Viva Las Vegas 2002!

After a two year absence, we were back in vegas, on our way to and from northern california.

On our way out, we stayed at our favorite place, the mandalay bay resort and casino. Besides the casino, they have the best pool in town, with a wave machine and also a "lazy river" setup (see our pics from 2000). It's the best place to spend the afternoon. The mandalay is located on the west side of the strip (see my westside strip pics). We also walked next door to the luxor (where we took in the blue man group show), and the excalibur a little farther up the strip (see my indoor pics). Dinner was at wolfgang puck's trattoria del lupo.

On our way home, we tried the new aladdin hotel and casino, right next to the paris on the east side of the strip (see my eastside strip pics). The rooms were very spacious and overall it was a nice place, with a rooftop pool and a "genie in a bottle" sort of theme. Apparently they are struggling since opening a little over a year ago. They're not part of one of the mega chains like most of the other casinos. We had a light dinner at the zanzibar cafe, and then went over to the paris and blew some money on the blackjack tables. The following morning we had an excellent breakfast of fruit crepes at the cafe in the paris.

While there were no new casino openings this year, a cab driver told us that 4 are scheduled to open next year. We can't wait to see what happens next in this town!