March 2023
Where We Stayed: The Cosmopolitan
The sole purpose of this trip to Las Vegas was to see Taylor Swift! That’s right — we paid an ungodly amount of money for tickets to her Eras Tour. And the tickets were worth every penny. But more on that later!
We flew out of Milwaukee on a Wednesday and had a delightful noon flight. Do you know how wonderful it was to not be to-my-core exhausted upon arriving in Las Vegas? Usually we are up at 3am to catch early morning flights. Travel was smooth, we picked up our rental car, and headed to the Cosmopolitan. We had a late lunch/early dinner at Holstein’s and then I legit went to bed at 7:30pm. Delightful.
The next day we went shopping. That’s all we did. We hit our favorite malls of the Vegas ‘burbs and had a lovely day. Talbots, Barnes and Noble, Kate Spade, etc. This really was the first trip to Vegas that I’ve taken where I didn’t have a hundred things planned — and it was really nice. We slept in, had nowhere to be with no schedule to attend to. Happy sigh.
Friday was Eras Tour day! We started our day with Starbucks and then walked over to the Bellagio to see the spring flower display. The Bellagio has a beautiful conservatory and botanical garden that changes design with the seasons. We’ve see the fall and spring displays over the years — and I would love to see the December and Lunar New Year displays someday!
After our leisurely morning, we had lunch and relaxed for the entire afternoon. Soon it was time to put on my rainbow sequined jacket (oh yes) and head to the show. The concert was at Allegiant Stadium, which is where the Las Vegas Raiders play. We bought a parking space ahead of time and it couldn’t have been easier.
The concert itself was wonderful. Gayle and beabadoobee were the openers. Taylor was phenomenal, as always. I loved the “eras” concept of the whole show — the costumes and sets and lighting were SO FUN. The only criticisms I have were a) the sound… it was hard to hear her vocals on a lot of the songs and b) the absolute insane and constant screaming from the woman sitting behind us. To quote Taylor, she neesd to calm down.
I would LOVE to be able to see another show on this tour but lawdy loo, who could afford it?!
The next morning we headed to the airport early and flew home… to a foot of freshly fallen snow. Late March and winter keeps on comin’ in the Midwest. ’til next time, Vegas. I love you so.
Ready to fly west!
Love the creepy lobby vibes of the Cosmopolitan. These giant screens have different themes that change every 10-15 min or so.
Ahh, a cocktail at Holstein’s.
cheese curds! These were legit. This Wisconsin girl wholeheartedly approves.
Burger and fries. The fries cost $8 extra. *eye roll*
Goodnight, it was time to crash into dreamland early.
The next morning I was wide awake at 5am (thank you time zone difference), so I went down to the lobby to get Starbucks.
We were both up, awake, and ready to roll by 7am. We relaxed until mid-morning, then headed out to the ‘burbs to go shopping.
As we were driving to Talbots, we were commenting about how much we miss Denny. And how weird it was to know that he wasn’t back home with the dogs, waiting for our texts or calls. Then I walked into the store, turned right, and saw this. Another wink.
My cute momma at Ulta.
Returned to the lavender haze of the Cosmopolitan’s Chandelier Bar.
I will never tire of this view.
Another early morning the next day — it was me and about two other people in Starbucks.
I love this dreamy tile.
I also love this weird as hell art on the wall of our room.
Did I wear Taylor Swift-inspired outfits on this trip? Yes. Yes, I did. This dreamy pastel look was inspired by her album “Lover”
We walked over to the Bellagio!
Walked over to the Miracle Mile shops to pick up lunch. Encountered many a “showgirl” along the way.
Time to get ready for the concert. Midnights-inspired nails, Reputation-inspired earrings.
She’s the Wednesday to my Enid.
OMG OMG OMG OMG SO EXCITED
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes.
Hearing “Marjorie” live was soul-crushing — and also wonderful — but mostly soul-crushing at this stage of my life.
Are you Ready for It? The transition from evermore’s “Tolerate It” to Reputation’s “Ready for It” was killlllller.
That’s enough mediocre-at-best concert photos. Here’s us… early birds and perpetually exhausted pigeons.
And we spotted the elusive caffeine-free Southwest plane (as I affectionately call it)! The paint colors are a tribute to Southwest’s original colors and to its founder, Herb Kelleher. There is only one gold plane in their fleet and we saw it sitting next to us. I love it when cool stuff happens like that.