We changed into nicer clothes and rode the elevator back downstairs for the Marquee preview party. I’m not much of a club kind of girl, so I’d only heard of those places where scantily-clad girls dance in cages and on the bars. Well this was one of those places, yet it still retained class if you could imagine. We were treated to a beer, Champagne and well-drink open bar and after grabbing our drinks, we walked around the club and just tried to absorb it all. British sensation Florence + The Machine began their set at about midnight and played an energetic and fun hour-long set. Through a coworker I had heard of them before, but after seeing a live performance, I’m hooked.
YouTube them now – you won’t be sorry.
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| A sign in Marquee. Nope, we definitely weren't. |
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| Florence + The Machine |
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| Florence + The Machine |
The next day Mike’s friend Kasra drove in from California with his girlfriend Nina and we all went to In-N-Out for lunch. I cannot tell you how happy this made me. A California girl has to have her In-N-Out.
After wandering around the property some more and trying my hand at penny-slots, we figured a nap in our oh-so-comfortable-with-super-soft-sheets bed was in order. We had reservations at the NYC-transplant Blue Ribbon Sushi at 7:30 and we were both very excited for whatever a gala dinner was. We were seated in the back, semi-romantic section of the restaurant, handed warm towels to wash our hands with and an extravagant menu. Take a look and tell me if you think it looks like you would have choices to make.
We decided on what we would choose and were then informed that there were no choices to be made, as we would be receiving everything. Jaws drop.
First they brought out a little appetizer of King Crab and Champagne Dashi (complete with edible gold flakes on top!), and while it was interesting, it wasn’t my favorite. Next, we were served bowls of Wild Mushroom Miso Soup in which we were each able to mix in as much miso paste as to our liking, and a sharable salad of seasonal lettuce, Asian pears, cranberries and poppy seed dressing. After that, a giant platter of super-fresh and delicious sushi and sashimi was put on our table and we were in heaven as sushi has always been our favorite date food.
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| Us with our sushi |
Next came the main courses (as if we hadn’t already been served enough food for a substantial meal). Three to be exact. And they were full-sized. Awesome doesn’t even begin to sum them all up however. First there was a Miso Lobster – a full Maine Lobster with the meat already out of the shell, stuffed back in and mixed with miso butter to a perfect flaky consitency that melted in your mouth. We made pretty good work of that dish. There was also the Fried Chicken “Blue Ribbon Style” that had an excellent crisp, tangy outside and juicy inside served with wasabi honey. Last, there was a rather large bowl of Oxtail Fried Rice complete with bone marrow, daikon and scallion. Stuffed as we were, we took home most of the chicken and fried rice but we were totally satiated.
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| Mike with the main courses |
But wait, there’s more! Dessert was pretty much the gold flake of the entire meal – an ooey gooey God-send of Ginger Bread Pudding with creamy ginger ice cream and caramel sauce. After deciding that it was safe to walk and not topple over, we decided to take a digesting break in the room before heading to the concert.
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| All dolled up |
After getting through a pretty intense check-in table, we walked into the Chelsea Ballroom at the hotel and I'm pretty sure our jaws dropped again. Mike read somewhere that this party cost $25M to put on and I'd believe it. With VIP sections and big, burly men in black suits lining the perimeter, a gaggle of disco balls adorning the ceiling (seriously, there must have been at least 50 of all different sizes), a sparkly dance floor and bars everywhere you looked, it was like a dream. I may have pinched myself.
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| Chelsea ballroom complete with sparkly dance floor and disco ball display |
The event was premium top-shelf open bar (did you expect anything less), with sponsors like Tequila Avion (yes, from
Entourage). I was a big fan of the Dutch Punch complete with ginger liqueur, one of my new faves.
Dom Pérignon was flowing left and right as well.
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| Special drinks |
The lights began to dim and the fog started rolling off the stage about 11 p.m. Then we saw Chris Martin and heard Coldplay's music begin to play and out of nowhere the dance floor was jam-packed. I loved that all the lights turned a nice shade of chartreuse when the song "Yellow" played and I couldn't help swaying to "Strawberry Swing." At one point Chris Martin commented on how he doesn't think he's ever played for a crowd so nicely dressed (the event was black-tie).
At one point, Jay-Z was singing a song that features Kanye West and when that part of the song came, boom!, there was Kanye West in the flesh! I think it took people a while to recognize him as he was in a jean jacket, bandana and sunglasses amongst a room full of dudes in penguin suits and women in ball gowns. This was the first big surprise of the night.
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| Kanye West appears as a surprise guest performer |
A little later, as Jay-Z was singing "99 Problems," I noticed the same shaggy guy from the elevator the night before playing guitar. It's none other than John Mayer! He didn't sing, but looked pretty bad-ass up on stage accompanying a hip-hop legend.
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| Jay-Z with John Mayer in the background |
A few songs later, after bringing showgirls on stage to serve Champagne, Jay-Z starts the song "Young Forever" and who waltzes onto the stage but...Beyonce! At this point it was like the reverse of yelling "Fire!" The entire party ran as close to the stage as possible like a giant magnet was attracting them. Girls were crying and guys were going insane. She looked beautiful and her voice is absolutely gorgeous. I had an inkling she would be at the party as Jay-Z's wife (as well as Gweneth Paltrow, Chris Martin's wife), but I didn't really think she'd perform. I guess when you're Beyonce though, you can't escape the stage.
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| Beyonce singing "Young Forever" |
Then when it seemed like the concert was supposed to wrap up, Jay-Z says he wants to give the people what they want. In an impromptu coercion, he brought Chris Martin back on stage to play piano while Beyonce sang "Halo."
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| Beyonce and Chris Martin performing "Halo" |
Jay-Z sang a few more songs and really got the crowd going for "Empire State of Mind." How cool would it have been if Alicia Keys popped out from behind the curtain? Alas, she was elsewhere and they used a recorded vocal track, but there's something about that song that just makes me feel amazing.
I alluded to the fact that this was a star-studded event, and while we saw Mark Wahlberg, James Marsden, Aziz Ansari, Gayle King and Gail Simmons, we found out after that this event with its guest list could have easily been mistaken for a Golden Globes after-party. According to a couple of different websites, here's who I found out were there: Timothy Olyphant, Cheryl Hines, BJ Novak, Forest Whittaker, Pauly Shore, Shiri Appleby, Aaron Paul, Wilmer Valderrama, Cameron Diaz, Alex Rodriguez, Gwenyth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Mark Antony, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jessica Szohr, Rashida Jones, Taraji P. Henson, Olivia Munn, Haylie Duff, Channing Tatum, Jared Followill, Whitney Port, Jeremy Piven, Bonnie Somerville, Christina Milian, Mark Salling, Emmy Rossum, Kristin Davis, Giada De Laurentiis, Lance Bass, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Mel B, Kirsten Dunst, Brandy, Armie Hammer, Teri Polo, Garrett Hedlund, Ellen Pompeo, and Blake Lively. Phew!
Here are a couple of blurry celeb pictures I managed to snag:
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| Gail Simmons from Top Chef |
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| Oprah's best friend Gayle King |
Overall, this was the most extravagant and crazy NYE I've ever had and I still can't believe we were there! I felt like part of the "in" club - hell, I
was in the "in" club - and I liked it!
The next morning we somehow managed to wake up with enough time to make it to brunch at the Wicked Spoon. And boy am I glad we didn't miss this. You want to talk about epic? This was the most epic brunch ever. Not only was it the most innovative buffet I've ever seen, but all of the food choices were fresh, constantly replenished and often served to you by a worker from behind the counter. I ate the most amazing truffled potatoes ever and was super bowled over by the Eggs Benedict, fresh berries and butternut squash ravioli. They had a giant dessert station as well complete with a full gelato bar. Everything was so pretty and we found a resurgence of the gold flakes on numerous desserts.
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| My first plateful at The Wicket Spoon Buffet |
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| My dessert plate at The Wicked Spoon Buffet |
While recovering from yet another food coma, we decided to chill out on the balcony. Even though the weather in Vegas was colder than it was in NYC the entire time we were there (read: 30s), the sun had this way of streaming onto our terrace so that you really were fine in a t-shirt. We saw them setting up for the afternoon pool party and BBQ down below, and after listening to Gospel singer Mavis Staples perform, we decided to go down and check it out.
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| View of the pool area from our terrace |
I'm pretty sure this was the coolest pool area I've ever seen. With all sorts of plush seating arrangements, brightly colored blue and yellow decorations, in-pool chaise lounges, views up and down the Strip, a fully stocked bar, cozy cabanas (with plasma TVs), pool tables and TVs, this was again the place to be. We were all still stuffed from breakfast, so we didn't get to enjoy the full BBQ going on, but we did help ourselves to Veuve Clicquot, Mighty Leaf teas, creamy hot chocolate and some Bailey's and coffee to warm up with. They were also passing out warm blankets and had the heaters cranked on high.
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| Some gifts from the hotel |
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| Sunrise from the terrace as we left for the airport |
With a wide variety of classy, yet affordable dining options, amazing artwork everywhere and a true understanding of what a unique resort experience should be, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is truly a work of art and I can't wait to go back.A huge thank you to Travelocity for holding this contest and for picking me for this awesome experience!!
