Vegas: Day One

First of all, I apologize for not being able to blog while I was actually in Vegas. Internet cost $15 a day at the hotel and in all honesty, I'm glad I wasn't able to spend time online because we all know how time can tick by more than we intend it to. I don't regret being out in the sunshine seeing the sights instead of staring at a computer.

Second of all, I have decided to link my posts to my Facebook albums instead of incorporating pics into the posts because I could never decide on just a few. So here is my album of day one to accompany this post.

We landed in Vegas about 1pm Pacific time. We checked into our hotel, the Monte Carlo, and had lunch at the Italian restaurant downstairs. (I had sweet potato ravioli - yum!) Afterward, we decided to walk over to the Bellagio and have a look around. Oh, my goodness. It was amazing! The botanical gardens were so beautiful - probably the best I've ever seen, despite also being the smallest. I've decided that Iceland poppies are my new favorite flowers. (I still love you, peonies and hydrangeas.)

After doing some exploring at the Bellagio, we walked across the street to the Miracle Mile Shops. We mostly went to find a place to sit down and have a drink, but I got really excited upon seeing shops I've only ever seen in New York - hello, Betsey Johnson! I knew I had to come back later to do some more thorough exploring ;)

We headed to the New York New York next. Since my father-in-law is big into Harley Davidson, we browsed their store for awhile, then went to Nine Fine Irishmen for dinner. The food and drinks were excellent. I even walked away with a cute green pashmina and a Claddagh ring. :)

Later that night, we packed into a cab and went downtown. We got to see the Fremont Street Experience, which, for those who don't know, basically involves a canopy high above the street on which light shows are displayed accompanied by music. We arrived just in time for the end of a Queen show (bummer - I was even wearing my Queen shirt!) but got to see a whole KISS show (which kind of terrified me. What are they thinking? Scary.) All the same, the spectacle was pretty cool. I told my husband that the area reminded me of "a calmer Times Square," and he pointed out that it was Monday. I still insist that Times Square is nuts on any night of the week. ;)

By the end of the night, I was ecstatic and exhausted. It was, after all, around 2am "our time." So we got back into a cab and went to sleep. The end of Day One. Stay tuned!