Las Vegas: Birthday fun!

In April, Ben and I decided to take a trip to Vegas to celebrate my birthday.  We wanted to do our usual thing of hanging out by the pool, seeing a show, and having a nice dinner.

So we chose the Encore hotel which would be our first casino hotel to stay in.  We chose it because it has an adult pool and because it is located at the north end of the strip which we had not really seen on previous trips.

Our plans included having tea at the Mandarin Oriental, going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and having my birthday dinner at Gordon Ramsay Steak.

Upon arriving, we had a town car waiting for us which was a birthday gift from a co-worker--it was a great way to start our trip and we vowed we would do this from now on.  We got to our room at Encore and got settled.  I loved this room and it still ranks as one of my favorites.

The only problem was it was on a high floor and Ben's ears kept popping in the elevator!  After we got settled, we walked over to Stripburger for lunch.  I thought the burgers were yummy.  I also had an alcoholic lemonade which was delicious and refreshing.

After lunch we spent the afternoon checking out the Encore and the sister hotel the Wynn which is right next door.  We picked up our show tickets for later in the trip and I found my favorite slot machine Kitty Glitter and played on $10 for a few minutes.  Then it was time to get ready for dinner at Gordon Ramsay.

I used to watch Hell's Kitchen which is the show Gordon Ramsay is famous for.  I had also read alot of good reviews about his steakhouse on Trip Advisor.  I knew I just HAD to have the famous sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

We arrived a little early and I found a Kitty Glitter machine so we played for awhile on $20 and had a couple of "free" drinks.  Then we went into the lounge at the restaurant and I decided to toast my birthday with a glass of champagne.

I had been waiting for this dinner and it did not disappoint. Ben started off with a shrimp cocktail but I told the waiter I was determined to get the sticky toffee pudding so no appetizer for me thank you.

Ben got the Kobe rib cap and I got the traditional filet--which we both thought was the better of the two. I am one of those people that would rather have a perfect filet over Kobe any day.  Sides were delicious mac & cheese and brussell sprouts since we couldn't decide between the two.

I immediately knew that getting through more than a few bites of dessert was going to be a painful endeavor but I was determined to try it. It is like a soufflé thing that they pour toffee sauce over and you eat each bite with this brown butter ice cream that actually looks and tastes like butter. The combination of flavors is indescribably delicious. I didn't stop until I actually started moaning audibly at the thought of another bite. It was a great meal.

We decided to go over to the Cosmopolitan to try the lose $100 promotion they were having.  It was where if you played and lost $100, they would give you $100 in free play.  We went and got our card and took our $100 to the High Limit Room.

To say we were out of our element is an understatement. Just as I thought we would set the World's Record for losing $100, I hit a $200 jackpot on a $5 machine. Yippeeee! I'm a winner! Just as it hit, a waitress came over and I finally got the famous Lemon Drop Martini which was delicious. Ben snapped my picture and we took our $200 and got out of there as fast as we could.

We went over to the Eiffel Tower so we could take the elevator up to the observatory at the top.

We headed back to Encore winners!

Our plan for Day 2 was to walk to afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental exploring as we went along.

We walked over to Bouchon at the Venetian for breakfast. The wait for the patio was 30 minutes so we walked back out to the Grand Canal and watched the gondolas and looked in some of the shops. 

Back over in about 20 minutes and our table was ready. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast with Bellinis with me having a traditional breakfast and Ben getting French toast.

I had tried to time it so that we would be finishing up breakfast in time to catch the noon Carnevale show and it worked out perfectly. It's not something I would make time to see again but hey I checked it off the list!

We crossed the strip and stopped at Rhumbar at the Mirage for a drink. I had a drink called Mango Madness. I love mango in anything!

We stopped at Bellagio to see the Conservatory which I was eager to see since our last 2 trips were in the fall. I loved the beautiful swan and all the tulips.

I visited my favorite Kitty Glitter machine from our last trip and she rewarded us with a bonus and a $30 win! And we got two drinks. Woo hoo!

We made it to the tea lounge about 10 minutes before our 2:30 reservation.  I was really looking forward to this. I was hoping for a table by their famous window we didn't get it. It was still really nice. I opted for a more expensive peach white tea while poor Ben opted for an herbal "cold and flu formula" since he was slightly under the weather!  The sandwiches were delicious and the scones out of this world! 

After tea, we cabbed back to Wynn. We played a little and got a couple of drinks when we spotted a Wheel of Fortune machine.

It looked like fun so we put $20 in and got to spin the wheel. It was really fun and we won another $75. We are starting to like gambling a little more at this point.

Around 6:00 we took a cab to the Stratosphere to catch the end of happy hour at Level 107 which has a 360 degree view of Las Vegas.  We settled on a chocolate-raspberry martini and ordered an appetizer.   We really enjoyed our time up here and the drinks and food were good.

We decided to tab out after one drink since sunset was approaching and I wanted to go out on the observation deck.

So we went up and saw the view and it was fun but the strip is so far away, I liked my pictures from the Eiffel Tower much better.

Back down to the casino area, we spotted another WOF machine and decided to give it a try. This one was neat because when you got to spin the wheel (which we did, yipee!), Vanna White comes on and says "Come on Big Money!" So I'm yelling right along with her and we ended up with $100!

Our plan now was to hit our next stop, the Peppermill. This is an old-school Vegas diner.  We weren't hungry so decided to just go have a drink at the Fireside Lounge.

It wasn't crowded at all and we got a spot by the fire and I had a delicious Key Lime Martini. Since this was my second martini in a short time, that was enough for me.

We walked back to Encore and spotted another WOF machine but ugh, we lost $60 in no time. Ugh, now I hate gambling!  Luckily, Ben won $30 of it back and we got a couple of drinks so that took some of the sting away.

Ben is getting tired and hungry at this point so we stop at Wazuzu for some sushi. Poor Ben was not feeling so great so we called it a day.

Day 3 was our Lazy Pool Day where we never had to leave hotel. No cabs, no walking, today was just to relax.

Up at 6:30 am and we do our usual where Ben goes to the gym and I stay in bed. I had planned for us to eat breakfast somewhere at the hotel but we decided to go straight down to the pool at 8:30 am. 

We check out the pools and find 2 loungers by themselves at the adult pool, under a shade tree, right by the hot tub and restrooms. Since we love to get in the hot tub, especially when it's early, we set up camp.

We settle in for the day and sat and talked and got in the pool and tub a little.  By 11:00 when lunch starts, we are starving and I order a Kobe burger and Ben got a turkey panini (both came with fries) and we each had half of both. I also got something called a tropical lemonade which was delicious.

We stayed at the pool until our shade ran out at 2:00. It was a great day and I hated leaving but Ben can't stay in the 90 degree heat without shade. 

Back up to our room to get ready for dinner and our show Le Reve which is an aquatic show similar to Cirque de Soleil.  The show is at Encore so it was convenient and I had always wanted to see it anyway. 

After naps and showers, we went downstairs around 6:00 to have a cocktail before dinner. We both wanted to try one of the crazy martinis at a new bar called VDKA in Encore.

The cocktails looked really strong so as much as I hated it, I decided not to have one. Ben got some concoction called the Maple Bacon Martini. Gross. It had both vodka and whiskey in it and was topped with a slab of maple bacon. Yes, bacon. In a drink. Blech. He drank the whole thing though and even ate the bacon. I took one sip which was plenty.

We sat and talked until it was time to go to dinner at La Cave, which is a restaurant near the theater in the Wynn. The waitress suggested 4 plates to start so we got salmon sashimi, scallops, a pasta dish with chicken, and steak with mushroom sauce.

We loved everything we had and were pretty full so we just ended the meal with creme brulee. My only complaint was that everything came out in record speed and we were finished with dinner in less than an hour.

With time to kill, we lost $40 on slots and had a couple of free drinks. Now that we're not winning anymore, gambling isn't as much fun!

Our tickets to Le Reve were VIP in the Champagne Circle, a birthday gift from my boss. We got a whole bottle of champagne, 2 chocolate covered strawberries and truffles.

We both enjoyed the show and really loved the music.

After the show, we were both tired so we went straight back to the room about midnight.

The next day we were up at 7:15 after finally a good night's sleep! Ben didn't feel up to the gym so since our brunch reservations weren't until 11:30, we decided to go back down to the pool for an hour or two.

Went down and got our same two chairs from the day before.  Before we knew it though, it was time for brunch so we were off to Country Club.

At 11:30 it was already too warm for the patio so we sat inside which was still enjoyable. We did go outside to take pictures though.

We got our menus and water and our waiter explained how it worked--basically they suggest you try the seafood station, then the carving station, then order the mostly breakfast dishes off the menu. So that is what we did over and over for about two hours!

Everything we had was very good. My favorites were probably the beef tenderloin and mac and cheese. Off the menu, I got an omelette and potatoes and Ben got the shrimp and grits and poached eggs with pork tenderloin. There was also cheese, muffins, pastries, croissants, fruit, ceviche, grits, oyster and crab. I went and got Ben and I a variety of desserts to try, which were good but not as good as the actual food itself.

After brunch, Ben wasn't feeling that great so I decided a spa day was in order so we went to check out the spa at Encore.

All I can say is ahhhhhhhh. It is a virtual sea of tranquility. We checked out our respective areas and spent 2 hours in heaven.  I actually feel asleep briefly on one of the heated stone beds!

Afterwards, I asked Ben if he wanted to go to the hot tub at the pool and get a drink but he said he had enough of the hot tub so we went back to our room to get ready for dinner.

But Ben said he really wasn't up to going anywhere too far for drinks and dinner. So with no plans, we tried to decide how to spend our last night.  We ended up  going over to the Venetian and getting some pizza at Grimaldi’s, which is where we like to go in Dallas.  Afterwards, we spent some time in the casino. 

The next morning, we had breakfast at the Terrace Point restaurant at the Wynn, and then we were on our way home, my birthday trip over. 

Until next time, Vegas!