Oh The Places I've Been -- Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas

Hi everyone; I hope you're having a great week!  I'm excited to be participating in The Tablescaper's weekly Friday party, "Oh The Places I've Been."  This week, I'm going to share some pictures from 2006 when I tagged along accompanied Mr. Forest Manor on a business trip to Las Vegas.

Now that sounds just like a commercial doesn't it?  You know,  a business trip to Las Vegas -- wink, wink, nudge, nudge.  :)  It's true though; he did have a computer software conference to attend, and the conference was being held in the beautiful Bellagio Hotel, so I went with him.  Our son stayed with my husband's parents, who live about ten minutes from us, and that way his school routine wasn't interrupted in any way.

I have to be honest with you and tell you that I've never really desired to visit Las Vegas; it was just never on my big list of places to see.  We're not gamblers at our house, I've seen Cirque du Soleil about a million several times on Bravo, and I'm just not a desert landscape kind of person.  My husband was in the conference all day Monday through Thursday, and I just wandered around the hotel and took bunches of pictures.  I'm glad I got to go because I enjoy seeing new places, and we did see the Grand Canyon from the plane.  :)  As it turns out, the dessert does have its own unique sort of beauty.

There was so much to see within the Bellagio itself, that I walked and walked and stayed occupied for most of the day.  The weather was gorgeous when we were there -- blue skies, sunshine, and moderate temperatures.  I definitely didn't miss all the humidity that we have here in the southeast.

The real Bellagio is a municipality in the Lake Como Province, Lombard Region of Northern Italy.  It's a gorgeous region of Italy; I know this because I looked at pictures on Wikipedia.  :)  I do that sometimes when I feel like being an armchair traveler.  :)  The Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas follows the Northern Italian theme in design, decor, and landscaping.

The hotel was full of swanky, pricey shops and boutiques -- not really my kind of shopping.  There was one shop though, that really appealed to me.

This is the Jean Philippe Patisserie, where you can find handmade chocolates, pastries, cookies, cakes, and...

...the world's largest free-standing chocolate fountain.

How cool is that?

Sorry this picture is a bit blurry, but it's the lobby of the hotel, and I thought it was just spectacular.

I fell in love with this glass sculpture overhead, which is actually a chandelier called Fiori di Como.  The chandelier is comprised of 2,000 hand-blown glass blossoms.  Amazing! The Fiori di Como was created by world-famous glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.  Some of Chihuly's sculptures were also on exhibit in the conservatory and botanical gardens -- my other favorite part of the hotel.  :)

I believe these red spears are also some of Chihuly's sculptures.

This is the conservatory/botanical garden, and the exhibits are completely changed out periodically to reflect the different seasons and holidays throughout the year.  We were there in March, so it was showcasing a spring theme.  I love the obelisk in this picture.  With all this to look at, you can see why I didn't find the need to pull any slot machine levers.  Cha-ching.  :)

I'll leave you with a few more images, and I'll be doing another post on this conservatory along with some more images of the Bellagio and Las Vegas in a future post.  I was fascinated with this conservatory; you just can't believe all the color and detail everywhere you looked.

Thank you for taking time to read House at Forest Manor.  As always, I'm grateful for your visits and I truly enjoy reading your comments!  Have a wonderful weekend!

I'm joining The Tablescaper for "Oh the PLACES I've Been."  Hope to see you there!

Denise