Vegas

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...yeah right, why do you think I have a blog?!

We went to Vegas just for the weekend with Ben's dad, Carl (Deena couldn't make it, traveling this week with work :( poo!)...but those 36 hours were packed full of some of the best food of my life! OK, so yes, we basically ate our way through Vegas, planning everything we did around our next reservations. I cannot stress enough how fabulous and delicious every thing was...and so rich, I might need to fast for a week!!

Friday night we dropped our bags off in our room at Caesar's, then headed to the Forum Shops there for some shopping. We decided that my outfit could use a step-up for dinner, so we bought a black-striped dress, red belt, and red headband at BR, which I wore out of there straight to dinner!

Mesa Grill is also in Caesar's and is one of Bobby Flay's restaurants. I love its southwestern food...most items are spicy or have some kick to them.

The molasses brussels sprouts with toasted pecans were so good that I could drink that sauce with a straw!

My sixteen spice chicken was killer too.

We rolled ourselves out of there and straight to bed, already feeling the 3 hour time change.

Saturday morning we had a good eggs, corned beef hash, hash brown and mimosa breakfast at Central by Michel Richard (also at Caesar's). We watched the craziest thing I've ever seen at a casino - some guy at the craps table who had $100,000 in chips in front of him and walked away with $380,000!! Over a quarter million in less than an hour...how insane?! And the craziest part is that he kept tipping the guy rolling every time he'd roll a good number for him - ended up tipping that guy $5,000, just for lucky rolls! The sad thing is that the guy looked like he had a lot of issues...just shows that money can't buy happiness (although I bet he ate good that day!). It felt good to walk away from watching that knowing that we were in Vegas for some great food and a show, not betting our houses!

Lunch was one of the best ever - Tapas by Julian Serrano, in Aria. We ordered 7 tapas (small plates), and every dish seemed to be the best thing we had ever eaten. From tuna sushi rolls to beef tenderloin and brie to doughnuts with a butterscotch caramel dipping sauce...heaven. And the restaurant had a really cool, casual feel to it, and some awesome chairs.

Carl went back to his room to watch the game, so we strolled around a bit. Checked out the Cosmopolitan, one of the hotels in the new City Center - pretty fabulous! Not sure why this giant shoe was there.

Saw the Eiffel Tower...(not as good as the real thing :))

Saw some interesting performers and magicians on the streets. Reminded me of Europe, where people seem to always be putting on some sort of show to get tips. Headed right back to Caesar's since we've seen the strip before and were honestly pretty tired and don't much enjoy the things you see out there!

Pool time for me...can you believe this pool?

This was just one of 3 that were there. It wasn't hot that day, only mid 70s, so I didn't get in the water, just laid there for a while in the sun. Caught the end of the UofL game by the pool as well...GO CARDS!!

We had plans to see the Cirque du Soleil show "O" at the Bellagio at 7:30 and had dinner reservations afterward, so we decided to get some appetizers before the show (as if we needed any more food!). We stopped at a place in Caesar's called Old Homestead, where we sampled a giant meatball, homemade tater tots, crab cakes, and a shrimp cocktail. We weren't expecting it to be as good as it was! We had to pull ourselves away and not over-eat since we had a fabulous dinner awaiting us later.

The "O" show was spectacular! If you ever get the chance to see a Cirque show, this one is my favorite and I highly recommend it! We were sitting only 8 rows back, right in the center section - perfect seats!

Dinner was at Picasso, another Julian Serrano restaurant (it was a Julian sort of day). The restaurant has over $80 million of Picasso artwork in it, very fancy atmosphere, and a great view of the water show outside the Bellagio right through the patio doors. Once again, one of the best meals of my life! Carrot ginger soup, shrimp and zucchini, beef short ribs that melt in your mouth...and just look at these fancy desserts we had!

On our way out, the hostess gave us each a box of fresh baked cookies to-go - quite a nice touch, even if we were all way too stuffed to even take a bite!

As if we were even hungry yet, we had room service before we left Sunday morning (steak and eggs, turkey bacon, waffle...typical American breakfast). Hopped on Southwest's direct flight home (only 3.5 hours), and back in town by 3:30. Quite a whirlwind trip, but totally worth it! We're so blessed to have Carl and Deena who are so generous and so much fun that they make trips like this happen!

For more pictures, check out my Vegas 2012 gallery!