This year marks our 35th wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long, but here we are. In March I decided we needed to do something special. Since our cruises had been cancelled, we haven’t done many big leisure trips. I did some searching on Expedia and found some great deals for Las Vegas and thought that might be a great alternative to our ship based vacations. We decided to stay at the Bellagio for its location and the overall the theme of the place. Call us snobs, but we loved the palatial look and feel to the place. Our room was on the 19th floor and pretty much in the center of the tower overlooking the fountains. I found a TV channel that played the music so we were able to have our own private show every day.

Our first day was spent exploring the Bellagio and the nearby resorts. One of the coolest features of this resort is the conservatory. From what I read, the floral displays are changed four times a year to coincide with the seasons. These displays looked like rose parade floats and were amazing. I was fortunate to get there early in the morning as I was waiting for the gym to open. There weren’t many people so I got some great pictures. Janet joined me later for breakfast and we explored the remainder of the property including the magnificent pool area and the shops.

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From the Bellagio we headed across the street via a sky bridge to Caesar’s Palace. I have to stop right here and say that I have always loved Greek and Roman antiquity. As a kid, I used to read every book on Greek mythology and watched every sword and sandal movie that I could find. Walking into Caesar’s Palace was as if ancient Rome had electricity. My favorite area was the Forum Shops. The whole area was themed as if you were in the forum at Rome with statues and fountains and shops all done in Roman architecture. Probably the most interesting thing was the spiral escalators that wound past colossal figures of Roman goddesses. The whole place took my breath away. We were there early in the morning so we got to enjoy the whole experience without a lot of crowds.

Back in 2019 we were able to go to Italy and see the real Venice. Having that background made visiting the Venetian quite a treat. I was really in awe at how beautifully this hotel had recreated some of the most famous landmarks of that fabled city. From the bridge of sighs to the gondoliers, every detail was so faithfully reproduced. One of the only differences was that it was so much cleaner than the original. We both decided that if we weren’t staying at the Bellagio we would have really enjoyed this resort.

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Las Vegas is really hot, and the temperatures were over 100 even during the morning hours. The heat was starting to get to Janet so we decided to cut our site seeing short for a bit and take a break. Before doing so, we had to stop at the CVS and get a 12 pack of water. This turned out to be one of the smartest moves of the week as that 12 pack cost about $3.50 whereas a bottle of water in a resort cost $5 each.

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Later that afternoon we ventured across the street for a couple of more resort tours. The first was the Cosmopolitan. One of the newer resorts, it was built after the themed resort era had ended. I like the themes, so I wasn’t so enthralled with it. Planet Hollywood was little more than a big mall. Paris Las Vegas seemed more interesting on the outside than on the inside. There were beautiful reproductions of the Arc di Triomphe, the Opera House, and the The Eiffel Tower, but the inside just didn’t seem to impress me as did Caesar’s and the Venetian. Maybe I was expecting Versailles, or maybe my senses were just overwhelmed, but I was a little disappointed. We didn’t go to the top of the Eiffel Tower because our room was just across the street and nearly as high up. It didn’t seem worth $25 a piece to get a view that we could see from our room.

When I made the reservations in March, I really wanted to do something special for our anniversary dinner. Knowing that Janet has always enjoyed the Food Channel, I wanted to find a restaurant that featured a celebrity chef. There were a few right in our general area to choose from, but when I saw that Giada De Laurentiis’ restaurant was pretty much across the street, I knew that was the one. We were seated in an area that was actually quite empty. For awhile I didn’t know if anyone would serve us. Our server eventually introduced himself, but still seemed stiff and inconvenienced. After bringing us water I told him it was our 35th anniversary. Almost miraculously his demeanor changed and the rest of the evening was filled with warmth and generosity that was in character with the establishment’s namesake. Our dinner was everything we hoped for and topped off with a wonderful anniversary sorbet.

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Our first day was completed by the beautiful fountain show outside our room and the lights of the city on display. Not so much New England, but great to be a tourist again!