Once again we slept in and didn’t get out and going until
after ten. We spent a little time
gambling at Harrah’s and then we decided to take the monorail to the Paris and
have lunch at the café there. After
lunch we gambled a little at the Paris and then we took the monorail back and
spent some time in the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace is kind of dumpy, but fun sometimes. After that it was back to Harrah’s for a
little R&R and then we took a taxi to downtown Las Vegas.
Downtown Las Vegas is the original hotel /
casino area and most of the hotels and casinos are old. We hadn’t been downtown at night since they built the
Fremont Street Experience so we wanted to go see it when it was all
lit up. The Fremont Street Experience is
a large dome that is several blocks long covering Fremont Street which is
closed off to traffic. The dome consists
of many small lights which make it like an enormous screen where they can do
different types of displays and shows, very neat looking. Fremont Street was packed with people and
very noisy. There was all kinds of
music, vendors, street entertainers, people dressed in various costumes and
many other diversions. Fremont Street is
lined with bars, casinos and all sorts of tourist traps; a lot of action to
take in, but a lot of fun, especially if you are young. One thing they have added recently is a zip
line that runs most of the length of the street which seems to be very popular.
Every time you looked up it seemed there
were three or four people zipping by above you.
 |
| Fremont Street Zipliners going by overhead |
 |
| The beginning of the Fremont Street Experience |
We started to get hungry so I convinced Val to try the
Flame Steakhouse at the El Cortez Hotel and Casino which is down in the East
Fremont Street area. She was a little
leery as it wasn’t in the best area, but I had read about it and convinced her
it would be all right. The restaurant
was redone several years ago in the style of old time Vegas and that was the
feeling we got there. The staff
was very friendly, there was a piano player playing and overall our experience was great. The only weak spot were the steaks
themselves, Val had prime rib and I had a filet mignon, and they were both pretty
mediocre. The sides were very good
though and considering the cost, it was a pretty decent meal, but when you call
yourself a steakhouse, you should have good steaks. Maybe we were just there on an off night.
After dinner it was back to Fremont Street to try a
little gambling there. I had a terrible
night, not winning a thing and soon tired of the noise and crowds and was ready
to go back to the Strip. Val however,
was winning quite a bit and not surprisingly, having a great time. Finally though, it was getting late and we
caught a cab back to Harrah’s and called it a night. Downtown Las Vegas was fun and filled with
energy, but I’m not sure I would stay down there. There isn’t much to do outside of gambling
and drinking and while I like to gamble, I don’t want to do it all the time and
I also rarely drink. It is a fun place
though and we will certainly pay it another visit. Another fun day, but only one day left, and as
usual in Las Vegas time just seems to be flying by.
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