Las Vegas

Tim and I got to spend the last week in Vegas (while he was attending the American Dental Association Conference), kid free might I add.  It was my first time to Vegas and we had an amazing time. We arrived in Vegas on Sunday and spent the whole afternoon walking up and down the strip. (I really didn't expect it to take as long as it did, everything looks so close because everything is SO big.)  The week flew by and I enjoyed days of sleeping in and lots and lots of shopping. I don't think I have ever seen that many stores in three miles before. Incredible! I turned 26. We saw two amazing shows and probably walked twenty miles.   

Some matters of amazement:

1. Cirque du Soleil's show: MYSTERE. Two guys balancing and doing handstands all on top of each other may not sounds all that fascinating (unless of course you are, um... never mind) but the Mystere Show may have been the highlight of the trip. Complete artistic renovation of circus celebration.    

2. The Fountains at the BELLAGIO. One of the perks of staying in Vegas is we got to check out all of the free, fun shows that the hotels offer in an attempt to get you to play at their tables. The Bellagio Fountain show was the best. We enjoyed it so much it convinced us to go eat at their buffet (we thought we needed to eat at a buffet to get the complete Vegas experience). 

3.  M&M World and The Coke Factory. Who knew that Coke made a line of slippers? We do now and they're about as amazing as the coke boxers or the coke stained glass windows. Pretty much any household items come in a coke version. But to top that... four stories of candy coated yumminess. Complete with personalized m&m's, m&m crayons, and much, much more. 

4. Hotels: Our top three favorites were...

- Venetian: Of all the Las Vegas Hotels, Venetian was our favorite. The ceiling was painted with blue sky and white puffy clouds and you felt like you were walking through some little italian villa. Every corner had a gelato stand and was completed by the gondola ride. Definitely a must see.  

- New York, New York: The hotel that was most fun was New York New York. Complete with new york style pizza , sky scrapers, and a roller coaster that makes me feel like I should be at Disneyland. 

- Bellagio: But we already talked about him so we'll add another...

- Ceasar's Palace: It is by far, the biggest hotel on the Strip. When you walk past it, you don't realize the complexity located inside. Eventually you are no longer able to keep track of the number of greek goddess statues that tourists huddle around for pictures. 

The circular escalator in Ceasar's Palace. 

"Paris"

One of the only pictures we have of both of us together. I forgot the real camera so all of the pictures we have are from our phones... Lame, I know.

"Paris" 

5. Pizza at Crystals. Perhaps the best pizza I have eaten. It was so Delicious. We found this little pizza joint on Yelp and I think that is the only place it is advertised. It was difficult to find and didn't have a sign out front but delicious!

 6. "The Lion King." It gave me the chills. You know the part at the beginning when all of the animals gather around... the antelope are bowing, the monkeys are going ape... that part kept giving me the chills. It made me want to do a rafiki dance. 

 7. American Dental Association Dental Conference: The real reason for our trip to Las Vegas. Tim had a great time in his classes (Held at the Mandalay Bay Conference Center) and was very impressed with many of the lectures. So much that he wants to find some of these lecturers again and take their classes. His last class of the trip was dissecting this pig mandible. Gross!