{Travel} VEGAS!

My hubby and I spent a wonderful few days together {ALONE} in Las Vegas last week. We had been wanting to book a quick getaway for a while and when Bo found out he had to be in Vegas for business the end of October, the opportunity to take our "little trip" fell right into our laps. We flew out together very early Tuesday morning, and I returned late Thursday night. My husband stayed as he had to check into a different hotel for work the day I flew home. Dean & I are definitely missing him here in NJ. He returns tonight -- hopefully just in time to see his little cowboy ;-}


I love to travel and did quite a bit of it in my early-mid twenties but never made it to Vegas. Bo and I both enjoyed this city. We stayed on The Strip {highly recommend as you will spend a fortune in cab fares if you don't} and were able to walk everywhere.


The Cosmopolitan was one of my favorite hotels. Hip & trendy, tons of great restaurants, right in the center of The Strip, and...


...a three-story tall Swarovski crystal chandelier hung throughout the lobby and draped around the escalators and upwards. 32 million dollars. That pretty much sums up the luxuriousness of each of the hotels we walked through. They were INCREDIBLE. I was not expecting to be as "wowed" as I was, but everything about them BLEW.ME.AWAY.


We stayed at The Mirage -- not one of the newer hotels, but still very nice and on The Strip. Bo and I were so tired from traveling and the time change that after we checked in, grabbed some lunch and explored a little bit, we headed back to our hotel to spend some time by the pool. Our first day there was 80 degrees and absolutely gorgeous. We even snuck in a nap while relaxing poolside. Nap -- I don't think I've taken one of those since before February 22, 2010 ;-}


We loved exploring the city and walking through the hotels & casinos.


The Bellagio was another hotel that was super impressive. Aside from the water show synced to music in front of the hotel, the lobby alone housed TONS of fresh flowers, plants, trees, etc. There were animals made from plants, different fruits/shapes made of solid roses and other flowers, and a huge Wizard of Ozesque tree. Just the lobby -- HUGE operation. The pictures don't even do it justice.


The Venetian was also amazing. I backpacked in Europe for a month when I was in my early twenties, and Italy was hands down my favorite country of the ones I visited. One of the coolest things about the hotels in Las Vegas was their authenticity. These designers did an impeccable job of creating a smaller scale replica of the real thing. The piazzas in Italy looked exactly like the ones the hotel designers created in The Venetian. And because I never made it to Venice while I was in Italy, we had to do the gondala ride while in the next best thing, The Venetian.


Ahhh....New York-New York. I love New York City, so this was another hotel I enjoyed walking through because of all the NYC details inside and out.


On our last night, we saw a Cirque Du Soleil show. Completely amazing!

We took a really quick trip and were worried that we weren't going to be there long enough to see everything. Fortunately, we were wrong -- 2-3 days was perfect. We had time to visit all the hotels we wanted to, see a show, grab some nice meals, chill by the hotel pool, and even squeeze in some naps. The only other thing I would have done while there would be to visit the Hoover Dam {that would have required another day though}. And it would have been nice to have another day or two just to relax BUT three days was long enough to be away from my baby boy, who thankfully did great at home with his grandparents!

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!