We started out at our favorite breakfast spot across the street from the Bellagio fountains, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris.  Amazing fresh fruit with yogurt and brown sugar, “skinny” pancakes, French toast with blueberries and all the early morning people watching you could possibly want while sipping coffee or a mimosa.  With several hours ahead of us, we cruised down to the National Geographic 50 Greatest Photographs exhibit at the Venetian.  The back stories and videos side by side with some truly iconic photojournalism were fascinating and the ones where the photos taken before and after were displayed alongside the “great shot” were a neat look at how difficult it can be to get that one perfect picture.  Completely worth it, but wear good shoes – it’s a standing exhibit and takes some time.

Last time we were in Vegas, we really wanted to make it to the Neon Boneyard and didn’t manage to get our tour booked in time.  Oddly, this worked out well as they have a new building and new evening tour times.  It’s a short ride from Fremont St. and I highly recommend doing the twilight tour (it costs more but worth it in our opinion).  We were blown away by the tour guide’s knowledge of the history of neon, Las Vegas and of the various neon artists who created the signs.  Some of the signs have been refurbished, most have not but the mix frankly adds to the tour.  Make sure you buy water before the tour starts as it is outdoors and gets hot even in the evening.  It’s a sign (yeah, pun) of a great museum or art exhibit when you leave and want to read up and find out more about the topic – I wanted to dig into neon, the artists and Vegas, so a home run.  I highly recommend this if you want to walk through the neon bones of Las Vegas Past.  Schedule in advance and be prepared to take pictures.  Lots of them.  (And be patient – the Stardust photo took me quite some time to get right as I was timing the neon and adjusting angles to get the horizontal stars into the shot.)

Seven days in Vegas.  Last year it was ten.  And still a list we didn’t think we’d get through – but we tried.  Last year we missed Hofbrauhaus – so this year we started there.  Wish we had been there a bit later so we could have spent time with the band and festivities, but the food was terrific and the ambiance was very Munich (one of my favorite cities) since the building is an exact replica of the original in Germany.  The beer was excellent as were the strudels and schnitzels – a great start for the week.

Checked into the Bellagio and headed to the Sports Book for a few drinks and a bit of the British Open (and ponies and baseball) – they have several champagne specialty cocktails that are simply light and perfect.  Not to be missed are obviously the Fountains of Bellagio which can be viewed from several of the restaurants, the Strip or from a fountain view room with the “Fountain Channel” playing the accompanying music.  The Fiori Di Como is simply breath taking- the hand blown glass flower chandelier that spans nearly the entire lobby area leading into the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.  The gardens are changed seasonally and can be viewed on web cam – particularly fascinating when they are setting up the next exhibit.  This year was a stunning spring scene complete with populated aviary, lighthouse, river, bridge, boat and tree house.  The first year I went (2011) the Chinese New Year was the theme, last year was Holland with tulips, windmills and kites.

There is something to see and something new to discover everywhere in Vegas, even without leaving your hotel.  (Even though we definitely did a lot of that over the week.)  Next up – the Neon Boneyard – not to be missed!