Sin City - Recuperate, Recover, RUN!

Token photo with The Hangover slot machines

Today's post is reminiscent of one of my very first posts. Sound familiar? I went to Vegas, lived life to the fullest - because we all know life is short and happiness can be fleeting - and am trying to undo the damage. I have absolutely ZERO regrets about any of my indulgences. I ate like a saint for the first 12 days of January, but this is my birthday month and typically consists of a lot of shenanigans!

My trip this year is very similar to the trip in my post from 2 years ago. We saw a great show - Zumanity for any of you Cirque du Soleil followers. I had always shied away from that show, I heard there is a lot of nudity and its very centered on sexuality. The website for the show requires that you are over 18 just to view it! In the past I figured since it was so rare that I got out to see any artistic events that I wanted to make sure I got the most culture and enjoyment out of it as possible. I wasn't sure I could put all my money on Zumanity. Since we were going with a large group of couples, we thought it would be super fun to all go and see it together. This was going to be a let-your-hair-down, partying weekend. We were not disappointed! It was really funny actually, which I did not expect. It was certainly entertaining, and I definitely enjoyed seeing it with a large group. It was a sexually uninhibited show, but is not like people were "doing it" on stage or anything.

Of course we caved and bought the photos!

The booze. After finally learning my lesson about drinking (you need not remind me how old I am), I have decided to stick with one type of alcohol, and go easy on the red wine. I absolutely LOVE red wine, but when that is my drink of choice for a night of partying it never ends well. And of course when you are gambling and the waitresses are constantly coming by to take your order, you'd better choose something that will set well with you for the long haul. There was one morning when I had a spicy Bloody Mary, which was so good, but I had to switch to my drink for the day which was a vodka tonic. Vodka tonics are incredibly refreshing and tasty. Because it is made with vodka, a clear alcohol, hangovers are less severe. I can honestly say I did not have any hangovers all weekend! Score!

Nectar of the party people

When night time came around, and the oxygen pumped through the casinos was not enough to do the job, I switched to vodka and Red Bull . I used to loathe Red Bull, and would still never drink it on its own if I needed an energy boost. But hey, when in Vegas, do as the Vegans do. Ok, that isn't right but you know what I mean! One night it really helped me to stay up until 3:30 am.

I will spare you every last detail of my weekend but I must add that another highlight was our dinner on our last night there, at Fleur at Mandalay Bay. Mandalay Bay happened to be where we were staying, and we wanted an easy, not-so-late and not-so-wild night. Hubert Keller was on Top Chef and we'd heard the food was amazing. Well, have you seen their menu?

Extensive and fabulous

There is an option on the top right corner that says "The Feast", where you can "eat the menu", recommended for parties of 6 or more. Basically, you get to try EVERYTHING on the menu except for the large plates and a few other items. Every.single.dessert. No lie! We had a few big eaters in our group, and most of us were pretty hungry. Plus, we all love good food. So we went for it. Oh.Em.Gee!!! It was fantastic. I did not photograph most things we ate because there were so many and my hands were pretty full at all times!

Brownie lollipops, vanilla cheese cake, pot de creme, and the BEST creme brulee EVER

We had tuna tacos, oysters, an onion soup shooter which was a universal fave at our table. Another notable was a battered and fried chick pea appetizer that was pretty tasty and different. The charcuterie platter was amazing.Wings, which were spicy but not an unnatural color of orange, yummy skirt steak 3 different salads, and black angus sliders which everyone raved about but I was too full to try them! There were too many items for me to list all here, but let me tell you, it was one of the most amazing dining experiences EVER. And so fun. Recommended for 6 or more? We could have used at least 8 people!

Mandalay Bay is not one of the newest hotels in Vegas, but its one of the best in my opinion because there is so much to do there. The rooms are great and the casino is awesome. The House of Blues is there which draws many cool bands, and the House of Blues Foundation Room is a really cool hangout/social scene, there are many fabulous restaurants, as well as a Shark Reef and Aquarium. In the summer, the pool is the best! It's one of the few hotels I can honestly say that if you stayed there you would never have to leave because they have everything.

View of from House of Blues Foundation Room

I am back to reality, waking up early to get my kids ready for school and heading off to work. But not before doing a quick workout in the morning. So far I have been doing my time on the elliptical and yoga, and back to my clean diet heavily focused on greens. I have 2 big trail runs planned for later in the week and I am honestly looking forward to them!


So when are you booking your trip to Las Vegas?? What do you like to do when you visit?

I was not compensated in any way by Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Fleur or Zumanity.  All opinions herein are my own.