You only turn 30 once is what I said when I booked Nick and I a two night, three day stay in the city of sin. Or as Nick calls it, his favorite place on Earth.

We departed from Tampa at 7 on Monday morning. We flew Spirit which I was extremely hesitant to do after reading their not so nice reviews. But I feel like we got what we paid for. They have a bare fare and for a reason. The seats are like sitting in a stadium, no padding, and squished close to the person beside you. Your knees are pretty much touching the seat in front of you and if you have long legs you’re going to have a bad time. Nothing is included in the flight, not even a cup of water. Anything you may want is available for additional purchase. Our flight time was just about five hours and we both agreed that we wouldn’t fly Spirit again for such a long flight.

We arrived a little after 9 in the morning (don’t forget that 3 hour time change. Yikes), and made our way to The Cosmopolitan where our reservations were. Our room wasn’t quite ready that early in the morning but with the promise of a text when it would be available we headed to Paris for breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi.

This restaurant is a favorite both with locals and the visitors. It’s right across the street from The Bellagio and offers great strip views and fountain shows (starting at 3PM). Nick and I both started with a Bloody Mary to get Vegas kicked off properly. The salad on top included one of the tastiest pieces of bacon I have ever experienced, it was crisp, chewy and flavorful all in one piece.

Nick had the eggs benedict and I had their mini Nutella waffles, served with home made vanilla whipped cream. Truly a great start to the party and to make it even better we received a text halfway through eating that our room was ready.

This room was everything I wanted it to be. We first walked in to a living room complete with two couches, a desk, mini bar and a giant TV. Our king sized bed was located next to the sliding glass door leading out to a terrace overlooking the Strip and Bellagio fountains. The bathroom was the real winner here though. The commode was located in a separate room and outside was a Jack & Jill sink, (perfect, I don’t like sharing space in the bathroom) a glass door revealed an open space shower and just beyond it a Japanese soaking tub, plenty of space for two people and a huge window to look out on the Strip from the tub. We were there at the beginning of February, temperatures never going above 50. Yuck. At least we got plenty of use from that soaking tub!

As you can imagine, it cost us a bit more than just staying in your average room, (about $850 for the two nights after all tax, resort fee, late check out purchase, etc.) but it was well worth it to us.

After enjoying a soak in the tub and taking a little break we hit the strip. We went to Sushi Roku located in Caesar’s Palace for their happy hour. $6 Hand rolls, $5 rolls, cocktail and beer specials as well as percentages off certain items on their regular menu. From there we crossed the street to The Flamingo to visit Margaritaville. They have a killer happy hour as well. $6 house margaritas, that are of course, excellent. I think I imbibed a little too much as is very easy to do in Vegas I dropped Nick off at the roulette tables at The Bellagio while I went back to the hotel to have a break.

The view from our room was even better at night. Especially with the fountain going off every 30 minutes between 3 and midnight.

I picked up a burger from Holsteins located within our hotel. I’ll be honest – it wasn’t the best and I was actually disappointed in the quality. I got the Fun-Ghi for the two of us to share. The burger, which I asked to be cooked medium rare was way over cooked. It’s topped with mushrooms, carmalelzied onions, gruyere cheese and truffle mayo. The size of it is disappointing as well. I was expecting to open the box to a big, tasty burger but that burger took up maybe a 1/4 of the takeout box! The burger was nearly $18 and didn’t even include fries. I had to purchase that separate for $6. And the fries were honestly the best tasting part of the meal! To pay $30 for an overcooked, over rated burger was not the best feeling. But lesson learned – I will never go back there again.

The second day we were there was Nick’s actual Birthday. We got breakfast from our hotel at a place called The Henry. We got everything to go because we wanted to soak in our tub and eat. Nick got the salmon toast and I got their freshly made beignets and a yogurt parfait. The food was good but nothing spectacular.

After breakfast we hit the gaming floor for a little bit then caught an Uber to head five miles from the strip to a place called Fino for Men. Nick wanted a nice haircut for his Birthday and this place delivered. Upon entering you are warmly greeted like an old friend and offered something to drink. Nick got a Corona and I went with a hot coffee to match the cold day. The space is clean and modern and you get the feeling that you are in good hands. I got my man back freshly cut and looking good. They gave him all that pampering for just $45. Which, if you’re a woman, the price of that cut for the quality does not sound bad at all!

We reserved Nobu for Nick’s Birthday dinner. He wanted something unique and with a tasting menu. This fit the qualifications. We sat at 6:30 at the sushi bar and ordered a bottle of Sauvignon blanc. We both went with Nobu’s signature Omakase.

Our first course was a vegetarian hand roll, seaweed wrapped around cucumber and carrot with a special sauce that reminded me almost of a sweeter balsamic.

Second course was Toro tartar topped with Golden Osetra cavier. The sauce on the bottom was ponzu. Each component of the dish was outstanding by itself and then with a taste of each on the same spoon, game changer. There was a palate cleanser on the side of a small Asian peach, incredibly juicy and sweet. This one ended up being Nick’s favorite dish.

Third course was a platter of assorted nigiri. From left to right we had maguro, barricuda, ebi & tamago (basically and egg omelette)

Fourth course ended up being my favorite. The bottom of the dish was thinly sliced cucumber in a citrus dressing. On top of that was three pieces of Chilean octopus. Nobu gets the octopus still alive and prepares it daily. A small drop of spicy paste is placed on top of each piece of meat. The spice ended up being too much for me and I scraped it off. The rest of the dish was outstanding. The octopus being incredibly flavorful. It had a bit of a chewy texture. All in all an incredible dish.

That concluded our appetizers and they brought us a house made honey dew gelato with another Japanese peach on the side to cleanse the palate in between.

I actually forgot to take a picture of the fifth course! It was the dish that made Nobu famous, the black cod with sweet miso. The fish itself was dense with rich flavor.

Sixth course was filet mignon served medium rare. We were worried to eat this course with just our chop sticks but the cuts of meat ended up melting right in your mouth. It was topped with an Enokitake mushroom and had a Shiitake on the side. It may have been the best meat dish I have ever had.

Our dessert was a bit rushed as we were heading to a show. But they brought us out a Bento box filled with fresh berries, Matcha ice cream and a chocolate cake with a molten core. Mixing the ice cream and cake together was just heavenly. Nick and I both agreed that we had an outstanding dinner. Very pricey, but for the service and quality of food we received it was worth it. This is an experience we will remember.

After dinner we made our way to MGM Grand to see the master David Copperfield. I won’t say much about his show so I don’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it. But I will say this, I was amazed. There were so many parts where I was wondering ‘how the heck did he do that??’ He truly is a master of his craft and more than that he is a good showman. If you decide to see him you will be entertained. 

Our third morning in Vegas started with breakfast in the tub again. This time we hit up Milk which is also located in our hotel. I was excited to try this place after seeing the original New York restaurant on Chef’s Table. I got her signature Crackpie and a Milkquake of Strawberry and Corn, pickled strawberry jam topped with a corn cookie. And of course I got to try her Cereal milk soft serve ice cream. It was just as delicious as it sounds, like eating a bowl of Cornflakes with sugar and drinking the leftover milk.

We checked out of our hotel and Nick hit the gaming floor again while I walked the strip. I ended up spending the afternoon at the Venetian, wandering around their canal shops. The only thing better than this would be if I were in Italy itself.

I had a taste for macrons since before we left Florida and I was finally able to quench it at Le Macaron. I limited myself to just two, Bubblegum and Lavender White Chocolate. The bubblegum was honestly a disappointment, it tasted stale and wasn’t flavorful. The second one I got though was everything you could ever ask for out of a macaron, a crisp shell, flavorful throughout, it was incredible.

Nick and I met up and Ubered off the strip, heading downtown to spend our last few hours in Vegas before our flight. We ended up at a place called Downtown Cocktail Room. We were so confused on how to get into the actual bar! There’s a sign above the door with their name and a sign on the ‘door’ with their hours. Their front door has no kind of handle or anything on it! It just looks like part of the wall. We actually had to wait for someone else to enter before we figured it out. You have to push on the ‘wall’ that is actually a door. It looks like a dive bar inside. The walls are painted red and the furniture is dark, it smells like incense. There were maybe only 8 people inside. We were there for their famous ‘halfy hour’ where everything is literally half the price. Nick was hesitant but I was confident. I had heard that this place updates their cocktail list at least 4 times a year, always keeping it unique and fresh.

Hands down – these were the best cocktails we had during our time in Vegas. I got the Killah Kiwi, a favorite here since 2015. Nick got a beer cocktail called One Size Fits None. His tasted almost like an Arnold Palmer. Sitting at the bar we got to watch our bartender whom you could tell was a master at her craft. She made each drink with such care. Oh – and they serve absinthe, we’ll have to try that next time.

We Ubered from downtown to the airport, waving goodbye for now to the strip. I was pleased to have a night flight as this is when Vegas truly comes alive and shows her true self. Our flight left at 9:30 and there is one good thing I realized about our Spirit flight – it was always right on time. We were both tired from our time spent in Sin City and fell asleep promptly after the safety briefing, to reawaken in Tampa and back to our ‘regular’ lives. Don’t worry Vegas – we’ll see you again soon 😉