Ugh, I keep trying to avoid getting dragged into giving more examples, but since everyone is focusing on the Vegas trip example. Here are some of my vacations in the last year and a bit with some of the highlights, excluding Vegas example:
Tokyo
- Learned some basic japanese for the trip.
- Got to fly my first international first class which is amazing. My seat was a bed! Drank a lot during the flight.
- We went to a bunch of michelin star restaurants for set menus (Pierre Gagnaire, Sant Pau, Esquisse, Fukudaya, Kikuchi, etc)
- We went for a traditional Kaiseki dinner where ladies dressed in formal kimonos led us to a private dining room where there was a smaller door they came out of to serve us each meal.
- We went to Tokyo Disneyland, went on a bunch of rides, got hats / ribbons to wear.
- We went to sky tree and odaiba ferris wheel to see the view of Tokyo.
- We went to a creepy maid cafe in Akihabara after playing rhythm games at Sega cafe
- We went to a Vampire cafe where the waiter performed rituals for the food we were eating.
- We went shopping around Ginza and Shibuya and went to places like Laduree for afternoon tea.
- Went to see the Hachi statue (the dog) and also got a perfect picture where I waited just a bit too long at Shibuya crossing where I was one of the few, had to quickly run to not get run over.
- Met some people that we went drinking with in Roppongi
- We walked around the national parks to look at the cherry blossom trees in season, as well as went to Meiji shrine to get our fortune and make our wishes. Saw a wedding taking place there at the same time.
- We went to the Lost in Translation bar on top of the Park Hyatt hotel, sat very close to the same spot as Scarlett Johansson and enjoyed some cocktails while listening to the jazz band playing.
- Was filmed for a popular variety tv show for Fuji TV while at a restaurant in which they made me the main focus (as I was the only caucasian there), happened out of the blue. Had to sign a release form.
Puerto Rico
- We walked around San Juan to see the old fortress remains, the interesting architecture, did some shopping, and had some great food.
- We went too close to La Perla and things got sketchy really quick and we were lucky nothing bad happened.
- Stayed at a resort with a private beach so there was a lot of relaxing on the beach, swimming, and windsurfing.
- We went to a couple different dance clubs and finally tried dancing the salsa really poorly, because why not, made a fool of myself but it was funny.
- Tried hard drugs for the first time which was a crazy experience but none I would repeat (E and mushrooms were the only drugs I had tried before)
New York
- Rode the subway to realize how absolutely gross it is, total contrast from Tokyo.
- Saw the Lion King on broadway which was unbelievable. I know that's a super common play / show that you can see anywhere else but it was really fun on Broadway.
- Went to a play starring John Lithgow that we were too drunk at the time to enjoy as much as we should have, but it was really interesting though.
- We went to a Yankees game at the new stadium and while the sport is boring to watch, it was an amazing thing to experience and it was the only MLB game I had seen outside of Fenway Park.
- Went up the Empire State Building, which being a huge fan of architecture was a highlight of my life.
- Walked around basically everywhere on Manhattan, from lower end to upper end just before Harlem at end of Central Park.
- Went to MoMA and The Met which were incredible.
- Went to so many amazing restaurants, some michelin star restaurants like Jean Georges. Also went to a gastromolecular restaurant where the thing I remember most was they would use dry ice in the middle of the table to create a fog over the table as the set menu was a "day in the forest" themed.
- There was a lot of bar hopping on this trip as it was a couple of us, but we didn't leave the main island except when we went to a Yankees game which was just over the bridge. My next trip I'll want to explore the boroughs.
San Francisco
- Went to Pier 39 to shop around and look at the crazy amount of seals.
- We took a boat tour of the bay which happened right before sunset, so as we were coming up to the Golden Gate bridge, the sun was reflecting off the bridge right in the background it was pretty amazing.
- Didn't go to Alcatraz but we went around it on the boat tour so got to see where The Rock, Michael Bay's only good movie (well outside Bad Boys) occurred.
- Walked around Haight & The Castro area. Met with some other tourists and spent the rest of the day with them shopping in the Market area and taking trolleys back towards Pier 39 area.
- Took the Ferry to Sausalito and spent the afternoon there at a quaint restaurant.
- Went up to Napa Valley, and went to The French Laundry which may be one of the best restaurants I've ever been to, and spent the night there.