Day Two: We Saw A Shark!
Day Two started the same as the previous day. Gabby and I rose with the sunrise, got ready for the day, and had breakfast at Primrose (inside this time). To fuel us for the morning, we shared a bread basket consisting of a banana muffin, a croissant, and a chocolate croissant. We also ordered a fruit plate, which consisted of cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and grapes. My fingers never stopped picking at something while talking and laughing with Gabby. I could have stayed there all day, just soaking her in, but we wanted to walk the Vegas Strip to the Bellagio to see their beloved indoor gardens.
We walked the strip, which was longer than we thought it would be, with a lot more stairs than expected, but it was quiet and still pleasant because of how early it was. After an hour of walking and window shopping, we reached our destination, The Bellagio. What a grand entrance it was. And I’m not even talking about the lobby, I’m talking about the outside walkway overlooking the famous, half-mile-long fountain pool (not on, but still serene). Even that was nice. But that of course paled in comparison to the lobby ceiling. My anxiety should have sky rocketed from the noise and sheer amount of bustling people, but it didn’t. At least, not in that moment. Gabby and I stopped, out of people’s way, and looked up for a moment. Something I wish we all could do.
Now, we’d heard from several YouTube videos that the best time to go to the garden was in the morning before it becomes swamped with people, and I’m sure that’s true, but it turned out, nine in the morning wasn’t early enough. As busy as it was, Gabby and I were able to take it in, and take pictures. We wanted to just hold one another and stroll along, but we would have been pushed around, so we had to sort of rush through it all. Which is a shame, because as the pictures show, it’s amazing. We hope to come back at a different season so the gardens can surprise us once more.
With that done, we found ourselves not sure what to do. Our lunch at the Aria was a little under three hours away, and we didn’t know how to kill the time, so we decided to spend some of it inside the Bellagio. We wandered around, scouted out our entertainment and dinner for tomorrow, and then just investigated the surroundings. We saw signs for their art gallery, and made our way there, only to find it was closed. Once again, we found we did things too early for Vegas. Almost everything we came across wasn’t open until eleven or noon, and it wasn’t even ten yet. Along the way, we saw multiple coffee shops and gelato shops and decided to stop at one for water, so we could sit down, and see where to go, or, worst case scenario, just chill and talk to pass the day way.
With water in hand, we went outside where we were greeted by many birds just chilling on the ground, on the tables, on the chairs, and on the railings. It made Gabby feel like a Disney Princess, and since she’s royalty to me, this felt perfect. We picked out a table and almost sat at it, when we noticed bird poop on the table. This should have warned us to go back inside, but instead, we just sat at a different table. Big mistake.
The morning rest was delightful, as were the chirpings, and we had fun talking about everything we saw today, and everything we want to see later. It was decided we would go to the Shark Reef Aquarium after lunch. Gabby was giddy. There were some stores we passed along the way that would be opening soon, including some interactive exhibits, so we r0se and bid the birds farewell, as we would miss them. That is, until I noticed a putrid green spot on Gabby’s crisp, new white pants. Then I noticed the same spot on her chair. It was bird shit. She had unknowingly sat in it. I would have flipped the birds the bird, but families were present, so I resorted to squinting my eyes and cursing them internally. Whatever we were going to do didn’t matter. We now had to clean Gabby’s pants, or find her a new pair.
Luckily, there was a Ross we passed by where Gabby could buy a similar pair of white pants to replace the ones stained from bird droppings (PSA to watch where you sit with white pants). With that wardrobe crisis solved—and another little test of our team problem-solving skills passed with ease—we continued our stroll through the Shops at Crystals Mall attached to the Aria.
We killed some time in gift shops and stores, including the amazing gift shop at the Van Gogh experience, which we sadly couldn’t do because it would cut into our lunch reservation at Din Tai Fung. Oh well, we would just have to come back for Van Gogh, because the honeymoon was about food and experiencing it together.
On to the best lunch of the trip, Din Tai Fung. This place was huge and packed. You would have thought it was six at night on a Friday, and not noon on a Tuesday with how busy they were. While waiting in line, we were able to take a couple of pictures, including one of some cooks making dumplings. It was awesome to see while waiting for a table. Once seated it didn’t matter how crowded the restaurant was, because we were seated in a fairly secluded section, with a lovely window view. I lost count of how many times Gabby and I held each other’s hands and said, “I love you,” along with some form of I can’t believe we’re here doing this.
As I said before, this was the best lunch of the trip. I got a flavored green tea to drink, while Gabby got a delightful honey lemonade. For food, we ordered the Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao, Chicken and Mushroom Buns, Bok Choy with Scallion-Infused Oil, Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Spicy Wontons, and the Noodles with Diced Beef & Szechuan Peppers. For dessert we ordered the Red Bean Buns. The only miss of the lunch were the Bok Choy. They honestly only tasted like steamed Bok Choy, and while healthy, and needed, were not enjoyable at all to eat. We should have gotten a different green, oh well. Everything else was great to amazing. The stand outs being the Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao (best we’ve ever had), the Noodles with Diced Beef & Szechuan Peppers (spicy and satisfying), and the Red Bean Buns. We had never had red bean buns before, so we didn’t know what to expect, or even know if we’d like them, but they rocked! The dough for them was so pillowy, and the red bean offered a sweet, but not overpowering flavor. What an incredible combination. If only we had more room for food, because I would have loved to stay for another hour, just ordering Dim Sum while talking with my love. But we were full, and it was time to walk it off at the Shark Reef Aquarium.
The aquarium was an absolute delight. There weren’t many people, and only one family with rambunctious kids, but we let them go ahead of us and for the most part, it felt like we were alone. For this section, I think I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. The stand outs to me were the jellyfish and the octopus. No surprise that those are also my favorite sea creatures in existence, after whales that is. I could have stood and gazed at both the jellyfish and the octopus while time slipped away, but my feet hurt, and there was still a dinner and a show to get to, so we moved along and took it all in before crashing in our hotel for a siesta. The Shark Reef Aquarium was a wonderful excursion, and one of the best of the trip. I hope to return one day with my love and gaze at the fishes.
We changed into our evening outfits, which consisted of mostly black, and we looked good as hell. We both got compliments on our fits, Gabby more than me, rightly so. In fact, she got compliments every evening we went out. When we go out to eat, or go anywhere kind of nice, we love to dress up for it, so Vegas was the perfect opportunity to buy new clothes, look our best, and feel our best. Plus, we were going to Morimoto, we had to look good.
This ended up being one of the best meals of the entire honeymoon. When it started, I noticed there weren’t any mocktails on the menu, which is strange, because everywhere in Vegas there were mocktails, which, for an alcoholic, I greatly appreciate. The amazing waiter said there weren’t, but that he could make one up for me. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but I think it was some sort of lychee drink, topped off with a lychee garnish. I wish it was on the menu proper because it was the best mocktail I’d ever had, and I would go back for that drink, for sure. Gabby doesn’t usually drink alcohol, but if the mood strikes or if the occasion calls for it, she will. A meal at Morimoto called for it, so she decided to try sake for the first time. The waiter put together a flight for her that was the perfect tasting menu of sake. As it turns out, Gabby likes the cheapest sake and the most expensive. She loves slumming it, but secretly is bougie.
For an appetizer, Gabby and I shared edamame, which were perfectly cooked and finished with the right amount of flaky salt. Those giant shards were pops of crackly flavor in each bite. For our mains, I ordered an 8oz domestic wagyu filet with a garlic jus, and the duck fried rice a la cart. The steak was one of the best I’d ever had, if not the best. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and the outside had an intense flavorful crust, and the garlic jus packed a moist punch of flavor that only added to the beef and didn’t detract like a steak sauce would. The duck fried rice was cooked perfectly, with a picturesque, sunny-side-up duck egg. The duck meat was tender, and meaty, while the rice had an amazing char from the duck fat it cooked in. I unfortunately got full before I was able to eat all the duck fried rice, and I wish that wasn’t the case. In retrospect, I should have gotten one of the vegetables as my side, but oh man, I am glad I got to taste that rice.
Gabby dreamed of sushi from this place for over a year. She knew a couple of things she wanted but mostly decided there at the table. I’m not one for sushi, especially sushi rolls, but I like nigiri and knew I wanted to try the oh-toro, so Gabby ordered two of those, so we could both try them. I also wanted to try tamago since I’d never had it before, and I know it’s common in Japan, and I believe it’s one of the first items sushi chefs learn to make first. In her comically big bamboo bowl, Gabby also got pieces of maguro (tuna), chu-toro (medium-fatty tuna), and salmon sushi with a little bed of various sashimi samples on the side. For the rolls, she ordered a spicy salmon roll and a chef’s special roll with creamy avocado, real crab, and topped with smoked eel (think of an elevated California roll). The oh-toro was incredible. It just melted in my mouth and the fresh chopped wasabi was amazing. We’ve only ever had cheap wasabi, which is just green horseradish, and I wanted to know if the real stuff was better, and oh man, is it ever. I loved my steak, but I think that oh-toro might have been a little better, which is saying something because I love beef.
After that, it was on to the Luxor for Blue Man Group. I didn’t know what to expect with this show except that it was supposed to be fun, and very percussive. Since I knew Gabby loved shows like Stomp, I figured she would like this. And I was right. We had a blast! Saying it’s percussive is an understatement. At times the bass drums took me back to metal shows at The Norva: the way it vibrates your chest and energizes you. It was electric. The comedy of the Blue Man Group was also nice, and we busted out laughing many times. We did feel at times that we enjoyed it more than other people, but that would be a theme that would follow us all trip. It didn’t matter that other people didn’t love it as much as us, because we just held one another, and gave into the moment. We weren’t bothered by the crowd, the noise, the closeness of strangers, we just relaxed and enjoyed the show.
When it was over, we were exhausted, and our feet hurt too much to deal with the crowded gift shop, so we got a taxi and went home, to our suite at Park MGM. With the day over, we both walked over 20,000 steps, and if my Fitbit was correct, I burned over 4,ooo calories. I needed bed and rest. More importantly, I needed a quiet space to reflect on the amazing day, and the life I have with my amazing wife.
