Vegas, Baby

This past weekend I had my first adult trip to Vegas. I simply have not been since I turned 18. We went for Sean's birthday and the group of 6 was a perfect size and mix. We all stayed at the Luxor, which seemed to position us pretty well given that we had a car and could drive to the other end of the strip when needed.

Saturday:

We got in and had drinks with Dan and Lisa at the Luxor bar, which was lovely. The sheer amount of people was a little overwhelming, but I found a quiet spot in the lounge where we hung out for a bit. We then went upstairs to settle in (14th floor, West Tower) and get ready for dinner. The steak at Del Frisco's was perfect and the service was really excellent, though I maintain you get better service when you dress well, which we all did. The James Bond wine table was really cool - if you go for dinner there, make sure they show it to you. Afterwards, we were all tired so we just went back to our rooms and slept. I love hotel beds - and turn down service at the Luxor includes lots of chocolate.

Sunday:

After leftovers for breakfast (nom nom), Valerie and headed to the pool. Sadly, the Luxor pool was closed (I later discovered it was because something had spilled in the pool - we guess bodily fluids), so we went to the Excalibur pool, which was allowing Luxor guests. As you can imagine, it was packed between the two hotels, which was disappointing. We stayed a bit, then returned to the Luxor to clean up. We did get to enjoy the people watching at the pool, which had us in stitches several times.

Pool time was followed by a trip to Neil's lovely house, where we played with the really really adorable puppy named Sega. I had already been fighting mild pain for a few days (enough that Sean asked if I wanted to cancel), but by the time we got to Neil's, it had really flared up. I settled into the lovesac and was soon medicated. I was also fed by Neil, who makes bitchin' steaks.

We had tickets that night for Absinthe at Ceaser's Palace and met there. I had no idea what to expect and was wow'd by the entire thing. The acrobats were all fantastic and the show was incredibly funny, if very raunchy. The old couple sitting next to us never cracked a smile (which made me wonder if they spoke English) but the woman had tears in her eyes after the "bodygaurd" act. They were awesome.

Following Absinthe were the craps tables at Excaliber. I wasn't interested in playing and wandered the casino a bit, but watched about 3 hours of craps. Everyone ended up, which was awesome, even after Sean got down to $20. I guess that's the drama of Vegas.

Monday:

We all met at the Luxor buffet for breakfast and to say goodbye to Lisa and Dan, who took off early. Sean and I went exploring some since I hadn't seen Vegas and really wanted to see the Venetian. I bought a hat at their hat store and it was generally a lot of fun. We met Valerie and Jesse at Nine Fine Irishman in New York, New York, where we got to listen to Sin E Ri Ra play. Dinner was great and I have to work on perfecting the bread-and-butter pudding now that I know Valerie likes it. Theirs was inspirational. We poked around New York, New York, then went to the Bellagio to watch the fountain show. En route, we discovered pretty girls in boxes at The Cosmopolitan, so Valerie and I led the charge to explore it. It's a casino designed for us! Pretty girls in boxes, everyone was dressed up, Bond-themed bar menu, high heel-shoe chairs...We were in heaven.

Sean and I returned to Nine Fine Irishman and listened to the band while we had another Magners, then returned to the hotel for a bath (awesome soaking tub) and a serious coma brought on by being warm, good food, and the most expensive room service tea ever.

We left on Tuesday and had a nice drive back. It was a relaxing trip once I adjusted to the sheer crush of people and array of tacky. I think I would have preferred the old Vegas, where children weren't common and people dressed for their evenings, but I can appreciate the new Vegas too.