The Friday Five, 1/17/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

This Friday Five will be Vegas-themed, because I was there from Sunday through Thursday and just got back. :)

Vegas, view from Bellagio hotel

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Traveling to Vegas. We'll start with some general things about it ... we stayed at the Bellagio for one night, comped (thanks to the myVegas slots app! Which is free to download and play), and only had to pay the resort fee, about $50. We then stayed at Bally's for the next 3 nights. Oddly, we both liked Bally's better, even though the Bellagio room was super nice ... I liked that Bally's had a fridge (and not just a minibar, like at Bellagio) and also, we got upgraded to a Jubilee suite, so that might have had something to do with it, ha. The suite was huge and also had a nice whirlpool tub. I'm partial to Bally's too because I've been staying there with my family since the early 2000s, and recently they renovated it so the rooms are pretty nice now.
  2. Eating. Lots and lots of eating, I weighed myself today and thankfully only gained about 2 pounds, though. Favorite meals were probably Charlie Palmer Steak, for my birthday meal; Hell's Kitchen, at Caesars Palace; Dining in the Dark, which was quite a unique experience; and the Aria buffet, for lunch. Least favorite was Pampas, at PH, which was definitely not as good as comparable restaurants (Fogo de Chao and Texas de Brazil, as its a Brazilian churrascaria). 
  3. Walking and taking Lyft/Uber. I probably would have gained a lot more weight had we not walked a lot - one day my Fitbit said we walked 26,000 steps. We also spent quite a bit on Lyft rides, but luckily Lyft was giving me a half-off promotion until Tuesday, and we were only there until Thursday. We got to ride in one of their self-driving cars, which was fun, too. 
  4. Gambling. I'm not a huge gambler but I do enjoy the penny slots. I think I left Vegas maybe $20-40 down, which isn't terrible; I had budgeted $20 per day. My boyfriend won $40 at one of the downtown casinos, and he left Vegas a little bit in the green. 
  5. Sightseeing. Thanks to some vegas.com deals and myVegas, we had a LOT of activities to do, most of which were free or less than $20 each, which was great. My favorite things we did were the Secret Garden, at the Mirage - the dolphins were super cute and smart, plus we met Siegfried there in the flesh! - and Absinthe, at Caesars Palace, which definitely lives up to the hype. I had been wanting to see that show for a really long time; tickets are normally pretty expensive ($100+) but we paid $55 on Vegas.com through one of their promotions. We also rode the High Roller and did the Eiffel Tower Experience, and also did ziplining at the LINQ.
Bellagio gardens. Currently a Lunar New Year theme!
Bellagio gardens. Currently a Lunar New Year theme!

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