April 2022
Where We Stayed: The Cosmopolitan
Another mom-daughter trip to Las Vegas! This trip was over my mom’s birthday weekend, so it was extra special! The reason for the trip was to see Lionel Richie’s “Back to Vegas” show at the Encore Theater at the Wynn. But more on that in a bit!
- We had mostly smooth travel over this trip. Our direct flight home got switched to a layover in Phoenix — not ideal, but everything was uneventful and on time, so no complaints.
- When we arrived in Vegas, we picked up our rental car and headed to the outlet mall. My mom had a shopping list for this trip (LOL) so we visited quite a few malls. I love shopping so I did not mind one bit.
- We checked into the always delightful Cosmopolitan mid-afternoon and then went to dinner at Holstein’s. It’s our Vegas arrival day tradition. We were wiped from traveling, so the rest of the day was low-key and spent relaxing in our room and on our terrace overlooking the strip.
- The next morning I was up early thanks to the time zones and thank god for that — I saw the most beautiful sunrise! We’ve never really experience a great sunrise here because there are always so few clouds in the sky. But not this time — the clouds gave us rich pinks, oranges, and purples. It was gorgeous.
- We relaxed and then went to the Fashion Show Mall, which is on the strip up by the Venetian and the Wynn. It was a really great mall and I’d highly recommend. And it had a cool rainbow staircase out front, so of course I loved that.
- We had a light lunch at some random Italian restaurant in the mall and then headed to the western suburbs for more shopping! I joke that we went all the way to Vegas to have a girls shopping trip, but hey, it was great.
- The rest of the day was spent relaxing at our room before the show. We ordered room service for dinner and just enjoyed chilling on the terrace in the warm weather.
- The concert was at the Encore Theater at the Wynn. I gotta say, the Wynn’s guest parking structure is beautiful (I know it’s odd to be commenting on that), but it was light and airy and had such a good vibe to it. Or maybe I was just tired of the Cosmopolitan’s dark dungeon of a garage!
- So, the show. OMG. It was the best surprise. I went in with average expectations cause I’m not a Lionel super fan or anything. But OH MY GOD. Easily one of the top 5 shows of my life. Awesome, FUN music (obvi) and he interacted with the audience the whole show – jokes and stories and all that jazz that he tells every crowd…but you believe your crowd is special because he’s making you feel like it is. It was just a fantastic show that I wish I could see again and again. If you ever get the chance to see a Lionel show with a small audience, DO IT!
- Also, fun fact: the last time my mom saw Lionel play she was 8 months pregnant with me. It was a real full circle mother-daughter moment!
- After the show I waited in line for what seemed like forever to get an Easy Like Sunday Morning t-shirt. WORTH. IT.
- The next day, our last full day, we slept in. Glorious. Then we drove out to Seven Magic Mountains, which was insanely crowded this time around. Ugh, not a great experience because of that. Another mall was up next, LOL. Then we headed back to the hotel for dinner.
- After dinner I headed out to walk around the strip a little bit, I also stopped at the Bellagio to see the latest flower and garden display in their conservatory. Beautiful spring daffodils and tulips! Always worth the trip, should you get the chance to visit that hotel.
- The next morning we woke up at 2am and headed to the airport for our early flight to Phoenix. Another great Vegas trip with my momma!
- Also, random bit… I kept wondering, “why are there SO MANY teenage girls here right now?” Specifically Asian teenage girls. Like, it was noticeable. Well, come to find out, BTS (the Korean boy band) was doing a week’s worth of shows. That explains it!
Post-flight chips and salsa. And did I buy a piece of rainbow cake out of a vending machine? Yes. Yes I did.
The weird and delightful lobby of the Cosmopolitan.
The bathrooms are honestly the best part of these rooms. DREAMY.
I mean, seriously.
I will have this tile in my house someday. I will! And the photo is a little wonky because of a portrait mode glitch on my phone. Whoops!
Truly one of my happiest places, happiest views.
Rainbow cake. Chillin’.
The Rio off to the left. Home of Penn and Teller’s show.
Good morning!!
I told you it was pretty.
I loved this. Obviously.
Unintentional outfit coordination.
Here we go!
These guys yelled at me for taking a pic. Sirs. You are wearing live snakes as necklaces and you are at a public art installation. What are you expecting here?
A view looking south. While waiting for the elevator.
Vacation mode.
The Chihuly in the lobby of the Bellagio is so gorgeous.
Time to head home. Love you, mom.