Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas: Timeless Luxury On The Strip

Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas: Timeless Luxury On The Strip

Gosh, I rarely stay at The Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, but when I do, it’s always a treat. I typically don’t care much about the room and where I’m staying in Las Vegas, and I tend towards the more mid-range resorts. Occasionally I will splurge, and stay somewhere a bit higher-end, like the Venetian, or the Bellagio, but I prefer saving my money for restaurants, shows and gambling, since most of the rooms around the strip are pretty similar….

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RH Indianapolis Dining Room: Estate Dining With a Design Flair

RH Indianapolis Dining Room: Estate Dining With a Design Flair

Just, wow! Pulling up to the RH Gallery in Indianapolis, you get an absolute sense of awe, and you actually forget that you are right smack in the middle of America. As you drive into the Dehaan Estate, a 151 acre property containing a beautiful lake, stunning outdoor sculptures, and even a peep of an obliging pheasant poking around, you can’t help but think that you might actually be in Europe. The driveway is designed to take you all around…

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Luca Restaurant, London: Two Hours Of Delicious, Elevated Italian Cooking

Luca Restaurant, London: Two Hours Of Delicious, Elevated Italian Cooking

Luca was our last meal in London, and one of the best! As I mentioned in my review of the Clerk & Well, where we stayed on our recent trip in July, 2024, the Clerkenwell neighborhood is chock full of delicious eateries, so we rarely had to go far to eat really well near our home base. We were delighted with Luca, a one-star Michelin restaurant, and apart from a bit of a communication snafu at the end of the…

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Historico Central Hotel: Affordable Luxury & Local Experiences in Mexico City

Historico Central Hotel: Affordable Luxury & Local Experiences in Mexico City

We stayed at Historico Central Hotel in Mexico City for three nights in February of 2024. I chose this hotel for the totally central location, as well as the very reasonable price for a large room. Once we arrived here, this stunning boutique hotel did not disappoint, and there were tons of extra nice touches that really added to the experience here. This hotel is in a restored, 300 year old building, and is really gorgeous when you step back…

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The Clerk & Well Pub and Rooms: A Cozy, Low-Cost Option To Stay In Central London

The Clerk & Well Pub and Rooms: A Cozy, Low-Cost Option To Stay In Central London

After I booked the flights for our family vacation to London last winter, for July of 2024, I started looking for hotel rooms. Being four of us, all on the larger side either in length or width, we pretty much must have two rooms, since cramming into one room with two full-sized beds is simply not an option. Boy, did I get some massive sticker shock! I knew that London would be expensive, but staying in a normal, very basic…

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Unforgettable Dining at Asador Bastian: A Spanish Steakhouse Gem in Chicago

Unforgettable Dining at Asador Bastian: A Spanish Steakhouse Gem in Chicago

My husband scored a reservation (they book only 30 days out) for my birthday this August, 2024, to the very hyped, very hot, and very exclusive Asador Bastian, one of Chicago’s most highly-praised restaurants of the last year. We adore Spanish food, and we also love steak, and our recent experience at Bazaar Meat (another incredible Spanish Steakhouse in Chicago) made for some very high expectations. Truly, this was one of the best meals I’ve had this year. The place…

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St. John Restaurant, London: An Hommage To Protein

St. John Restaurant, London: An Hommage To Protein

We were lucky enough to stay in the Clerkenwell neighborhood of Central London, a bit off the beaten path for tourist attractions, though close enough that most were walkable, or at the very least, easy to get to via public transportation. Clerkenwell is also a growing foodie neighborhood of London, and we were able to check out some of the very best it had to offer while visiting in July of 2024. St. John restaurant has a few outposts, but…

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Sketch Lecture Room & Library: Funky Vibes, French Culinary Excellence

Sketch Lecture Room & Library: Funky Vibes, French Culinary Excellence

I love exposing the kids to the world outside of Chicago, and part of doing that is exposing them to some of the world’s best food. After our amazingly epic experience at Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona on our last trip to Europe with the kiddos, I was confident that they could handle just about anything at a Three-Michelin-Starred restaurant. It was really difficult to choose just one in London, as the city chock full of fancy eateries, but I…

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The Vault: A Secret, Sexy, Speakeasy at Bellagio, Las Vegas

The Vault: A Secret, Sexy, Speakeasy at Bellagio, Las Vegas

It was tough to resist checking out the allure of a secret bar in the middle of the bustling Bellagio resort in Las Vegas on a girls trip in June of 2024. The Vault opened in August of 2023, and is still pretty new and still a bit unknown to casual travelers to Las Vegas. Barely noticeable and unmarked, the door to get into this uber-upscale speakeasy is just behind the cages in the middle of the main casino area….

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Mad Day Out Beatles Tour: An Authentic Look at Early Beatles History in Liverpool, UK

Mad Day Out Beatles Tour: An Authentic Look at Early Beatles History in Liverpool, UK

My youngest stepdaughter Clara is a massive Beatles fan. I mean, she is 12 and knows their entire history, and all the words to pretty much every song. George is her fave and she’s also dug deep into his solo career. When I told her that we would be spending a day in Liverpool during our trip to London in July of 2024, she was ecstatic! Getting to Liverpool from London is easy. I booked advance tickets on the Avanti…

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