I came to Napa Valley early on in my wine passion journey. I planned the trip with my cousins, and we came here in the fall of 2014, right after a big earthquake hit the region and devastated so many buildings and wineries. You could see the damage pretty much everywhere, but folks in this gorgeous region of California are resilient, and have a positive attitude. The earthquake didn’t end up impacting our trip much, apart from the fact that…
The first time we brought our youngest two to Las Vegas, they were 8 and 9 years old – old enough to appreciate the epic pools and massive hotels around The Strip. They loved the wave pool at the Mandalay Bay resort, and we spent a LOT of time there. Check out my itinerary with the kiddos from back in 2019 here. In that article, I list a whole bunch of other stuff you can do with kids, but it’s…
Gosh, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve enjoyed Avec in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. It’s cozy, casual, fun, loud, and always delicious with a super interesting and diverse wine list. When people ask me where to eat in Chicago, Avec always makes it towards the top of my list, and now that they’ve been featured in the FX series, “The Bear,” they are more popular than ever. I visited most recently with a friend on…
I stayed at the Vdara Resort for the first time on our most recent trip to Las Vegas in early October, 2023, to see a bunch of concerts. The room prices were reasonable, and the location of the Vdara compared to the Dolby Theater and the Sphere were key to my decision as to where to stay this time. While the room was large, and the location excellent, our room was in poor shape and in desperate need of updating….
We’ve been to A LOT of steakhouses not only in Chicago, but also in Las Vegas. Jean Georges at the Aria resort was a new one for us, and has a lot of hype about the quality and the experience. Overall, I would say that this restaurant was pretty average, especially for the price. We arrived here to have dinner before the Lady Gaga concert at the Dolby Theater at the Park MGM right next door. We were a bit…
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…