We were surprised to see that Tennessee One was going to be taking us to Vegas from Sacramento! We took her back from Turks & Caicos to Ft. Lauderdale last year! So cool!
Budget's Fastbreak is the way to go when renting a car especially at large airports where the lines can be so long! I just go to the Fastbreak Counter where my car is ready for me.
We woke up to a cute toddler walking around the house with some Cheerios! My nephew, Aakash, was only 19 months during Christmas.
The next day, we had lunch with my good friend and old fraternity brother, Bryan, at an Armenian Grill. This is a Pear Soda from the country of Georgia. It is delicious.
It was great to see Bryan again.
This was the best kabob restaurant that I have been to! I got a trio of meat incluidng ground beef, filet mignon kabobs, and lamb kabobs! We got a lot of appetizers too.
We went to this cool Korean cafe after lunch for some amazing desserts and coffee drinks. The Christmas log was so delicious!
We got more cuddle time with my nephew later on too!
Back to some cuteness here. My Nephew wanted me to get something for him underneath the day bed in his room.
When we checked into TI, I saw that they upgraded us to an Executive Suite. Joy was wondering why, and I said it is because I am an Executive now at my company. LOL.
These double doors on the 33rd floor led into our Executive Suite.
Look at that long hallway in our suite! I was telling Joy and we could throw one major party here! LOL. There were His & Hers Bathrooms also!
Joy says two thumbs up for the pirate ships at TI.
What's that! The Mirage Volcano is erupting! Help!
Is that Joy's carriage waiting to take her to the ball? The Bellagio Conservatory is full of floral decorations.
Speaking of flowers..What is that in my Woodford Reserve special bourbon selected for the Lago Restaurant at Bellagio! Looks like the ice cube has an orchid inside!
The water show at Bellagio is really cool!
What is this enchanted garden? This is the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesar's Palace!
We met up with a friend of ours for drinks that night on the strip too. The drinks at Vanderpump were really delicious!
We decided to get a late night snack at Gilley's at TI once we got back to our hotel. This was the view of the famous strip from our table.
In the morning, we woke up to this view from our executive suite.
This is the TI from the Starbucks on the street level. I needed my usual iced Americano so we walked down there in the morning after I worked out.
I needed a nice jacuzzi bath after my work out and coffee.
We walked around the strip after I got ready. I loved this picture I took at Venetian with Joy.
We went to Tiffany at the Fashion Show before lunch, and they were serving the best hot chocolate that I ever had! The cookies on the cloth napkins were very good as well.
Joy was shopping for a new necklace.
She decided to get an Elsa Peretti "bean" necklace to match the "bean" cufflinks that she got me for my promotion to an Executive back in August.
We had lunch with an old high school friend of mine at Maggiano's at the Fashion Show. We had a cool view of the strip here.
Back to more cuteness again! My nephew wanted to make me a Nespresso. LOL.
He is so curious! Babies smell really nice (when they do not have dirty diapers). LOL.
Joy and I had Christmas Eve Dinner at Hell's Kitchen at Caesar's Palace.
The beautiful hostess greeted us and made sure we were seated in a timely manner ahead of our reservation time.
When we were shown to our table, I thought were inside the set of the TV show. They had the blue and red teams!
The place setting at Hell's Kitchen was tastefully done.
Our cocktails have arrived so a toast is in order! We had a beautiful view of the strip from our table also.
Our first course was seared scallops. If this indicative of what was yet to come, we were in heaven! It was delicious!
Our 2nd course was tuna tartare! This was amazing too! I was shocked at how fresh the fish was. The waiter said fish can be flown in fresh twice a day to Las Vegas!
My third course was an amazing pumpkin and butternut squash soup. Delicious again!
We ordered a side of the chili brussel sprouts! These were the best brussel sprouts ever!
Our entrees were amazing as well! I got the short ribs which were cooked for like four hours. Joy got the crispy skin salmon.
Our dessert was the signature Sticky Toffee Pudding. My mom normally does not like dessert, but she loved this!
We headed out to Las
Vegas a few days before Christmas to spend time with my brother,
sister-in-law, and adorable nephew which was 19 months! After a
short flight on Southwest's Tennessee One styled aircraft, we arrived
into Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. A short shuttle
trip to the rental car facility and a shorter walk to the Budget Fast
Break counter got us our rental car, and we headed off to my brother's
home. My nephew was still up so we gave him this presents
early. He is so sweet and cute!
The next morning, we had some time to play with my nephew before we headed out to lunch at an amazing Armenian Sishkabob place with my old buddy from college. We had a feast of Armenian appetizers including eggplant caviar, hummus, and yogurt dip before the trio of meats arrived. The beef lulu kabob, filet mignon kabob, and the lamb kabob were all so tasty! Afterwards, we went to a cool Korean cafe called Gabi. This place was so eclectic. We had some amazing coffee drinks and desserts there. I was pretty impressed with the decor inside the cafe including a swing set that people could use. The furniture was all a hodgepodge of vintage or modern pieces that came together well.
That afternoon, we checked into our Executive Suite at Treasure Island. I think I had a lot of credentials with Expedia since we spent a lot of money with them so we were upgraded to this beautiful suite on the 33rd floor. Joy asked why I always get upgraded to nice suites, and I told her that her husband was a very important executive in the pharmaceutical industry! LOL. Our suite had his and hers bathroom. One bathroom featured a jacuzzi tub too. The other bathroom had the nice walk in shower. Our view of the strip was awesome too. The extra long hallway in our suite was something out of that movie, The Hangover. I told Joy we should have thrown a big party here!
After settling into the suite, I took my wife for a walk along the strip. We stopped at several hot spots including the Mirage Volcano. Then, we walked through the Forum Shops where we could not resist getting cookies at the Honolulu Cookie Company. We walked through Caesar's to get to Bellagio where we met up with another buddy of mine for drinks at Lago. Lago was the Italian restaurant at Bellagio. We enjoyed some Wagyu beef tartare and sashimi along with cocktails at Lago. I loved the orchid in my large ice cube that was served with the Woodford bourbon that was specially selected for Lago. After enjoying our cocktails and appetizers at Lago, we checked out the Bellagio Water Show outside before walking over to the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesar's for another drink. Afterwards, we got gelato on the way back to TI. Joy and I had a late night snack at Gilley's, but Gilley's was not as busy that night. There was no bikini bull riding which was a typical Sunday activity there. LOL.
The next morning, I worked out at the nice fitness center at TI before we went down to Starbucks to get my usual iced Americano. I need espresso based drinks in the morning. LOL. I am spoiled! Afterwards, I took a nice bubblebath in the jacuzzi tub. Then, we had to get ready to head out to meet another friend of mine. However, we walked over to White Castle since Joy was craving their sliders.
We ended up going into Tiffany at Fashion Show Mall before lunch to check out some necklaces since Joy needed a new piece. A woman was serving the best hot chocolate with the Tiffany color marshmellows and delicious sugar cookies that were served on a disposable cloth napkin. I had multiple cookies and two cups of that delicious hot chocolate! Joy got a nice Elsa Peretti piece at Tiffany for her collection. I ended up getting a nice chair massage also at the Fashion Show Mall before lunch with my buddy.
For lunch, we enjoyed Italian food at Maggiano's. Our table overlooked the strip as well. It was nice to hang out with an old buddy I knew from my high school days in Las Vegas. We had to head out after lunch to go see the new Star Wars movie with my brother and sister-in-law at a theater in Northwest Las Vegas. Then, we had dinner before going back to his house to play with my nephew.
My nephew likes to grab your finger and walk to somewhere he wants to go. Either he wants to play with something or wants you to get him something he can not reach yet. It was fun! My brother got him a Duplo train set too so we had creating a minature railroad town for him.
On Christmas Eve, Joy and I had dinner at Hell's Kitchen at Caesar's Palace. We had to get more cookies from Honolulu Cookie Company since we were down there too. LOL. Hell's Kitchen was amazing! Our table had a great view of the strip as well as the famous red and blue colored kitchen where the chefs were working hard for our culinary enjoyment! Our first course was seared scallops. I was so amazed with it! The 2nd course was tuna tartare! I do not think I had tuna this fresh or amazing before, and we were in a dessert! WTF! The waiter said that fresh fish is flown into Vegas twice a day sometimes. I had a delicious soup next before my beef short ribs arrived. For dessert, I had sticky toffee pudding which is Gordon Ramsey's signature dessert at this establishment. Moreover, I had some amazing single origin decaf coffee. Dinner was around $270 for the two of us, but we think it is well worth it!
We went shopping afterwards at the Forum Shops. I got a nice shirt at Lacoste, and I also got a cool shirt there for my nephew. We wanted him to open something right at midnight so we thought this would be cool. They put the small crocodile sticker on the wrapping for him.
Christmas was spent with my family trying to make gingerbread cookies, but we were missing ingredients for the frosting so we were eating the cookies and the candied cherries. LOL. I was also trying to sing "Adeste Fidelis" in Latin for my family since we had to learn that song in private school when I was growing up. Joy and I both enjoyed our time with my nephew in Vegas. We can not wait to see him again!
The next morning, we had some time to play with my nephew before we headed out to lunch at an amazing Armenian Sishkabob place with my old buddy from college. We had a feast of Armenian appetizers including eggplant caviar, hummus, and yogurt dip before the trio of meats arrived. The beef lulu kabob, filet mignon kabob, and the lamb kabob were all so tasty! Afterwards, we went to a cool Korean cafe called Gabi. This place was so eclectic. We had some amazing coffee drinks and desserts there. I was pretty impressed with the decor inside the cafe including a swing set that people could use. The furniture was all a hodgepodge of vintage or modern pieces that came together well.
That afternoon, we checked into our Executive Suite at Treasure Island. I think I had a lot of credentials with Expedia since we spent a lot of money with them so we were upgraded to this beautiful suite on the 33rd floor. Joy asked why I always get upgraded to nice suites, and I told her that her husband was a very important executive in the pharmaceutical industry! LOL. Our suite had his and hers bathroom. One bathroom featured a jacuzzi tub too. The other bathroom had the nice walk in shower. Our view of the strip was awesome too. The extra long hallway in our suite was something out of that movie, The Hangover. I told Joy we should have thrown a big party here!
After settling into the suite, I took my wife for a walk along the strip. We stopped at several hot spots including the Mirage Volcano. Then, we walked through the Forum Shops where we could not resist getting cookies at the Honolulu Cookie Company. We walked through Caesar's to get to Bellagio where we met up with another buddy of mine for drinks at Lago. Lago was the Italian restaurant at Bellagio. We enjoyed some Wagyu beef tartare and sashimi along with cocktails at Lago. I loved the orchid in my large ice cube that was served with the Woodford bourbon that was specially selected for Lago. After enjoying our cocktails and appetizers at Lago, we checked out the Bellagio Water Show outside before walking over to the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesar's for another drink. Afterwards, we got gelato on the way back to TI. Joy and I had a late night snack at Gilley's, but Gilley's was not as busy that night. There was no bikini bull riding which was a typical Sunday activity there. LOL.
The next morning, I worked out at the nice fitness center at TI before we went down to Starbucks to get my usual iced Americano. I need espresso based drinks in the morning. LOL. I am spoiled! Afterwards, I took a nice bubblebath in the jacuzzi tub. Then, we had to get ready to head out to meet another friend of mine. However, we walked over to White Castle since Joy was craving their sliders.
We ended up going into Tiffany at Fashion Show Mall before lunch to check out some necklaces since Joy needed a new piece. A woman was serving the best hot chocolate with the Tiffany color marshmellows and delicious sugar cookies that were served on a disposable cloth napkin. I had multiple cookies and two cups of that delicious hot chocolate! Joy got a nice Elsa Peretti piece at Tiffany for her collection. I ended up getting a nice chair massage also at the Fashion Show Mall before lunch with my buddy.
For lunch, we enjoyed Italian food at Maggiano's. Our table overlooked the strip as well. It was nice to hang out with an old buddy I knew from my high school days in Las Vegas. We had to head out after lunch to go see the new Star Wars movie with my brother and sister-in-law at a theater in Northwest Las Vegas. Then, we had dinner before going back to his house to play with my nephew.
My nephew likes to grab your finger and walk to somewhere he wants to go. Either he wants to play with something or wants you to get him something he can not reach yet. It was fun! My brother got him a Duplo train set too so we had creating a minature railroad town for him.
On Christmas Eve, Joy and I had dinner at Hell's Kitchen at Caesar's Palace. We had to get more cookies from Honolulu Cookie Company since we were down there too. LOL. Hell's Kitchen was amazing! Our table had a great view of the strip as well as the famous red and blue colored kitchen where the chefs were working hard for our culinary enjoyment! Our first course was seared scallops. I was so amazed with it! The 2nd course was tuna tartare! I do not think I had tuna this fresh or amazing before, and we were in a dessert! WTF! The waiter said that fresh fish is flown into Vegas twice a day sometimes. I had a delicious soup next before my beef short ribs arrived. For dessert, I had sticky toffee pudding which is Gordon Ramsey's signature dessert at this establishment. Moreover, I had some amazing single origin decaf coffee. Dinner was around $270 for the two of us, but we think it is well worth it!
We went shopping afterwards at the Forum Shops. I got a nice shirt at Lacoste, and I also got a cool shirt there for my nephew. We wanted him to open something right at midnight so we thought this would be cool. They put the small crocodile sticker on the wrapping for him.
Christmas was spent with my family trying to make gingerbread cookies, but we were missing ingredients for the frosting so we were eating the cookies and the candied cherries. LOL. I was also trying to sing "Adeste Fidelis" in Latin for my family since we had to learn that song in private school when I was growing up. Joy and I both enjoyed our time with my nephew in Vegas. We can not wait to see him again!