Friday, June 26, 2026
*Note: Started this post on Saturday morning but didn’t finish it, so any mention of “yesterday” means Friday!*
I think I mentioned original plan was Hoover Dam for yesterday, but as I sat drinking my tea and considering the day ahead, I realized it made more sense to do Hoover Dam on Sunday, our departure day. (We have a late flight so need to check out and do something all day anyway.)
Yay, this meant a nice open day for Friday!!
Relaxed/lingered by the pool again. My favorite cabana spot:
The pool was so quiet early on, but it got quite busy later! 11 am:
Showered etc and then we decided to go for brunch at a Mexican place we had seen nearby that looked great. Norway vs France were playing and the guys anticipated that would be a good game.
I really liked this restaurant! I didn’t take many pics but the decor was so cool. Had a great vibe. I think it was called Chayo?
I got this amazing “avocado toast” which was delicious!!
Game on:
We have had SO much fun this week watching the World Cup!! We’ve managed to catch I think at least 4 games out in bars/restaurants and the World Cup vibe is so great and it’s been a blast with everyone so into it, wearing different jerseys, etc. 🙂 🙂 Originally Ivan/boys were a little annoyed our vacation ended up coinciding with the World Cup, but actually, I am glad it did! If we were all off at work/doing our own things, we probably wouldn’t have been able to watch all these games together as a family at home.
After brunch we walked back over to Caesar’s Palace to watch the Atlantis Show that was dark on the other day we went.
Poked around in a few shops etc.
On the way back to the hotel I think we stopped off at a casino and put a few bucks in for a while! I found these slot machines called “Quick Spin” that I liked a lot and ended up just mostly playing those the rest of our days (well, any time we had some casino time! I realize I made that sound like I spent the rest of the trip in the casino, haha).
Our main plan for the day was to go to downtown Vegas, aka Fremont Street!
Drove there and parked (about 20 min total drive).
We walked around and looked at a bunch of the old, original casinos. This area is super fun and has a VIBE!
It’s best known for the awesome lighted roof/light show. Super cool.
In the Golden Nugget:
Fun photo op spot:
We walked around the corner to Main Street Station. I really liked this casino/hotel! All very old fashioned and I thought it was beautiful.
We decided to have dinner at a cool microbrewery within the hotel.
Main St Station lobby- so pretty.
Display of original slot machines!
By then it was dark.
It was Friday night and Fremont St was packed!! Street performers, live bands (plural- there were different stages), etc.
Loved the constantly changing light show:
We spent a little while back in the Golden Nugget. I got a drink and the adults put some money in various machines. (Eventually a (very nice) security guard did find the boys, lol. She was like, Hi there… I’m guessing these young looking guys are not 21?? We of course admitted no they are not, that they weren’t playing, just watching! (I knew that’s not allowed either- you have to be 21 to be on the casino floor.) But since they were just with us and their grandparents and not doing anything bad, I figured we’d take our chances and let them watch until they got kicked out. 😉
Headed back to the Strip at 10/10:30 or so?
We adults got a second wind and headed to do a little more casino time!! The boys went back to the room.
Everything was so busy on Friday night! It’s INSANE the amount of people in the casinos at night. I cannot fathom the money that moves through all the casinos in Vegas.
My mom had some pretty good luck at this Rich Little Hens machine!
My parents tapped out earlier than us and headed back. Ivan and I decided to go back to Paris.
We had fun!! I lost eventually, of course 😜, but it was fun while it lasted!
We went for another set of late night tacos 😝 and didn’t get back to our room until like, 1:30?! (The strip was still VERY ACTIVE at that time, and casinos still packed! Crazy!!).
I was happy with our pivot of plans from my original itinerary (Hoover Dam + Fremont street on same day). The pacing of this trip has felt really great. Loving the mix of downtime + activities etc!
GRATEFUL KAE 
I love Caesar’s, it has such a fun old feel!
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Yes, I think the pacing of this trip was perfect. And look at you, spending all day gambling ; ) it is fun, isn’t it?
I agree that having the trip coincide with the World Cup was actually a good thing. I mean- it’s not like you missed out on seeing any sights to see the games, and it gave you a kind of enforced break from sightseeing. I’m sure it added to the fun!
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