{"id":681,"date":"2015-09-14T18:33:01","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T18:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/?p=681"},"modified":"2015-09-14T19:03:10","modified_gmt":"2015-09-14T19:03:10","slug":"christmas-in-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/2015\/09\/14\/christmas-in-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas in Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have a couple of timeshares and last year we had a week that we had to use or we would lose it, so we decided to avoid the normal family drama of the holidays and go to Vegas.\u00a0 We had never really considered going to Las Vegas over the holidays, so we weren’t sure of what to expect.\u00a0 We had a full seven nights, which is really too many nights for Vegas, but we were staying at the Trump Tower, which doesn’t have a casino, so at least we had a place to go to get away from the noise.\u00a0 Our youngest daughter was joining us for three nights in the middle of our stay, so we had two nights before she joined us and two nights after she left.\u00a0 We would definitely need the nights towards the end to try and recover from spending three nights with a twenty-five year old, way to much eating and drinking for the two of us who had both turned fifty that year.<\/p>\n

\"Holiday<\/a>
Holiday Carousel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Christmas<\/a>
Christmas Tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First thing about Christmas in Las Vegas is that the casinos don’t really do much to celebrate Christmas, so the strip is just like the strip at any other time of the year.\u00a0 New Year’s Eve was definitely their focus and there were bill boards and advertisements for all of the special concerts and parties that were coming to town.\u00a0 There were a few hotels that did some displays, such as the Bellagio, the Venetian, and Caesar’s Palace.\u00a0 Other than that, it was business as usual for the casinos.<\/p>\n

\"Decorations<\/a>
Decorations at the Bellagio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Penguins<\/a>
Penguins at the Bellagio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We’ve been to Vegas several times, so we were pleased that there were far fewer crowds in town for the week, which was nice.\u00a0 Most of the people that were there seemed to travel from overseas and were likely going to be there for a couple of weeks.\u00a0 The days of the cheap buffets and steak dinners are definitely a thing of the past and now Las Vegas and the strip is home to restaurants touting celebrity chef names in every corner of the casinos.\u00a0 Dinner on the strip can cost you more than an evening of gambling, but the food is definitely excellent.<\/p>\n

\"Pete<\/a>
Pete and Dona at a Restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mexican<\/a>
Mexican Appetizer inside Caesar’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We always take in a show when we’re in Vegas and have done several of the Cirque Du Soleil shows, but we decided to go and see Penn and Teller.\u00a0 We wanted our daughter to see their show, which is a lot\u00a0of fun,\u00a0and the two of them take time after the show to talk and take\u00a0pictures with\u00a0everyone from the audience.\u00a0 Afterwards, by attending their show, you’re able to get into the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio, which is the nightclub that they own and is on the roof of the Rio.\u00a0 You get some amazing views of the strip as well as some tasty cocktails.<\/p>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona and Our Daughter with Teller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pete<\/a>
Pete and Our Daughter at the Voodoo Lounge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We actually flew home the day after Christmas, exhausted, but Christmas Day was probably the strangest day of the trip.\u00a0 Apparently there are extremely cheap flights from California to Las Vegas if you’re willing to fly\u00a0on Christmas Day, and\u00a0people were apparently very willing.\u00a0\u00a0Lines to check into hotels were a mile long and if you wanted to get a bite to eat at one of the restaurants, you had better be willing to wait.\u00a0 It was a sudden, and unwelcome, change to what had been a somewhat quiet week, at least in terms of Vegas.\u00a0\u00a0It is unlikely that we’ll ever do Christmas at Las Vegas again, but in the\u00a0end we had a lot of fun and\u00a0made some interesting memories.<\/p>\n

\"Pete<\/a>
Pete and Dona in Gondola<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pete<\/a>
Pete with Holiday Decorations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\n
\nName(required)<\/span><\/label>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n
\nEmail(required)<\/span><\/label>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n
\nWebsite<\/label>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n
\nComment(required)<\/span><\/label>\n<\/textarea>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t