Sean's birthday weekend in Vegas

For Sean’s birthday, he unsurprisingly requested that we celebrate in Vegas; his most favorite place on earth, ha. We’ve been going to Vegas since the beginning of our relationship (actually got engaged in Vegas in 2008) so it remains a very special place for the both of us. To be honest, I don’t think I even need to recap our Vegas trips anymore but I will because I love having our trips documented on here for us to look back on. Believe it or not, Sean reads my blog periodically and comments on how much he enjoys looking at my travel recaps. And if we ever need to remember a year we went somewhere, my blog holds all the answers.

We always stay at a new hotel for every trip which means that we’ve stayed at many, many hotels in Vegas over the years. Our favorites so far have been Caesars Palace, The Palazzo and now Park MGM which was once the Monte Carlo. This trip we stayed at Park MGM and absolutely loved our experience. I think it is perfectly located on the strip and the hotel is quite beautiful. There are touches of dark green throughout the hotel which I absolutely loved. Comfortable, plush beds are always the cherry on top.

Immediately upon checking in our hotel, we took the Tram to the Bellagio for their buffet as we were starving. I'll admit that I am not usually a fan of buffets (unless it's Chinese) but their buffet changed my mind. It was sooo good.

And while we try to do a new thing each trip we also always visit the Conservatory at the Bellagio as it is always decorated differently each trip. This visit it was decorated for Chinese New Year and was absolutely stunning.

Our first night in Vegas, we went to the Delano which has the Skyfall Lounge located on the 64th floor and features a rooftop.
We enjoyed drinks and a gorgeous view. I highly recommend giving this place a visit if you’re ever in Vegas.





After some drinks we went to Mandalay Bay to try our hands at roulette and craps.
Have I ever mentioned that Sean is extremely lucky? Well, he is.

One of the many things I love about Vegas is that one minute you’re in one hotel and a few minutes later you’re in another. After Mandalay Bay we were scrolling through the Venetian and one thing I always say while we’re in Vegas is, “Look up!”.

We ended the night with a few drinks at The Cosmopolitan.

The following morning we took the Tram again to the Bellagio for breakfast at Sadelle’s. This trip was our first time taking the Tram and we really liked it. It is definitely a perk we intend to take more advantage of while we’re in Vegas as it's a fast and inexpensive way to get up and down the strip. Our breakfast at Sadelle’s was incredible and I can’t wait to go back the next time we're in Vegas. Sean had the egg benedict (sorry not pictured) and I had the healthy egg sandwich which was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. We both agreed that their hash browns are the best we’ve ever tasted and we both highly recommend if you’re in Vegas.

After brunch, we walked the strip to the Linq to do the High Roller. This was another activity we hadn’t done before and to be honest I was nervous but it was Sean’s birthday request so I went along. Well, I had nothing to be nervous about. The ride moved so slowly and the views were amazing. I would love to do this again at night with the open bar option because I think it would be even better seeing Vegas all lit up at night. Sean found a Groupon deal and it cost $22 per person; a steal if you ask me.

A trip to Vegas is not complete without a visit to Fat Tuesdays. At least that is what we think.



After the High Roller we walked the strip a bit.

That evening we did a club crawl which was a lot of fun. We use to do club crawls each Vegas trip and well, as we've gotten older we just don't have the energy (ha!). But we had an excuse being Sean's birthday weekend and all. The club crawl started at EyeCandy Lounge, then the Foundation Room (both in Mandalay Bay), and ended at the Hakkasan in MGM Grand Hotel. I danced so hard that night that I ended up having to take off my shoes and walk back to our hotel with Sean’s socks on.

The following day we woke up a little later and were going to have an early lunch at Eataly as it is in Park MGM (where we stayed) but Norina suggested that we have lunch at Shake Shack. I wasn’t in the mood for Shake Shack so Jim and I got lunch from Tom's Urban which was next door to Shake Shack. We even got to sit outside as it was a beautiful day.

I did end up taking pictures of Eataly as it's a beautiful spot to get a bite to eat. I'm hoping to try it the next time we're in Vegas.

Our last night (Valentine’s Day, Sean’s birthday) we kept it low key and had dinner at the food court in New York New York. We completely forgot about the fact that reservations are hard to come by on Valentine’s Day. Lesson learned. We ended the night at Coyote Ugly Saloon in New York New York and it brought us back to the good ole 2000s.

Norina and Jim in front of the Excalibur Hotel where they stayed. We actually stayed there on our last trip and we found the beds to be hard rock. However, Jim and Norina loved the hotel so it really all comes down to preference a lot of the time.

Coyote Ugly Saloon



The arena for the Raiders is being built.
We're hoping to catch a game the next time we're in Vegas.



The below captured on our walk back to our hotel.



The following morning we requested a late checkout and had a filling breakfast at America in New York New York.

Vegas, you’re always so good to us; see you in 5 months!