Ben and I flew first class to Vegas on Virgin America. We love Virgin and like that we can avoid DFW.
And we're off!
I was ready for some in-flight entertainment!
We took a Lyft to our hotel and it was great--we will never have to hail a cab in Vegas again! We got to our hotel around noon and were allowed to check in. We chose the MGM Signature which is a non-smoking, non-casino boutique hotel next to the MGM Grand. We tried to pick a central location since Nick would be changing hotels throughout the trip. We had a 1-bedroom suite with a small balcony.
Our room:
View from our room:
We got situated and then walked over to the MGM for awhile to have a drink and plan our trip. At 3:00, we went over to the Palazzo so Nick could check in. He had a nice view from his room.
We walked through the Palazzo and Venetian before happy hour at Buddy V's.
We had a glass of champagne at the Laguna Champagne Bar before dinner at Carnevino, Iron Chef Mario Batali's restaurant.
After dinner we lost a few dollars on our favorite slots before calling it a night. We had been up since 6:00 a.m. and walked almost five miles!
Day 2:
Today we were headed downtown for breakfast and to walk around downtown and play Sigma Derby at the D. Sigma Derby is an old horse racing game you play with quarters and it's my favorite game to play in Vegas!
We went to EAT which is more of a locals place and is by far the best breakfast we've had in Vegas. They have deviled eggs that are to die for!
YUM!
After breakfast, we walked through an area of shops and bars called the Container Park which we had never seen before. It was a nice day and lots of families were there with their kids.
There was a Vegas-style Locks of Love outside the park.
We went and had a drink at Oak & Ivy which I had read about on Trip Advisor.
Then it was over to the D to play Sigma Derby and Ben and I both hit on a 161-1 horse and won $85, woo!
We walked around downtown going through the hotels and playing slots at some of them. We went to the Plaza Hotel for happy hour at a restaurant called Oscar's. They have a beautiful dining room that is probably really pretty at night.
We took a Lyft back to the strip so Nick could check in at Mandalay Bay. We decided to have dinner there at a lounge called Libertine Social. Ben and I shared a sausage flatbread, yummy!
We walked to Luxor and looked for the machine that Nick and Ben had won $400 on one trip but it was gone. We made a bet for Nick's brother ($50 on red) and he won! We played some machines and I won $10 on my favorite Kitty Glitter machine, woo!
Once again, we had walked over 6 miles and 14,000 steps so I was pooped early and we called it a night. We may be getting too old for Vegas!
Day 3:
Today we planned to see the new resorts SLS and Lucky Dragon, then have drinks at the Foundation Room, have dinner at Tender Steakhouse at the Luxor where Nick would now be staying, and see Carrot Top. Ben went to the gym and I soaked in the jetted soaker tub and after walking 12 miles in two days, it was heaven!
Ben had the great idea to have breakfast at the famous Vegas diner the Peppermill and afterwards we could walk to the SLS and Lucky Dragon. There was a wait for breakfast so we had a drink at the Fireside Lounge. I had a Hawaiian mimosa and it was delicious!
Breakfast was delicious too but I ate it so fast, I didn't get a picture of it.
We walked to the SLS and the Lucky Dragon and saw the resorts, played a few slots, and the boys played some video poker in the beautiful VP bar at Lucky Dragon.
We then caught a Lyft back to the strip and Nick went to check in at the Luxor. We met up for happy hour but since the Foundation Room wasn't open yet, we went to happy hour at the Veranda at the Four Seasons where Ben and I have stayed before. Ben got a huge root beer with whipped cream!
We wanted Nick to see the Foundation Room which has a great view of the strip.
Dinner was at Tender Steakhouse where Nick and I each had a MyVegas voucher for $75 off our meals. I was worried the food might not be that great but everything was really good.
We found out Carrot Top was cancelled so with no plans, we played some games, ending up in the High Limit Room at the Luxor. Ben and Nick each put in $60 which got us 12 spins at $10 a spin. They treat you right in the High Limit room and I got a chocolate martini in a real martini glass! We ended up getting to spin the wheel which was exciting since we knew we would win back our money. We hit for $300 which means we each got $100, woo, big winners!
We thought briefly about putting it back in but I wanted to go to bed a winner!
Day 4:
This was our last full day and we planned to do some sightseeing, have drinks at the new bar with a view, Skyfall, and have dinner at Charlie Palmer Steak at the Four Seasons. We also planned to see the Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil show since our show got cancelled.
Ben and I just had a light Starbucks breakfast and then took a Lyft to Mandalay Bay because I had free passes through MyVegas to see the Shark Reef Aquarium. This ended up being lots of fun and we both enjoyed it.
They had these crazy fish called Lionfish.
They had an exhibit where you could touch stingrays which Ben did but I didn't want to!
They had a huge tank of jellyfish which are not pink but showed up that way in my picture.
And of course sharks!
After the exhibit, I wanted to play my Kitty Glitter game again. No wins this time but at least I got a mimosa.
There is a Titanic exhibit at the Luxor hotel that I have always wanted to see. Since Travelzoo had half-priced tickets, I convinced Ben to go. We both enjoyed the exhibit and it is very well done with lots of real artifacts and even part of the ship itself. Sadly, no photographs were allowed.
After the exhibit, we met up with Nick who had been playing video poker. We all needed a snack so we went to a Mexican restaurant for happy hour that was really good.
I still needed to change for dinner so we went back to the hotel and then met back up with Nick at Mandalay Bay with plans to go to the lounge Skyfall. But it was closed for a private event so we went back to the Foundation Room. We waited for it to get dark this time so we could get even better pictures.
Dinner was at Charlie Palmer where we did a prix fixe menu that came with wine pairings. The meal was the best one as far as food but the service was really terrible which is a shame because now I will never go back even though the food was wonderful.
I didn't take too many pictures since I was too busy drinking wine, ha!
After dinner, we were too full for a show so we went back to the high limit room at the Luxor. We took the money we would have spent on show tickets and put it in our Wheel of Fortune machine we had our big win on. No big wins this time but it was fun and it was money we had planned to spend anyway. And I got another great martini!
The boys played video poker for a long time until I finally got so sleepy I told Ben we had to leave!
The next day, we had another Starbucks breakfast and then sadly it was time to leave, another great trip in the books! We have several vacations planned before we make it back to Vegas so it will probably be fall of 2018 before we make it back, but we will because we always have so much fun!
