Vegas, Baby!

Today I'm allowing my brain a little break from work (as in my job and house work) for a virtual Vegas vacation. I mentioned earlier this summer that 2013 is the year of the wedding.  In fact, we're going to one this weekend.  With weddings come showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, bridal lunches, etc... Basically, there are lots of ways to spend money on celebrate the betrothed couple.  Before one of our couple-friends walked down the aisle in July, I attended the bride's Vegas bachelorette party in May.

I've been to Vegas too many times over the last seven years, and some of my favorite trips there have lasted only twenty-four hours.  IMHO, that is the perfect amount of time for Vegas.  This is not my old age talking.  I've felt this way since I was 22 and made my second trip to Sin City.  Now, there are many different ways to approach a Vegas vacation.  The agenda can be centered around gambling, dinner/shows, partying (day at the pool, night at the club), or general entertainment (indoor sky diving, roller coasters, bungee jumping).  You can keep it classy on the strip, or go ghetto old school in downtown.  I've done Vegas on the cheap, staying at a place called Terrible's Casino (the name says it all), eating at convenience stores and Fat Burger, and playing nickle slots.  This particular bachelorette trip was Vegas done right.  Five girls + one room at The Cosmopolitan + (???) bottles of bubbly = one epic weekend.  I'll break down our trip into the following categories: restaurants, pools, and clubs.

Restos

We kicked off the celebration weekend with dinner at Sushi Roku in Caesar's Palace.  Delicious, and what a view!  Dessert was topped off with sparklers, naturally.

Friday's dinner was at an Italian place called Il Fornaio in New York, New York.  It was decent, but apparently didn't impress me enough to take any pictures.  And I love taking pictures of food (to my bf's chagrin... haha).

Saturday was our last night in Vegas so we made it count.  That night we dined at Botero at The Wynn.  Named after Colombian artist Fernando Botero, the resto is filled with his works of art.  It's my favorite type of place to have dinner with girlfriends, and one that's cost-prohibitive to do too often, which really makes it a treat when I can swing it.  :)  We had a few friendly visitors stop by our table that night.

Sure, you can hang with us while we eat dinner.  Just bring a bottle of champs for the bride!  :)

That's more like it!

I should mention, the food was delectable.

Another notable dining option: Society Cafe at the Wynn.  We stopped here for lunch on our way to the crazy fabulous Wynn pool party on Friday.  I literally had green juice for lunch and it was heavenly.  It's really the only option when you're minutes away from walking around bikini-clad at a Vegas pool party.  At that point, a burger and fries is NOT an option, unless you bring your mu-mu.

Other not-so-notable options: some pizza place at the Cosmo.  It did the job at 3:00am on Friday and Saturday (technically Saturday and Sunday).

Poolside

Pool-partying is something I've never done in Vegas, and something I was equally dreading and excited about.  Remember the show Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock that was on TruTV five years ago?  That sh*t was cray!  On Friday we went to the mecca: the pool at Encore.  As we walked through the Wynn without a plan, we were approached by two college-age club promoters.  They kindly invited us to join them poolside in a reserved seating area.  Supposedly, if they brought girls with them, we could all bypass the line and get in for free.  In Vegas, it's all about who you know (or who you meet walking through a casino).  Of course we agreed, and luckily they were legit.

When you attend your first Vegas pool party, don't make the mistakes that I did.  DON'T bring your summer beach novels.  If you don't read in "da club", you won't read at the Vegas pool party.  DO your full hair and makeup as if you were going out for the night, and trade your flip-flops for heels, the higher the better.  You are not going to actually be swimming.  (Yeah, I felt silly with my novels, hair in a top-knot, face sans-makeup, and workout clothes for my cover up.  I was sooo obviously a newb!)  DO make time to take a nap afterwards.  These things are exhausting!

You can find me in da club

A club-goer I am not, but I took one for Team Vegas and worked really hard to have fun at da club.  Some nights this was easier than others.  The first night we were all pumped to be in VEGAS (!!!) so after our sushi dinner we went to Tryst at The Wynn.  Out of all the clubs we visited that weekend, this was the one I hated the least.  It was also the least crowded (coincidence?).  We found a little spot to hang out near the pool, and with the view it was a little less claustrophobic up in thurrr.

Friday night DJ Calvin Harris was performing at a club called Hakkasan at MGM Grand.  This is where I came close to having a panic attack.  If there's ever a fire in this place, everyone is going to die.  It's not just a club, its website refers to it as "a restaurant and nightclub complex".  After standing in a loooong line to get in, we had to wander through a labyrinth of dark halls and staircases, until we found Calvin Harris.  Did I mention Hakkasan is Vegas for hell on earth?  We were smashed between sweaty club kids and I was about to scream (AAAAHHHHH! rather than WOOOOOO!) when Team Vegas collectively agreed to get the heck out of Dodge!  We barely avoided getting trampled as we fought our way out against the current of the overly excited crowd.  We had to wait in line for the elevator to take us down.  I didn't dare veer off course to attempt to find the stairs.  I never thought I'd be so happy to see the inside of a casino when we got out of there.  FREEEDOOOM!!!!

I was proud of myself for making it through two nights at "da club", so I was feeling pretty good on Saturday night.  Conveniently located next door to Botero where we had dinner that night is a club called XS.  It wasn't as hellacious as Hakkawannakillmyself so I was happy.

In this picture, it's probably around 2:00am.  Three hours later, I was in a taxi heading to the airport for a 6:30am flight.  I think my twenties have had enough Vegas in them.  I'll save my next trip for my mid-life crisis.  :)