Vegas Anniversary Trip, Part One

Kenny and I spent four days together in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary. He had a conference there the week after, so we flew out early and I got to see the city for the first time. I also gave him my anniversary gift before we left. Ten years is tin, so I ordered our wedding date spelled out in old license plates and mounted on wood. Love!

We stayed at the Cosmopolitan, in a room overlooking the famed Bellagio fountains. The room was great, but the view was unbeatable. And the hotel itself was really modern and pretty.

After we unpacked, we set off on a walk to explore a bit before going back to our room to change for dinner. We walked past the Bellagio and saw the Paris across the street. We decided to go into the Bellagio to see if the conservatory was open. They were still setting up their Christmas display, but we did get to see a peek of it, as well as the gorgeous lobby and the incredible chocolate fountain. We got back to our room as the sun was setting. The view was even more spectacular at night.

 

We had our anniversary dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the Bellagio fountains, which are right across the street. It was a wonderful way to spend our first night. And Kenny gave me his gift during dinner: a pair of diamond earrings and a dime charm. So very sweet and thoughtful.

We walked over to the Bellagio again after dinner, but they still weren’t done with the decorations. So we went back to the Cosmo and had a drink in the gorgeous Chandelier Bar before calling it a night.

We woke up to a glorious Saturday morning and caught an Uber to downtown Las Vegas and Fremont Street. On Cub’s recommendation, we had breakfast at Hash House A Go Go in the Plaza Hotel and then took a walk down the Fremont Street Experience and saw some of old school Vegas.

 

 

 

There happened to be a race downtown that morning; the streets were packed with Santas! But we managed to cross the route and make our way into the Downtown Container Park, an outdoor shopping and eating area made out of old shipping containers. Very cool.

I had planned for us to stay downtown through lunch, but there just wasn’t enough for us to do until then. So we caught another Uber back to the Strip. We were dropped off at the Wynn and decided to slowly make our way back from there to the Cosmo, which was about a mile and a half away. There was plenty to see along the way!

However, we hung around the Wynn for quite some time. The decorations were all up and complete there, and everything was so pretty. We wandered around looking at it all for a while.

  

Then we discovered my favorite spot: Parasol Down. It’s an outdoor bar on a patio overlooking a pond and a huge waterfall wall. It was so pretty and peaceful; I loved being there. Plus they make a really good lavender margarita, and Kenny really enjoyed the glass of port he got.

 

We left the Wynn and headed south on the Strip. We walked through the Grand Canal Shops, making sure to see the “Love” statue, check out the gondoliers (on the second floor!), and even do a bit of shopping at Alex and Ani.

 

Once back outside, we walked past the Venetian, the Mirage, Harrah’s, and the Linq. Then we went down the Linq Promenade towards the High Roller observation wheel and decided to stop in at the Yard House for a beer (local Banger Brewing’s coffee kolsch and brown ale; both delish) and a snack and to catch some of the SEC Championship game. Then it was straight back to the Cosmo (with a quick pit stop to pick up another beer from Sin City Brewing for Kenny to try) to get ready for our night out.

  

We discovered a few weeks before we left that our time in Vegas overlapped slightly with our friends Jerry and Dot. So we made plans to get together on Saturday night to have dinner and see a show.

We met up with them at the Cosmo and walked all the way down to the Mandalay (almost two miles). We walked past the swanky Shops at Crystals (think Tiffany and Prada), the Mandarin Oriental, and the Monte Carlo. We then crossed the street to go to the huge, 4-story M&M World store. I was in heaven.

We crossed back and walked around the New York New York area and took some pics with their cool Christmas decorations. Then we finally laid eyes on the Mandalay (and the Excalibur). It took us about an hour and a half to get from the Cosmo to the restaurant. We were all ready for some adult beverages by that point.

 

Oh, and look who we spotted walking through Mandalay Place: Captain Wild Bill from Deadliest Catch! You can’t miss that hair. That’s him in the background of our totally staged selfie.

We went to the Ri Ra Irish pub in Mandalay Place and then to see Michael Jackson’s Cirque ONE at the Mandalay Bay. Dinner was great, the show was awesome, and it was great spending time with Jerry and Dot. Winning all around!

But then we had to walk all the walk back to the Cosmo. I was very tired that night.

Recap of the second half of our trip coming up next!