What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas
Otherwise known as Las Vegas. It is most known for gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and of course the nightlife. I am a couple of years over 21 but have never really been interested in going. I have never been much of a party person so the nightlife was not appealing and I am terrible at gambling. As for the nice restaurants and shopping, I just always thought you could do that anywhere. Finally, as for the entertainment, I figured it was on my bucket list, but it was definitely lower than other places.
Well, two of my aunts have been going on an annual trip with a long time family friend every year for her birthday and this year was the 5th annual. I decided to go this time to see what all the fuss was about and I would be in the company of my trusted family. Let me just say that I was definitely not disappointed. Turns out there was sooo much to do and the nightlife was actually a lot of fun!
We had somewhat of an itinerary planned out as it was for a friend’s birthday. She wanted to go to some clubs, go the iconic Chippendales show, and drink a lot. All of which, I was not used to. My favorite place in the world is anything in regards to Disney. So this was kind of like evolving into an actual adult for a few days in a sense.
The first full day we were there, we figured we could go out to the iconic “Welcome to Vegas” sign. As you would imagine, there was a line. However, the line actually goes by pretty quickly. The only complaint was how windy it was and how uncooperative my hair was being for the quick photo, but it was a must do.
The next was to eat lunch. We decided to eat at a restaurant called Mon Ami Gabi and let me just tell you how delicious it was. I decided to go with the “MACARONI GRATIN small shells, mornay-cheese sauce.” Everything from the atmosphere to the service was wonderfully pleasant.
After we were finished it was time to go pick up the birthday girl from the airport and check in to the hotel. She had rewards to stay at Caesars’s Palace. It was definitely beautiful and had a convenient location on the strip for what we wanted to do.
After checking in and getting settled it was time to get some drinks and take in the environment. It was a lot of fun people watching at the bar. Does anyone else like to do that? And what was even better was getting free drinks. Who doesn’t like free? We then went back to the room to get ready for the night, which was what the birthday girl was REALLY looking forward to. It was kind of our birthday gift to her to go and that was the Chippendales show. I am not sure if it was the excitement of being there for the first time or if I actually enjoyed the show because it was A LOT of fun! The plan was to go to the club afterward, but we decided to call it a night early because we had a lot planned for the next day. 
The following day was reserved for shopping at the Bellagio and the Venetian, walking the strip, eating at Nobu, and going to Omnia to see Calvin Harris. The shopping was pretty amazing! There were so many luxurious brands from Harry Winston, Rolex, to Chanel. There were many shopping malls and they were definitely different from your standard mall in your own town. There was a lot of art and some were designed to be like the typical European town in Italy or Paris. If you are planning to be out and about all day, make sure you bring flats to wear during the day so your feet aren’t killing you before the night begins.
We decided to head back to the room before dinner so we can get dolled up for dinner, then head out to Omnia. Let me just say, I was not looking forward to eating at Nobu. I just thought “oh man! I do not like Japanese food. The furthest I go is just a simple California roll and that is not even sushi to a lot of people.” However, the food was AMAZING! It was definitely worth it and I look forward to eating there again next time! Since this was all our first time at the restaurant, our waiter was super nice and gave us some recommendations on what to order. So we started off with the Spinach Salad with Dry Miso and this was the moment of truth of where I knew I was going to be a gonner. It was delicious!! The plates are made to share. So we shared it amongst the three of us and we were glad one of us didn’t want it because that meant we had some left over for seconds. As for the main dish, we all ordered our own and didn’t really share. I ordered the Shrimp and Maine Lobster with Spicy Lemon, which was not the main recommendation from the server. However, I figured it was the most safe choice for me. What he did recommend was the Black Cod Miso, which one of us did order and I did have one bite. It was delicious, like everything else. Even though we were full at the end of the dinner, we did order a flourless chocolate cake with a candle so we could sing a happy birthday to the birthday girl.
After we were all filled with food, it was time to touch up before heading to the main event of Calvin Harris! We were told to get there early because it was going to be crowded and it would fill up. So we got there at 9:30pm and were told he wouldn’t arrive until 1:00am-ish. When we arrived, we pretty much had dibs on where we wanted to stand since we didn’t want to pay $2000 for a VIP table. We decided to go on the second floor and have a bird’s-eye view of the DJ stage. TIP: take the first floor on the dance floor OR take a bunch of friends and split the VIP table. It ended up not being the best place because once the show starts, a moving chandelier comes down and blocks the view the majority of the time. It wasn’t too much of a burden for us because we were front row and it wasn’t always covering the view. Overall it was a fun experience because Calvin was way better than the boring opening DJ. I just wish he was more interactive with the audience. We left early once we felt we fulfilled the experience.
My advice is for the people who are not interested in Vegas is to just go!! Go once and experience, then judge the city so at least you can say you have been there. Let me know what your experience was down below in the comments! I would love to know!
XOXO,
Allison Leider
Allison Leider 