The Shedd Aquarium has been a favorite for young families in Chicago for a long time. With the addition of the Oceanarium about 20 years ago or so, there is a lot to do here, and you can easily spend an entire day at the Shedd with your family. I highly recommend getting here at open, especially on the weekends, because this museum gets super busy, and because it’s geared more towards kids, you’ll have a lot of strollers to…
We recently saw U2 perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas. You’ll definitely want to click here to read my article about our experience and snag some tips for when it’s your turn to go! Before any show, though, you need a good place to eat, and I chose Matteo’s at the Venetian Resort, which is located in “Restaurant Row,” one of the closest places to the Sphere that you can eat at the Venetian. Keep in mind that if…
I had purchased tickets to see U2 at the Sphere over the summer, thinking that this could be a neat experience seeing one of my all time favorite bands. This would be my third time seeing U2 and I figured the astronomical price tag compared to earlier shows was worth it due to this cool new venue that was still being built. “Cool new venue” has to be the understatement of the century. We saw the show here on Thursday,…
May, 2023 We had about 20 hours in Singapore on our way home from Bali to Chicago. I scheduled this long layover somewhat purposefully, because I’ve always wanted to see this Island City, and Noah was the only kid without a Michelin Star experience under his belt, and this was the place to do it. We arrived in Singapore around 3pm and we had to leave for the airport at 7am the next morning. It was going to be a…
July 31, 2023 I was excited to try Boqueria Restaurant, which opened relatively recently in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. I’ve been trying to find a superb Spanish Tapas restaurant since my favorite – Salero – closed in 2018. While I found the food at Boqueria fine, there was nothing really too stand-out here. I think my favorite thing about this restaurant is the vibe here. The bar and all of the walls are decorated with canned Spanish food…
Las Vegas, July 14, 2023 Madame Tousseaud’s has been a staple on the Las Vegas strip for over 20 years. I’ve walked by this attraction probably about a hundred times, and this year, with the kids in tow, I figured it was high time we checked this place out. What an extraordinary disappointment! Tickets to this museum cost upwards of $40 per person, and for that price, I would expect an experience that would last several hours and would be…
Las Vegas, July 14, 2023 We ate at Jasmine Restaurant at the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas on our last night of vacation with the kiddos. Staying on the north end of the strip, I really wanted the kids to be able to experience the free fountain show, which, to me, is mesmerizing. I can watch those fountains all night! The vibe at Jasmine is that of a fancy asian tea room, with victorian-type furnishings, and gorgeous details like embroidered…
We visited the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada in July with our kids. We picked one of the hottest weeks of the year to visit the area, so we knew we wouldn’t be doing any hiking, but, having been here before, I wanted to show off this gorgeous valley to Brian and the kids. Valley of Fire State Park often gets overlooked by visitors to Las Vegas for two reasons: First, it’s about a 45 minute drive north…
July 11-15, 2023 We stayed with our two tween/teen kids at the Venetian for a few nights in Vegas this summer. I chose the Venetian since I’d never stayed there before, they had good deals for the nights we would be in town, and I wanted to check out everything this massive resort had to offer, after all, it’s the biggest resort in Las Vegas, and the second biggest in the world! The Location The Venetian is towards the northern…
The Palazzo Resort, Las Vegas, USA July 12, 2023 Wakuda was the restaurant I chose for our fanciest night out in Las Vegas on this trip. We are all nuts for Japanese food, and this restaurant comes from Chef Tetsuya Wakuda, a two-star Michelin Chef who has collected gobs of accolades from many worldwide publications and reviewers. I knew our experience here would be top notch. The atmosphere here is super cool. It’s meant to look like Tokyo’s Golden Gai,…