Last week I had lunch at The Ivy with my friend Jenny. After all the negative comments I heard I didn't really have high expectations. I've heard it's over priced, a tourist trap, and where all the stars go. Of course the star part caught my attention so I had to try it for myself and was quickly disappointed.
We met for lunch at 11:30 since everytime I've drove by it's packed. Suprisingly there was only one other couple eating and where do they sit us....right next to them. lol It was one of those moments where I was like Really? You have the entire restaurant and patio (which we opted out of because it was going to rain) and you sit us next to this random couple. I thought it was a little weird and very annoying, but I dealt with it. As you can see below we had the whole restaurant to ourselves.
I enjoyed admiring all the decor
Jenny and I ordered the famous grilled vegetable salad with chicken.....a $25 lunch salad. Who do these people think they are? $25 for a salad and that was one of the cheaper things on the menu? It was really good, but not that good. There are about 100 other places in LA you can find an amazing salad for under $10
They had these pretty rose petals all over the restaurant including the bathroom. Maybe that's why everything on their menu is so expensive?
They also had these really cute flower arrangements on the tables with fresh mint. They smelled so good. I thought The Ivy was totally overrated just like everyone had said, but hey I had to try it and get it out of my system. Now I can rest in peace.
Happy Earth Day!! I love the Earth movies that come out every year on Earth Day. Last year we went with Chad and Danielle to see Earth and had Yogurtland afterwards. PS That bag wasn't really my purse....just my Earth Day Trader Joes purse. Just wanted to make that clear:)
Ironically we were in Vegas for Earth Day this year, so we went with Chad and Danielle to see Oceans and got Yogurtland afterwards. Look how cute Danielle looks 8 months pregnant. I know she doesn't thinks so, but she LOOKS GREAT. When I grow up and have a baby I want to be a cute, skinny, pregnant mom like her.
Man do we miss Yogurtland.....so much I looked it up on Yelp and discovered there is one in Burbank, so we will definately be paying it a visit soon. I still love Pinkberry, but I hate how they have to put the toppings on for you and they are so stingy with them. I want to grab the spoon from them and show them how much I can fit in my cup of yogurt. Plus Al loves Chocolate yogurt with chocolate syrup and toppings which I think totally defeats the purpose of yogurt, but that's another topic.
Later that night I went to Tao for dinner with my friend Kristin and some girls she works with. We had dinner reservations at 11:15pm which is probably the latest I've ever eaten dinner, but hey it's Vegas and when your on the strip nothing is really normal. The restaurant was really cool inside. There is a huge buddha right in the middle.
We were seated on the second floor so we had a great view of him
We didn't end up getting seated until midnight.....so much for a reservation. By the time we were seated I was so tired I didn't even care if I ate and to make the night/morning worse the food was so gross. Maybe it was a combo of eating that late or maybe the cooks were really tired. I've heard really good things about Tao and Lavo has amazing food so I was really excited to eat there. That's two crappy restaurants in one blogpost...I couldn't believe how many people were eating dinner at midnight....I was like is this real life? Why aren't these people in bed? Everyone is going to get fat from eating this late, but oh wait it's Vegas....lol My suggestion if you go eat at Tao is to go early like at normal dinner time so they won't be playing the music louder than Abercrombie and so the cooks will be bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to make good sushi and food!!
We couldn't go to Vegas and not eat breakfast at The Peppermill. Everytime I eat at this place it just gets better and better. The decor never gets old and the food is always awesome. I need to try their lunch and dinner or maybe even come at midnight and then I will truly know if The Peppermill meets my expectations.
Worst angle ever and I wish Al would have told me that after he took the picture....oh well
While Al went golfing at Angel Park
we went to Wet Republic at MGM. We got there at 11:30 and apparently no one comes to pool parties that early which worked out great for us because we go sweet chairs that they usually make you pay for.
It was seriously the nicest day ever. I forgot how sunny and blue the skies are in Vegas. We don't see blue sky much in LA. We left Wet Republic at 2 and it was packed. I don't understand how any of these people go out at night because they party like crazy during the day. All these pool parties are like clubs during the day. Nothing about it is relaxing.....the music is loud, girls are walking around in their stilettos, and you have to pay for chairs or a table to sit at. It has reached a whole new level of ridiculous
I do miss going to all the pools with Kristin
We missed The Kardashian sisters by one day. Kourtneys Birthday party was the next day and I was so tempted to come back.
So glad I didn't because look how packed it was, CRAZY
Kristin and Kris have been talking about this really good sushi restaurant they went to at....get ready....The Golden Nugget on the old strip. It was hard for me to believe too, but we tried it and it was pretty good. They have a really cool pool with a slide that goes through a fish tank. They totally copied Atlantis
If you look closely you can see the slide in the middle of the fish tank
Not too shabby for the The Golden Nugget. I must say the people that are on the old strip vs the strip are so different. It's hard to explain, but lets just say the old strip makes for some good people watching.
Afterwards we went to the famous Mermaids casino where they have fried Oreos, Twinkies, and and basically anything else you want fried. I've seen the signs everytime we have been on Fremont Street but there has always been too long of a line.
Well tonight was the night we put the deep fried Twinkies to rest. I hate Twinkies and don't really know why I was so set on trying them. We waited in a really long line in a really greasy casino. It smelled like grease so bad you could feel yourself getting fatter
Here it is....the famous deep fried TWINKIE. It tastes exactly like a funnel cake so suprisingly it was pretty good. Probably like a million calories but you only live once so who cares.
My friend Bonnie and her boyfriend were also in Vegas, so we went to breakfast at Blueberry Hill. I haven't seen her since Al and I got married so it was fun to catch up.
The rest of the day was free so we went and walked around City Center. Vdara is connected to the Bellagio so I talked Al into going to see the conservatory and watch the fountains. The only thing in Vegas that never gets old.
This giant boquet of canoe artwork
The conservatory was amazing as always. I could smell the flowers when we walked in the door from Vdara which isn't close.
I think it's so amazing that everything is covered in flowers
The snails were also there last year, so I guess they weren't as creative with this one
I loved the flower pot and the ants, so fun
This post might be redundant since we have so many pictures at the Bellagio, but I have to talk about the fountains. They added fog to the fountains before they start which was really cool
I don't know if it was just this show or if the fountains go higher now, but it was amazing.
You couldn't even see the Bellagio during some of the show. The Bellagio is trying to step it up with all the new casinos.
We probably have 10 pictures like this...lol
One last view of the conservatory, so pretty
While we walked I noticed how much Vegas abuses space. At the new Crystal Mall in City Center they totally abuse space. They could fit at least 20 more stores in there. When I go to a mall I want to see as many stores as possible!! Not that I could afford any at Crystal mall, but still it's the thought.
On our way to our car we stopped and watched some guy playing blackjack in Aria. He wasn't just any guy because he had his initials embroidered on his sleeves. He was the only one at the table and the minimum bet was $1000. Al loves to watch and play, but that day we just watched. We stood there for a little bit until I realized he had $5000 chips on the table. He was playing 3 hands and had two chips on each bet.....$30,000. I leaned over to Al and said OMG those are $5000 chips. I was like this is disgusting I can't watch. Who has that kind of money to gamble....really. Go donate it to a charity or buy a car. The next picture is another example of Vegas wasting space. In Arias parking lot all the spaces look like this. There is another spot in between each car. When your looking for a spot it's totally confusing becasue your like sweet there are so many spots, but than you quickly realize that Aria wanted to give cars the option to park diagnol. Maybe it's just living in California and not having these amenities that makes me mad. Everywhere we go we have to pay for parking. If you find a spot where your car won't get dinged you are doing good. I spot new door dings on my car everytime I wash it and get so mad. I guess that's the price you have to live in SoCal.....I'm still trying to figure that out.
Later that night we went to dinner with Chad and Danielle at The Grape in Town Square. This is another example of poor photography. Our server totally cut our husbands out of our picture.
One more stop at Yogurtland and my favorite new flavor....Red Velvet Cupcake Batter. It is pretty much the most amazing frozen yogurt.
We went and saw Lion King. It was so good. The costumes were beautiful.
Did anyone watch Oprah last week where she had a bunch random guests talk about their jobs? Well if you did you will remember the part where the wine angels repelled down from the ceiling with a bottle of wine. They work at this restaurant in Vegas called Aureole.
When we went they weren't repelling, but it was still cool to see and I pretended for a moment that I was a wine angel.
We had so much fun in Vegas visiting friends. I never thought I would say it, but I miss "certain" things about living in Vegas. Crazy right? It's true I miss Las Vegas.....The bright and shiny sun, the freeways with no traffic, free parking, all our favorite restaurants, our ward, our friends. I'm sure it will always hold a little piece of my heart since that is the first place Al and I lived after we got married. Now I'm getting sentimental and that means it's time to go:)