split a chicken caesar salad and a bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich [and those fries with the sandwich were the best!]. then for dessert we had this chocolate lava cake with ice cream, berries, and a mini shake. the little tin had warm chocolate sauce in it. sooooo good.

 after lunch brad went to play craps and i went to the atrium in the bellagio. it was decorated beautifully for Christmas.

i can't remember what we did or ate on monday night, so obviously nothing too exciting! we went ahead and packed up because tuesday morning we were flying out to NYC. more to come!

7 comments:

  1. It sounds like you guys got to see and do a lot of fun things in Vega. Allan has been a few times but I've had yet to go. He did say the same thing about walking the strip. The dessert looks delicious!

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  2. I never realize how much I LOVE Vegas until I learn someone recently visited -- I'm extremely jealous and will hopefully visit again soon! Also, I've been OBSESSED with NYC (and Paris!) for as long as I can remember -- haven't been to either, so I can't wait to hear about your trip and see photos!!

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  3. I have never gotten to go to Vegas with David and I know that would make me love it more. I had a couple work events which were interesting and I did the full marathon the first year RNR took over...but don't remember seeing christmas stuff it was such a fast trip

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  4. This sounds like the type of vacation I can get use to! My husband and I have been to Vegas twice and had a pretty good time. We stayed at the Mirage the first time and I loved it although it was down at the end of the strip. Was the MGM advertising for the Pacquiao / Marquez fight?

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    1. yes! they were putting up all the signs and the ring and the lion were in the lobby. brad was mad that we were missing it!

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  5. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!

    The Bellagio garden area is one of my favorite things in Vegas.

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