Being a tourist in Las Vegas is okay.

      Most people don't usually associate Las Vegas with family vacations or really any type of vacation. They typically think of it as "Sin City" where everything is crazy and the party scene is prominent. While I cannot argue with any of that I will have to say there are some touristy type attractions that I feel like you should do while in Vegas. Do I think this is somewhere I would take a family? Not really, but I also don't have children yet so I can't say for sure. It does seem like a lame place for kids because they cannot do much except eat, swim and see the sights of Vegas. You could go anywhere for vacation and have a hotel with a nice pool and eat good food. Plus, there are some things you might not want your child to see at a young age. This is going to sound bad and don't get me wrong, I do like kids, I don't want any but I like them. However, that being said, I would never ever take kids to Vegas. Las Vegas is way too fun to have a child ruin it. So, now I will get back to the topic of this post which is being a tourist. Now, I do like everything about Vegas, but on my last trip my mom was with me for my birthday. She doesn't drink or gamble. So why bring her to Vegas you ask? She got me tickets on my  birthday for the Backstreet Boys and we also wanted to see some shows. Also, I had told her about just the atmosphere as well as the incredible food. So aside from the shows and the concert we did some touristy things and I really enjoyed them.
        Most of the casinos on the strip have some attraction or exhibit that is free. Yes you heard me correct, FREE. Some examples include the famous fountain show at Bellagio, The Fall of Atlantis at Caesars, The Volcano at the Mirage, The Flamingos at the Flamingo and so on. Any Vegas related website or pamphlet will tell you exactly where each free thing is located. Take note that some of them are only at certain times. I suggest trying to see all of the free things if you have time because they are pretty neat. The fountains at Bellagio are breathtaking and if you have the chance to stay there you should. That is where we stayed and we had booked a room with a strip view. It also showed 3/4 of the fountains so that was pretty cool to see every night out of your window. Also the Bellagio conservatory has GORGEOUS flowers and the theme changes with the seasons.
       Mom thought the Big Bus Tour would be fun so we bought tickets for that. It is a double decker tour bus with obviously a driver as well as a tour guide. We had Big Bus Bruce 2 times and he was the best tour guide ever. He was hilarious and knew A LOT of the history as well as fun facts about Vegas. We were lucky and got to sit up top every time except one time when it was super packed. This tour takes you all the way from the famous welcome to Las Vegas sign to downtown old Vegas to Fremont Street and to the Strip. Now here is the coolest part, you can get on and off as you please. Do you want to get off at Fremont street and check it out a while then get back on the bus? You can do that. One stop is the outlet malls so you could shop, get picked up and then ride back to the strip hearing more history or facts. I will tell you that there isn't a huge amount of stops so don't expect every thing you want to do to be next to a bus stop. Also, none of the stops are right on the strip. For example; the stop we used a lot was the Ballys stop. It was right outside of their food court which was on the opposite side of their main entrance on the strip. If you choose to you can have a night time tour that takes you along the strip to see the lights as well as downtown by Fremont street to see the night life there as well as the light show. We really didn't have time to do a night time tour because we did 2 shows, the concert and ate dinner with a friend who lives in town. I would assume it was a neat tour because I really enjoyed the day time tour. Also if you buy tickets to Madame Tussards wax museum from the Big Bus Tour people you get a big discount. I will write a post later about that museum.
       I know there are more touristy activities you can do while in Vegas but these are things that I have done so I wanted to share them with you. I suggest trying something different while in Vegas and doing the opposite of what you associate Vegas with. Plus, you can bring alcohol anywhere so why not drink and do tourist stuff. They even sold alcohol in the wax museum. I posted a few candid photos from the Bus Tour as well as some of the free things I mentioned.