Hey, Lady Grey: Weekend Moments: My Vegas Top Five!

What a weekend!

We woke up Friday morning in Monterey to scary tsunami warnings, and quickly packed up and headed inland. This was our plan already, but we didn't exactly dilly-dally either!

En route to Vegas I loved watching the landscape change. We passed through hills and valleys and finally into the desert. Apparently it's almond season here, and all the almond trees are in full blossom. It was absolutely beautiful to see.

We stopped at several roadside farms and sampled fresh pistachios & almonds, oranges and all kinds of other strange citrus fruits that I didn't know existed.

We spent two nights in Vegas. I didn't gamble even once (is that horrible?!). Vegas was.... amazing, overwhelming, hedonistic and magical all at the same time. I'm glad I've experienced it.

Here are a few of the highlights, in no particular order....

Number 1: The food. YUM! One of my favourite meals was the tapas at Fleur de Lys. How cute is this mini tuna sashimi version of traditional fish tacos?!

Number 2: The spring gardens at the Bellagio. This was my absolute favourite part. These indoor flower gardens were unbelievably enchanting. Filled with poppies and tulips, live butterflies and goldfish, even a carousel.

it looked pretty amazing at night as well.

Number 3: Two more things at the Bellagio make my highlights list. First, the all you can eat buffet that had a fresh sushi stand and macarons for dessert. I'm not usually one for buffets, but this one was something else! And second, the incredible glass floral ceiling in the lobby (called Fiori di Como by sculptor Dale Chihuly). Unbelievably beautiful!

Number 4: The fact that I sort of visited Egypt, Venice, NYC, Monaco and Paris all in a day. Obviously it's nothing like the real thing, but it was still mind-blowing!

Number 5: The glamourous shopping. Oh my! I could have spent our entire life savings here. In reality I actually only spent $6.99 on a sunhat at H&M because my skin was burning under the desert sun..... but the shopping possibilities here were endless. The Forum shops at Caesar's Palace were particularly unbelievable... I was just as blown away by the glitzy spiral escalators as I was by the actual shops! (see picture below)

So after two days of sensory overload we decided we needed to get out into nature. So we packed up the car and headed out to Zion National Park in Utah. Which is where I am this moment as I type this post.

The contrast of the beautiful wilderness solitude to the bright lights of Las Vegas Boulevard is making me feel like a normal person again.