Friday, August 13, 2010

Las Vegas: The Middle and The End


We are now at the heart of the trip.  I always love the middle of a vacation because I feel like you spend the first day or two adjusting and trying to take it all in and the last days with that anxious feeling in your gut because you know it's almost over.  So, the middle is really the core and is when you can most enjoy yourself. 

Day 3: Monday

I started off this day with a workout in the hotel gym.  I decided that I wasn't going to set my alarm at all on this vacation and I wasn't going to have a strict regime.  I would just go with the flow and if I had time and if I felt like it, I could squeeze in a few runs and workouts.  By Monday, my jet lag had adjusted and I was up way before Toly and our friends, so I decided to check out the gym while everyone slept in. 

After I was done and showered, Toly was up and we were both ready to find some breakfast.  Instead of lurking around our hotel again, we decided to take a walk on the strip and see what we could find. 


A few feet away, we stumbled upon Margaritaville and noticed that they were open for breakfast.  I remember seeing this place on Kristin's trip and she also recommended it. 

Thank goodness this place had oatmeal on the menu.  I was going through withdrawal!  I ordered the oatmeal, which came with fresh berries and granola and I added a special touch of chocolate almond butter that I just happened to have in my purse. 



After breakfast, we walked around for a few hours and checked out more of the strip. 

For lunch, we met up with our friends to get tickets for a show later that night, and then stumbled upon another restaurant recommendation from my girl Kristin. 

BLT Burger


I had the Veggie and Falafel Burger with hummus and avocado. 



And split some sweet potato fries with the table. 


This place lived up to it's hype.  My burger was delicious! 


When the dessert menu came out, I quickly remembered about the Twinke milkshakes that Kristin raved about here and sure enough, there they were on the menu. 



I was stuffed, but Toly eyed up the Nut Job (Hazelnut Ice Cream, Nutella, Almonds) and couldn't pass it up. 



We walked around after lunch and I happened to find myself standing directly in front of a soft serve yogurt bar. 

As full as I was from lunch, I simply could not pass up a small cup.  You see, we have NONE of these in PA and I get insanely jealous of everyone's soft serve frozen yogurt creations that every single state seems to have expect us.  I had a small cup of Raspberry and added blueberries, raspberries, brownie bites, and some almonds. 


So happy I made room for some soft serve. 



When we got back from out afternoon eating and shopping, we somehow managed to deflate our pleasantly full stomachs, put on our suits, and hit up the pool for a little while. 


Dinner on Monday night was at a restaurant that has been on my list for some time.  Roy's is a Hawaiian Fusion chain that I have been told is incredible.  When I made the reservations, the host asked me if we were celebrating anything.  I love when places ask this because I already know that the service will be great.  I told him that we were, it was our anniversary next week and our friends was last night. 

As soon as we were seated and opened our menus, look at what we found!! 

So sweet! 

We toasted with a couple of their signature Pineapple Martinis. 




For my dinner, I chose a salad that I can't remember what was in it expect for these amazing sugar coated macadamia nuts.


And one of their classic sushi rolls. 

It was fantastic! 

As good as the food was, what I really can not speak highly enough was the service.  Almost every server, manager, host, cook, random stranger stopped by our table to wish us a happy anniversary and then, they even brought us a special anniversary dessert. 


We were all so touched at how much of a big production they put on for us.  It was truly a special evening. 



Day 4: Tuesday 

This day was particularly memorable for Toly and here is why. 

That afternoon, Toly and I were walking around Caesars checking out the shops.  We happened to see a sports store that had a sign up saying "Pete Rose here today!"  Not really knowing what it was all about, we went in to see what was going on.  Sure enough, 5 min. later, in walks Pete Rose! 
(Pete Rose is a Phillies (and Toly's) idol player who had one of the best hitting records in history)

My husband was star struck!  We got our picture taken with him and his autograph which made the entire trip worthwhile for Toly. 

Tuesday night, we had 7:00pm tickets to see a Cirque De Sole show, Ka and decided to go out for drinks before the show. 



I knew I wanted to see a Cirque show while we were in Vegas and I wasn't disappointed.  Truly amazing! 



After the show, we headed to our late dinner reservations at Bartissta's, an authentic Italian restaurant that the locals recommend. 

I loved the feel of this place.  It was small and completely a true vision of a real Italian bistro. The menu was simple and posted on the walls. 



But the very best thing about Batissta's was the free carafes of wine that they placed on our table. 


FREE Vino!!!!  I knew I was going to get myself in trouble with this. 

For dinner, I had the seafood fettucini in a red sauce. 

Guys, it was incredible, but after many many glasses of wine, I'm pretty sure my napkin would have tasted incredible. 

After dinner, we all thought it would be a fantastic idea to put on some party clothes and find a karaoke bar. 




It was a fantastic idea at the time, I swear!! 




(We have no idea who this woman was in the background but she kept jumping up on stage and dancing with us.  I almost died laughing!) 

A very fun night!! 


Day 5: Wednesday (last day) 

So I was right, the last day is the worst because you know it's almost over.  But we still tried to make the most of it. 

There was one more restaurant that I HAD to try before we left.  

Serendipity sat in front of Caesars and was a spin off from the famous one in NYC.  Now, I have never been to the one in NYC but it is on my list of places to eat before I die.  I am obsessed with all things serendipitous.  The word is my favorite, the movie is my favorite, and when I saw this restaurant in Vegas, there was no question that it would be my favorite. 


Inside was such a cute little cafe, just as I pictured.  

Unfortunately, the pictures I took of my meal did not come out, but I promise it was a delicious experience! 

Our friends had tickets to see Tom Jones this evening, so Toly and I decided to do something on our own.  

He had been wanting to see Pen and Teller for awhile and we scored a great deal on tickets. 

Before our show, we went to dinner at a popular seafood restaurant in The Rio.

I ordered the Sea Bass that was glazed in a pineapple miso sauce with ratatouille and green beans. 

And Toly had the grilled salmon.

I know what you're thinking and it's not what it looks like!!  Haha, they messed up his side order of mashed potatoes and gave him mushrooms instead.  Lucky for me, I love mushrooms and lucky for him, they brought out 3 servings of mashed potatoes to make up for the mistake.  We all made out! 


And then brought us dessert, which was a strawberry shortcake the size of Montana! 


Pen and Teller were awesome!!  After the show, they hang out to meet and greet their fans!  How cool!! 


Well that about says it all!  

Vegas was amazing and I'm so happy I had the chance to experience this city.  I can't say I would make it a yearly vacation, as I'm not sure the lack of sleep, drinking from morning to night, and eating sooooo much decadently delicious food is good for the immune system.  Aside from that, it's truly a blast!! 



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6 comments:

  1. ahhhhhhhh! What a trip! I love the idea of NO ALARMS! Thats what vaca is all about. Only true foodies carry chocolate almond butter in their bags. I have totally been known to bring my own nut butter, stevia in the raw, you name it...it may be in my bag. Love that the restaurant really celebrated your anniversary right. And that strawberry shortcake is ridiculous!

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  2. That food looks freaking good!

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  3. how sweet of the restaurant to really go all out for your anniversary. and how cool that you met penn and teller! there is a small chance i may be headed to vegas next week on a last-minute road trip and i'll take some of your places into consideration - where was that karaoke bar? do you recommend it?

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  4. That is so amazing how far the restaurant went with your anniversary! It's so sweet :)

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  5. I'm so glad you had an amazing trip...it sounds like you were able to relax and indulge (exactly what vacation should be about). I must say that I was particularly drawn to that burger and fries. Yum!

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  6. YESS!!! So glad you made it to Battistas and BLT Burger! Hope you got the signature cappuchino from Battistas!

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