Lake Tahoe Dec/Jan '11-'12

For New Year's Eve my friend and I drove to Lake Tahoe in Northern California. It's roughly a 3 and a half hour drive from San Francisco. It usually snows in winter so skiing and snowboarding is very popular in the winter months. It failed to snow this year (global warming?) so skiing was off the agenda. Tahoe is the place hundreds of Northern Californians go for NYE and is very popular and busy during this time. We were in Tahoe for 3 days and stayed at the Wyndham South Shore Resort on the Nevada side. Our room slept 6, included a kitchen, living room, dining table, washing machine, and BBQ in the outdoor patio. There is also a swimming pool and hot tub. 


Part of Tahoe is on the Nevada side which is where all the casinos are as gambling is only permitted in Nevada and Atlantic city in America. When buying alcohol it is best to buy it on the Nevada side as its cheaper also. Some of the biggest casinos in Tahoe are Harrahs, MontBleu, Harveys and Horizon casinos.There are clubs in the casinos which are very busy for NYE and the nights leading up to it. The clubs are quite expensive during NYE, tickets costing in excess of $60 but so is everywhere during this time. The casinos also have hotels attached to them and is slightly more central than Wyndham so is another option for accommodation. 

There are no casinos on the California side but a mixture of other restaurants, cafes, hotels, motels and bars. Tahoe has a lot of nature and magnificent views from great heights, climbing and hiking is very popular in Tahoe. The houses are very beautiful and similar to French chalets due to the weather and climate of Tahoe.  


There is also a beach in Tahoe, the sand is quite harsh but on a sunny day the lake is incredibly beautiful and picturesque. 


We needed eat out that much but spent most of our time in the casinos and visiting the lake but we went to Jazz Kat Cafe which is a small and quaint cafe on the California side. The staff are incredibly friendly and the food wholesome, selling salads, burgers, sandwiches, soup and Wi-Fi. Highly recommended if you like good food. 

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