Michael and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on September 1st and spent a great adult only 4 days in Las Vegas, Nevada. When we started looking to book a trip for our anniversary we wanted to do something that was relaxing and both initially thought "beach", but we also wanted something that wasn't a week or more stay which just becomes expensive or a long flight away. The fact that our anniversary falls over prime hurricane season doesn't help either. So, we settled on great food, great pools, and lots of great people watching in Vegas. ;)
We stayed at the Bellagio on the 9th floor and had a beautiful view of the fountains and could see the fountain show every time it went off. There was even a channel on the TV that you could turn on when the fountains started that plays the corresponding music. Cool right?! I was also very impressed with a simple button located next to the bed and by the entrance to the room that you could push and automatically open the curtains to see outside!! (Oh the little things in life...) Ha!
For our first day we arrived around 3pm, took a cab to the hotel, and got checked in and unpacked and picked up our tickets to Beatles Love at the box office. We then walked over to the M shops to find an ABC store and stock up on a few snacks for the room and celebratory beverages. This proved to be a WONDERFUL idea as buying even one glass of wine or cocktail in a restaurant cost as much as one bottle at the store... Sorry, I am a little thrifty and do love saving money (blame my Mom).
We then headed back to the room to get changed and freshen up before dinner. We dined at FIX at the Bellagio that night and it certainly did not disappoint!! Mike had the sea bass over risotto and got the very adult mac 'n cheese and creamed spinach as sides while I tried out the restaurant week menu of Caesar salad, 5oz filet with steamed spinach and dessert called "shake and cake". The dessert was basically a coffee ice cream and an amazing brownie/chocolate dessert. All of our food was excellent, Mike especially liked the sea bass and found it perfectly cooked. The adult mac was awesome and was fried macaroni in large sticks with a melted cheese dipping sauce. It is honestly hard to describe or give this justice, but I could have come and just eaten that it was sooo good! The steak was perfectly cooked as well and the service was nice and efficient- no complaints! After dinner we changed back into comfy clothes and took a walk North on the strip and saw the Volcano Show at the Mirage and did some window shopping.
Day 2 (actual anniversary) began with breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris. Can I please recommend this as a "must" for breakfast while in Las Vegas?!?! I had scouted out this menu before we left for this trip and it was so good we went back again the last morning. For starters, we ordered apple cinnamon coffee cake with coffee as we waited on our food which was delicious and very fresh! Mike ordered a mushroom & brie omelet with hash browns and wheat toast. I ordered an egg white, turkey & cheese omelet with an avocado tomato relish, hash browns and toast. As you can tell, we were stuffed by the time we left and were actually able to skip lunch without ever feeling hungry after this meal. We spent the rest of the day walking around the strip, shopping, sightseeing and being typical tourists. We then had dinner reservations at Mesa Grill at 5pm before heading to see Beatles Love show by cirque du soleil. Mesa Grill is a Bobby Flay restaurant which we enjoyed as well. Mike ordered the Rib eye and a side of mashed potatoes. I ordered the pork tenderloin which came with a sweet potato tamale and was absolutely to die for! Mike claims that his dish "won" at FIX (not sure I agree), but we BOTH agreed that my dish "won" at Mesa as being the best!! For cocktails since it was our anniversary, I ordered a cactus pear margarita which was wonderful, and Mike drank a Manhattan.
The Beatles show was fantastic and really hard to describe other than all the Beatles music, plus lots of crazy stunts, lighting, and stage effects. It really kept you entertained for the full hour and a half. Since we had chosen the early showing we still had a lot of time that evening and spent it walking a lot (which neither of our feet really appreciated) and even got some inexpensive gellato at the Venetian thanks to a great Groupon that Mike had purchased before our trip. Mike played a little bit of 3 card poker on the video machines that evening and unfortunately I was not his good luck charm... We turned in around 1am I believe which if you know us is about 3 hrs later than normal TX bedtime, plus a 2 hr time difference (so 5 hrs later...) and we were exhausted!!
Day 3 started with breakfast at Cafe Bellagio which was downstairs in our hotel. Mike ordered a bacon, cheddar and broccoli omelet with hash browns while I had oatmeal and a chocolate milk. I was really not hungry that morning. I think my body was realizing I had been eating way too much the past two days. After breakfast, we parted our ways and I got to relax for over 3 hours in Spa Bellagio. Mike scheduled an hour long massage, a sea weed body wrap and a pedicure for me. It was really a wonderful way to relax and I was glad we put it at the end of the trip especially after all the walking we had been doing! While I enjoyed my pampering, Mike ventured down to the MGM, and Luxor to do some gambling and was "up" for the day, but overall down for the trip due to the night that I was unable to lend him any luck. ;) We met back up around 1:30pm in the lobby and went to Noodles for lunch. It was a very authentic Hong Kong style restaurant which put us a little out of our comfort zone knowing what things were, but was very tasty and an enjoyable dining experience. We commented while we were there on the surrounding clientele which was primarily Asian and speaking to one another in a foreign tongue and all seemed to be pleased with the food. It made us feel good about what we were eating. They were offering "Dim Sum" which was basically an assortment of many things, but because we weren't sure what things were we did not try them. Perhaps a mistake?? Who knows... We started with fresh pot stickers for appetizer, and I had a shrimp wonton noodle soup that I had seen the chef make on a channel in our room at the Bellagio. It was very fresh and not too filling as I was not all that hungry. Mike enjoyed Hong Kong noodles with BBQ pork and I tried a few bites and was also impressed with his choice.
Following lunch we changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the pool for about 3 hrs of relaxation. We soaked up some sun while reading books and even ventured into the pool which seemed extremely cool to me, considering the temperatures were right above 100. I think pools in TX have been bath water temperatures since mid-July. After our swim, we showered and walked to Treasure Island for a quick dinner and TCU game cheering time at Isla Mexican Restaurant. This was also a groupon purchase and not the best, but was worth our time. We sat at the bar during happy hour for half priced guacamole and to watch the first half of the TCU vs. Baylor football game. (Which oddly enough was who TCU played for the opening game on the night we got married 4 yrs ago... however we actually won the game in 2007...) :-\ For dinner I ordered Tacos Al Pastor which were good, but I've had better. Mike ordered fish tacos and said they were pretty good also. At halftime we walked across the street to the Venetian for another show, Phantom of the Opera. It was good too- my third time to see the live show and Mike's first. The "Vegas edition" was a little different with some fireworks and other effects, but mostly the same show. All the singers did a fantastic job except for oddly enough, the Phantom. He was quite a disappointing vocalist. Following the show, we basically ran through the casino to catch the last two plays of the game and see a disappointing two point loss. Let's just nicely say that it didn't make my husband a very happy camper for the remainder of the evening. We headed back to the room to relax and pack our things shortly after that.
Day 4 was basically breakfast and travel day back to TX. We ate once again at Mon Ami Gabi- Paris. This time Mike ordered the blueberry French toast and I had a chicken and brie crepe which was so amazing!! Mike also thoroughly enjoyed his French toast. We arrived home around 4pm I believe and were so excited to see our sweet little boy in the backseat of Nana's car. It was so exciting to see him light up when he saw that we were back and getting in the car with him. His souvenirs for this trip were a red Elmo t-shirt that says Las Vegas and some blue M&M's from the M&M store. I was not very good about taking pictures on this trip, but here are just a few that we did take. Enjoy!
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| Before dinner at FIX |
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| Photo at Bellagio |
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| Emily and view of Bellagio and Caesars Palace |
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| Mike with Paris in background |
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| Waterfall at the Wynn |
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| Purple Pride in Vegas |
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| Lobby of Bellagio |
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