A Few Weeks In Las Vegas, NV – Here’s What We Did

After spending a few lovely days in Lake Tahoe, Shae and I rounded out our time in Nevada with a few weeks in Las Vegas.

In reality though, we didn’t spend anywhere near as much time in Vegas as we’d originally planned. We’d originally booked a month in an Airbnb there (more about that in a moment), but delayed our arrival by a day or two to extend our time in Lake Tahoe, as well as leaving a few days early in order to drive to Denver before flying to Hawaii.

I was also away for almost two weeks during that time on the Million Mile Madness challenge for Frequent Miler, while Shae flew to Boston for a few days for a conference. All this meant that our actual time in Las Vegas – particularly together – was very limited.

In addition to that, we’ve both been to Vegas in the past and have stayed in hotels on the Strip, watched the Bellagio fountains, etc., so it’s not like this was a first-time experience where we wanted to hit up all the quintessential sites.

All that to say that this post sharing about what we did during our three weeks in Las Vegas therefore isn’t a “Here are 75 things to do in Vegas” style post!

Where We Stayed In Las Vegas

Hotel rates in Las Vegas can vary significantly from night to night, more than any other city that I’ve noticed before. Booking a stay in one hotel for several weeks therefore wasn’t viable from either a points or cash perspective.

That left us with vacation rentals and thankfully there were some good ones on Airbnb. We ended up settling on this property which was just a short drive/Uber ride from the Las Vegas Strip.

The Airbnb was good for our needs. Although it was a little sterile design-wise and some of the furniture had seen better days, it had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen with a dishwasher and was close enough to the Strip to be convenient.

The backyard only consisted of a small patio with no grass, but that wasn’t a huge issue for Truffles as there was a nice part to walk around only a block away.

Cost-wise, we’d booked a 31 day stay as that was cheaper than booking a shorter period. That’s because some Airbnb hosts offer a substantial discount on monthly bookings, so booking 31 days was cheaper than booking something like 27 days. The total came to ~$2,000 for the month, although our net cost was less than that as we paid with Airbnb gift cards bought at a 10%-15% discount.

What We Did In Las Vegas

My time in Vegas was mostly spent on last minute preparation for my round-the-world trip and then resting afterwards. The activities below were therefore done by Shae.

Seven Magic Mountains

While Stephen was away, Truffles had her 11th “gotcha day” and so we went out to celebrate. I saw that there were some rainbow colored rocks called the Seven Magic Mountains and I knew we had to have a little photoshoot in our rainbow finest!

It was a beautiful little spot. You need to be aware that there will be some influencers, you know famous people like me and Truffles, around trying to get the perfect shot. So be prepared to be patient if it’s really busy. But mostly, people were kind and thoughtful and moved around to help others get their pictures.

Of course, Truffles was a hit and we had several people tell us that she was the highlight of their day. It was a great little spot for some dog-friendly and free fun away from the crowds.

Potted Potter

I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. I don’t love what the author of the series has to say about trans people, but separating the art from the artist, I love me some Harry Potter. Potted Potter was a fun time for fans of the series. The more you interact, the more fun it is, and we had a good audience who participated well.

The Mob Museum

I really enjoyed the Mob Museum – it includes the history of the mafia as well as the history of Las Vegas and how those two intersect. One of the most interesting parts was learning about the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre which was between two organized crime groups and led to the end of prohibition.

I also attended the tasting experience. It was definitely worth the price. It was really interesting and the moonshines were smooth and tasty. My favorites were The Fuzz and Ginger Jake.

Where We Ate & Drank In Las Vegas

Again, most of these places were ones that Shae visited; we returned to a couple together once I was back from my trip.

Table 34

I loved my first visit at Table 34 – Marc was an excellent server and the food was fantastic. I loved it so much that I took Stephen back with me. Unfortunately, that experience wasn’t nearly as good as the first. But I so enjoyed my first visit that I’m hopeful it was just a one off on our return.

Bramàre

I went to Bramàre the night after my visit to Table 34. Since both were on the inKind app I wondered if they were owned by the same group. I was then pleasantly surprised to see Marc from Table 34! He was my server at Bramàre and it was again excellent service. I preferred the food at Table 34 but the atmosphere at Bramàre and its proximity to the Strip was great. I met one of the proprietors and really appreciated the overall experience at both restaurants.

Khoury’s Fine Wine & Spirits

I stopped in with Truffles after our visit to the Seven Magic Mountains. It was dog-friendly, both inside and outside. I thought they had wine tastings but they didn’t, so I just grabbed a glass and enjoyed the sunshine. There were other options available too. The service was fine, it wasn’t especially memorable but that also means it wasn’t memorable in a negative way either.

Rosa Mexicano

Mistakes were made. After going to see Potted Potter I thought I’d go to Rosa Mexicano – a restaurant on the InKind app on the Las Vegas Strip. I was looking forward to the ceviche (something I love) and the cocktail I ordered. I also ordered a main meal, which I think was steak. Unfortunately, none of it was good. The ceviche and main tasted off and the cocktails weren’t good either. The service was good but I wouldn’t recommend going for a meal or drinks.

CHICA

One more restaurant that was on the inKind app was CHICA. It was in the Venetian and I went to meet up with a friend there for a girls night out. The food and service was excellent. It was so amazing, I thought I’d take Stephen back. Unlike the slightly disappointing second experience at Table 34, CHICA was just as perfect the second time. Chad was our server both times and the food was impeccable. You shouldn’t miss the chocolate skull for dessert!