Delicious Eats in Las Vegas

When we visited Las Vegas in June, we were there to enjoy some free things in the city, watch the NBA Draft with other rabid b-ball fans and see family, but we weren't going to go back and not try to find some yummy (and affordable) food. Even though it seems you can stay fore really cheap on the Strip, food prices feel like they've doubled from a decade ago. I made a point to check out our options before we left and planned our meals and activities accordingly.

It's no secret that Vegas is full of restaurants that are owned by famous chefs, and though I wanted to eat at one of Gordon Ramsay's joints, we just couldn't afford it and still eat at one of his restaurants in London. Instead of spending a ton of money on lunch, we chose to stop at Emeril's Fish House for happy hour. Sitting at the bar, we ordered several small plates:

Parmesan shrimp, fried ravioli and rum runner

Crab cakes and olive and cheese plate

A month before we left, I signed up for Groupon Las Vegas and picked up a great deal for a new vegan place called Pura Vida. I'm always up for a tasty and healthy meal, so we hit it up for breakfast. Though the Groupon menu is a bit limited, we found amazing dishes and would have gone back if we had the time. In fact, when we go back to Vegas, even though Pura Vida is downtown, we will be going back. The food is that good and the portions are totally large. In fact, you can order one entree and split it, because they seriously give you three people's worth of food.

Empenadas: You can't go here and not get an order of these

This is a short stack!

French toast with vegan sausage

I always want to visit the Paris and eating there is always a treat. We had planned to eat breakfast at Le Cafe Ile. St. Louis, but we had a change of plans and ended up having a late lunch/early dinner instead. You eat "outside" under the Parisian sky in what appears to be an outdoor cafe in a charming Paris setting. 

I chose the traditional croque madame

Eric got a tuna steak sandwich (not shown, we also had fondue. yum!)

We had been playing the myVEGAS game on Facebook in order to get comps, and one of the things we used it for was to get free tickets to Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. At almost $70 per person, that's a big savings and it includes dinner and a show. Eat three courses with your hands - soup, entree and dessert.

Everyone gets their own whole chicken, biscuit, potato and broccoli, plus you receive tomato soup before and an apple hand pie for dessert. It's entertaining and delicious.

Of course, no trip to Vegas would be complete without a trip (or two) to a buffet. We hit up the Spice Market Buffet - which I was able to get a 2-for-1 Groupon for - and Riviera's R Buffet.

When you arrive at the bottom of the escalators and join the line to get a table, a photographer jumps in front of you and snaps a commemorative photo of you. Who wants to remember their visit to a buffet? Well, I guess we do, but we took our own picture on our way down the escalator, so $20 saved! You can eat around the world at Planet Hollywood's Spice Market Buffet, and eat any of over fifty kinds cupcakes and desserts. 

Just one side of the cupcake extravaganza!

You can graze from Mexico, Asia, South America and the Mediterranean and then make a plate of cheeses and meats. There's nothing you won't find at this buffet.

We stayed at the Riviera our first night in Vegas. Escalators and buffets must go together, because you have to go up to get to the breakfast buffet here. On a Thursday, it's not difficult to get a table at any time. You can go Eric's route and eat bacon, bacon and more bacon, or you can maybe get a variety of food from the entire spread. That's the way I went.

Potatoes, french toast and waffles

Fruit is always a good choice and you don't have to cut it up yourself

My first plate: If only there was fried chicken, this plate would be perfect

Needless to say, we had a pretty successful dining experience on our long weekend. I would definitely recommend any of these places. I would also recommend a BBQ at Eric's uncle's house, but I don't think they are open for business. Where's your favorite place to eat in Vegas? 

{For more ideas on where to eat and what to do in Vegas, check out my post here.}

Skiing in Soldeu: The Grandvalira Ski Area

The sheer quantity of groomed runs of off-piste trails that are accessible from the Andorran ski resorts is rather daunting, particularly when you consider the Grandvalira ski area which offers over 205km of pisted runs. It doesn’t matter what you wish to achieve from your ski holiday – whether you want to show off your moves in the El Tartar terrain park or you need to master the snow plough on the nursery slopes, Soldeu is one of the most popular bases.

While the Grandvalira ski area can be reached from seven surrounding resorts, including Soldeu, El Tartar and Pas de la Casa, Soldeu promotes itself as one of the best destinations in which to base your group.

Perfect for intermediates, the mountain is jam-packed with wide runs that can be accessed by gondolas and chairlifts that operate throughout the day. Lifts are available across the mountain to ensure runs can be enjoyed by all, from beginners to the more advanced. Recent improvements to the lift service, including a £3.8million investment in a 10-person gondola, takes you to and from nearby El Tartar, while also providing access to tree-lined off-piste trails that remain relatively untouched and powdery throughout the season.

This photo of Grandvalira Ski Resort is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Grandvalira is the only ski area throughout Andorra that boasts three snowparks, meaning freestyles are in their element here. Wherever you choose to head on the mountain, you can do so with the same lift pass – make the most of it.

Where you base yourself depends largely on what you want to achieve from your ski holiday. If you love the nightlife, Soldeu or Pas de la Casa would be more ideal while El Tartar offers a quieter side of life where you can chill out at the base of the mountain without having to worry about being kept awake until the early hours. Wherever you choose to stay, this ski area is awesome and definitely needs to be experienced. 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Neilson Holidays. Find them also on Facebook |Twitter | Google + | YouTube 

The Secret Life of a Mobster

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a Travelon Anti-theft Signature Slim Pouch. It ends tomorrow!

So, I didn’t just go to Vegas and gamble all my money away. In fact, we did very little gambling in the three days we were there, even though it was 120 degrees – not an exaggeration – and we spent 90% of the time inside. One of the things I really wanted to do while in Sin City was eat delicious food (check), do free stuff (check) and visit the Mob Museum. I’ve been telling people about it for a while, but I finally got the chance to go last month and it was pretty awesome. I learned a lot about the history of the mob and posed for a lineup.

I wish I took a pic from inside, too, since it’s very odd to go behind the one-way glass and just see yourself and your fellow suspects – in my case, Eric.

Getting into the museum is not super cheap, but $19.95 was not a bad price of admission for all the knowledge and history you leave with. There are three floors of amazing facts, evidence and interactive exhibits. The building itself is the old courthouse and when it was in use it was the tallest building in Vegas. You can see what a long way the city has come. 

Not only will you learn about the mobsters that are big names – like Al Capone – but also about lesser known names that were a big part of crime in Vegas and other parts of the Mafioso. 

The Mob Museum has the real wall from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The bricks were numbered, the wall was taken apart and then moved and reassembled. You can see the actual bullet holes and watch a video about what went down.

Do you know gangster lingo? What about cop slang? Listen in on some calls between criminals or police and see if you can figure out what they’re saying. You also learn that how you got whacked and with what weapon is a message to his family and others who think they might want to do their own thing instead of what the boss wants. 

Even though the mob isn't cool, they did rid the streets of many bad criminals - probably because they were messing up their operations - and also brought the people alcohol and gambling during prohibition, welcome distractions from the daily grind. I was surprised that some of the major crime bosses were taken off the streets not that long ago -within the last decade. You'll see interviews with undercover agents who infiltrated the mafia and pretended to be mobsters in order to take down the criminals from the inside. Those are really interesting. 

The American Dream was not easy to come by for immigrants to this county and when hard work proved to be a disappointing way to make a living,t hey made money the only other way they knew how. They stole it. Irish, Polish and other foreigners formed gangs that terrorized neighborhoods that eventually became more sophisticated and known as mobs. In fact, the after visiting the Mob Museum, I'm convinced that the mobs may have made Vegas what it is today and possibly improved the economy of the nation as a whole. 

Next time you visit, make sure to stop by the museum, which is only one street over from Fremont Street. You'll never look at the city the same way again.