Vegas Attractions

There's something for everyone in Vegas! Whether you're a nature lover or prefer the night club scene, you can always find an attraction that interests you. Two of our favorite attractions were the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage Hotel created by the famous magicians Siegfried and Roy. It's the home for their famous tigers (photo on left), lions and leopards. The Dolphin Habitat, surrounded by palm trees and colorful tropical plants, is a research facility designed by them to educate people about these fascinating creatures. You never know what to expect from the dolphins as you leisurely walk through the pool area and watch them play and interact with their trainers.

For night owls there's nothing more visually stimulating than the Fremont Street Experience which is a world famous entertainment light show held every evening in the old downtown section of Vegas, where some of the original casinos like Binion's and the Golden Nugget are located. It's the biggest screen in the world with more than 12 million lights providing spectacular overhead moving images choreographed to blaring music. A different visual and song are shown on the hour every evening beginning at 7 pm. We saw very moving concert footage and photos of the British Rock Group QUEEN and their legendary deceased leader Freddie Mercury flashing across the screen to QUEEN's "We Will Rock You" & "We are the Champions". We had so much fun dancing in the street and singing along with strangers who were also rocking to the beat. Best of all, it's free! For more info on free upcoming events in the Fremont area, check out their website at http://www.vegasexperience.com/

Dining in Vegas

The days of cheap, mile long buffets serving crab legs, roast beef and tables of desserts are long gone in Vegas. With the influx of foreign tourists, Las Vegas has become one of the top travel destinations world wide so the hotels no longer have to serve discounted meals. The last time I was here was 2 years ago and it seems like meal prices have more than doubled since 2006. While there's a wealth of fine restaurants in Vegas, you'd better bring a fat wallet because it's going to cost you anywhere from $40 to $80 a day to eat here, unless you want nothing but fast food.

Some of our favorite restaurants in Vegas are Canaletto in the Grand Canal Shop area of the Venetian hotel for dinner. It's Italian dining at it's best, with dinners in the $15 to $30 range. Linda dined on sauteed swordfish served in lemon caper beurre blanc sauce with assorted vegetables and I had the spinach/mushroom ravioli. Both were excellent and left no room for dessert. For lunch, try the BLT Burger Restaurant in the Mirage Hotel. I tried the Caesar salad while Linda lunched on a 5 ingredient, spicy Asian salad. The prices are reasonable and the portions so huge, that we could have easily shared one. After the Cher show on Tuesday even, we dined at Wolfgang Puck's Spago at Caesar's Palace. The menu offers several interesting options for late night diners including Tuscan White Bean Soup, Mushroom Tortellin and pizzas. The server was friendly and attentive, the food excellent, but it's a bit on the pricey side.

CHER

We went to Vegas to see Cher. After arriving on Sunday we found out she'd been very ill and had missed 4 days of shows, so we wondered if she'd be a no show again on Tuesday night. We arrived early at Caesar's Palace and the crowd was abuzz with rumors and concern if she was better and would appear. When the 7:30 pm start time of the show passed, we all sat there nervously awaiting her cue music. 15 minutes later, Cher made one of her grand entrances floating down to the stage from an overhead silver swing. She gave a fabulous show, sounding hoarse on just a few numbers. She sang many of my favorites including "If I Could Turn Back Time" and ending the show with the crowd on it's feet for "Believe". It just wasn't a typical Cher concert, but a full-blown Las Vegas type show including numerous dancers and aerial acrobatic performers providing a great variety show, but for diehard Cher fans like me I would've loved to see her perform more numbers.

Saluting our Troops

On Monday morning, we were strolling through the Venetian hotel and were surprised when we got to the main lobby. Both sides of the main hall were lined with employeees offering thanks and recognition to some U.S. troops staying there. It was so heartwarming to see the employees cheering on the troops and the joy on their faces as they strode down the foyer, shaking hands and greeting the employees. Fitting recognition for deserving heros!