Vegas with Baby & on a budget -- Part 4

There's no question that if you're traveling with an infant who's beginning to eat table foods, you're not going to choose to dine at a sushi restaurant. Good thing we didn't travel to Vegas with an infant who's beginning to eat table foods (Benny)!

On our last night in Vegas, we decided to go for sushi since we had heard that the Yellowtail restaurant inside the Bellagio serves an amazing Filet Mignon Roll.

My hottie and I made reservations and on our way to dinner, we couldn't help but notice that Vegas restaurants nowadays have touchscreen menus available for patrons to check out the meal line-up before entering....Ahhhh! gotta love technology!!

At Yellowtail we were seated in an area with a view of the Bellagio Fountains, which was lovely.
We ordered several types of sushi and the Filet Mignon roll was unbelievable. I could have probably had three more all to myself but...moderation, everything in moderation!!

Filet Mignon Roll

We also had the most amazing Asian-fusion crème brulee for dessert-- Ginger Crème Brulee. Paul said it was the best he's ever had.

Ginger Creme Brulée

We will return to Yellowtail one day. That's a fact.

That evening, we gambled a little more...had a few free drinks on the casino floor and eventually walked back to our room to relax for the rest of our last night in Vegas.

Have you ever heard of Hash House A Go-Go? It's a restaurant that serves up extra-large breakfast meals that are actually full of flavor and texture. This was another Vegas goal-- to have the Sage Chicken & Waffles at Hash House A Go Go...Oh, and we did.

First I ordered their signature watermelon, kiwi lemonade (without alcohol, of course) and I went for the Snickers Pancake. Yes, a pancake with chunks of Snickers chocolate. It was so darn big, I compare it to the size of a steering wheel. When Paul's order arrived, I just started giggling.

That meal was so big, we could have shared with another couple and still had leftovers. It had biscuits, mashed potatoes & gravy, waffles, fried chicken and special sauces all sandwiched together. I am not kidding when I say it was scrumptious...but it defeated my diet efforts and workout accomplishments thus far.

How were we supposed to drive home so full? In any case, we did and before leaving, we bought Benny a Hash House A Go-Go meal bib!

And that, is how we concluded a trip to Vegas without baby but with baby in mind constantly (We missed him so much). I have more tips of places and things to do with babies in Vegas...just shoot me an email and I will be glad to help.

Vegas with Baby & on a Budget -- Part 3

So again, we did not take baby to Vegas -- but we did manage to stay within our budget when it came to gambling, shopping and entertainment.

On the second night of our trip, we made reservations to eat at LAVO because Paul wanted to taste the one pound meatball he saw on the TV show, "Man vs. Food".
So we went.
LAVO is located inside the Palazzo Hotel & Casino, which is adjacent to the amazing Venetian. We decided to walk to LAVO from the Vdara. I was all made-up, dress & heels and since we had 1/2 hour to get there I figured, why spend money on a taxi cab? So we walked (bad idea).
Well, we arrived late but fortunately, they still honored our reservation and even gave us front-of-the-line tickets to stay and dance the night away with DJ Paul Oakenfold (the offer was there for people who purchased two entrees at the restaurant).

LAVO's amazing one-pound meatball!

The one pound meatball did not disappoint. It was delicious. It had whipped ricotta cheese and just the right amount of spices and tomato sauce to make it deliciously gooey and tasteful. He was a happy man. I ended up ordering a salmon dish which was also very good. For dessert, we were recommended the strawberry cheesecake so we went for it.

 

After a long night of dinner and dancing, we decided to walk back to our hotel (again) and on our way there, I bumped into this little pink vending machine that sold flat shoes on the go (Emergency Footwear)!!! This is available so that ladies like myself who simply could no longer walk in heels, deposit a crisp $20 bill and after selecting shoe size and color, a new pair of flats is dispensed allowing for one to walk comfortably the rest of the way. Genius, right?

The next day in Vegas, we had an early morning work out and felt like Mexican food for lunch. So we walked to the Aria and discovered Javier's... I had a lunch that was yummy, delicious and nutritious-- the chicken breast with poblano pepper. Paul went for the enchiladas. From there, we explored the strip where I found an pigeon-shaped chair outside of the Aria (clever) and posed for a picture. We also learned that the new Cirque du Soleil show, Zarkana, was dark that week (booo)... but we made it to the Bettie Page Store where I wanted to buy everything!

View of Javier's from the Aria Casino Floor

Decent Menu of Imported Beer & Spirits

At the Bettie Page Store I tried on a cute flower print dress but they didn't have my size. Paul was gracious to patiently wait outside the fitting room as he checked on his sports bets.

The dresses here are so elegant & classy!

The Bettie Paige clothing store is a real treat to those of us who love the pin-up culture...there's actually a shop located here in L.A. but the Vegas store is just so unique!
Later that afternoon, we headed to the Bellagio for dinner at Yellowtail to try the famous filet mignon roll.
On our way there, we stopped to check out the world's biggest chocolate fountain, which is a great activity for kids... :-) This fountain allows for white, medium and dark confectionary grade liquid chocolate to flow through more than 500 feet of stainless steel piping. The chocolate rises 27 feet from the lower level pump room and it took 2 years to engineer, plan and design... the only thing missing were the oompa-loompas :-)

A few steps from the chocolate fountain is the Bellagio's Majestic flower display. It's whimsy, colorful and beautiful...another place where children love to hang out! It's far enough from the casino floor to remain fresh and smoke-free and a visual treat for all ages. Benny would have been intrigued to be here.

The flower display change every season. This time around, the summer exhibit offered giant birds, a Chanel Perfume display frame and this cutesy little (giant) snail that was made with approximately 1,500 cut flowers.

Snail Flower Detail

Incredibly gorgeous... I love flowers.  The last leg of our trip, including dinner at the Yellowtail and breakfast at Hash house a go-go will be posted tomorrow!

Vegas with Baby & on a Budget -- Part 1

Planning a trip to Vegas with a baby?

My advice to you….DON’T!

It's true that a fun-loving, responsible family with an infant can absolutely prepare, provide and accommodate for their little baby regardless of where they’re traveling…but…if you leave your little one with a trusted babysitter while you and your honey go on that much needed weekend getaway to Sin City, you will be glad that you did.

That’s not to say we didn’t bump into dozens of people pushing strollers and wearing baby carriers all along Las Vegas Boulevard. Families with babies travel to the desert and take their children to one of the most drunken, adult entertainment-riddled and gambling-addicted cities in the U.S. all the time BUT …we’re just glad we made the trip without Benny this time.

And if I may, I actually lived in Las Vegas for over a year at one point in my life so I have plenty of love for the city…just no desire to go there while my baby is still, well, um...a baby, especially in the hot days of summer.

BUT…if we absolutely had to travel to Vegas and take our little Benny Boy who still drinks from a bottle, soils diapers and can’t walk…I made sure to keep my eyes open for places and things to do with baby while visiting Las Vegas. 

First, here's how we ended up in Sin City a week after returning from our vacation to the Dominican Republic: We were visiting my parents talking about what an amazing time we had, but remembering how Benny constantly kept us busy when all of a sudden, my hubby came up with a brilliant idea—we needed another vacation. I guess you could say we had the vacation itch!

But this time it was decided we would leave Benny with my mom & dad in order to enjoy a nice weekend all to ourselves…

The day Paul decided we needed another getaway...LOL

So the first thing I did was look for a nice hotel on the “Strip”. 

Expedia and Orbitz featured tons of attractive Strip hotels, but none of them were selling for less than $150 a night. So I made a deal with Paul… if he really wanted to go to Vegas, then we would be adventurous and purchase one of those secret deals where we choose the option of a guaranteed 5-star hotel in our destination city but don’t find out the location until after purchasing the non-refundable package.

He agreed and we bought a 3-night hotel stay with parking and pool access included, on the Las Vegas Strip, on a holiday weekend for only $110 a night. We entered our credit card information and boom….the purchase was made!

Much to my pleasant surprise… we learned we had scored a deal at the all-suite, non-smoking, non-gambling Vdara Hotel, located behind the Cosmopolitan (which is one of the moment's hottest Vegas destinations) and next to the Aria, which is also a brand-spanking-new, state-of-the-art casino & hotel. 

We were excited because staying at the Vdara meant the following:

1.       No temptation to gamble on our way to our room.

2.       No smoking allowed that would have otherwise made our lungs, clothes and hair suffer.

3.       No pressure to have to dine out all the time since we had a fridge, a stove and a full kitchen!

Vdara Cocktail Bar located in the smoke-free lobby!!

Upon arrival at the Vdara, we were stoked. The place is clean, fresh, modern, friendly, amazing and again, conveniently located a hallway away from the Cosmopolitan, the Aria and did I mention there's another hallway that connects to the beautiful Bellagio??

Our room was a basic, comfy, cozy suite—with all the amenities a couple might enjoy, including a stand-alone bathtub for a night of… magazine reading and a glass of Champagne..!! 

There's also the option to request a baby crib and of course, all suites are sound-proof in case things get loud in the middle of the night...with a weeping little one (of course)!

We had a relatively nice view of the Strip

Downstairs, the hotel has a trendy, designer cocktail bar and a restaurant with a convenience store that sold the coolest item I was able to find all weekend— green glitter chocolate lollipops.

I made an appointment at the Vdara salon to schedule a mani-pedi and inquired about cabana rental at the pool to give myself some time to tan. I was greeted at the salon with a delicious cup of tea and chose a hot pink shade to set the mood for the weekend…

Later by the pool, I orded the Vdara Signature drink which was so REFRESHING! I'm just going to say it contained vodka, vodka and more vodka (smiley face).

But it was reallly nice to see families with their little kids swimming and having a great time at the Vdara pool (Benny would have loved it too).

Mommy Long Legs...LOL

After the pool, Paul made snacks for us in our room and prepared a chilled glass of red wine to toast  before venturing out to lose our money. So far, we could have done everything on this day (except gamble) with Benny Bear had we brought him along so it IS possible to enjoy Vegas with baby... Stay tuned for Part 2 of this entry...