Vegas
I have to say that even though it was an exhausting weekend, I had a pretty good time. I am sure that next time we are there, we will rock that town. But this trip was such a big mix of business and pleasure that I really couldn't fully focus on either. I felt kind of torn - there was this huge party city right outside, and I was playing it safe so that I could make it to Danielle and Jon's wedding sober. :-)
When we got there on Friday, the boys immediately saw the huge sign on the Nascar Cafe (which was attached to our hotel) for the 180-ounce tower of beer. I gave up on the idea of them accompanying me to the pool, and went to get into my swimsuit. We parted ways, and I immediately located the poolside bar. Mistake number one: not eating for most of the drive up (we made it there in 8 1/2 hours), and drinking a huge mixed drink while lounging in the 96-degree weather. I ended up dozing in the sun, but unfortunately did not get any color. Great.
Soon after, I had to start getting ready for our dinner reservations at Lavo. I still had a small buzz, but I managed to get into my little black dress and get out the door. We took a taxi to the Palazzo and went to dinner. Lavo was just like Amy had said - amazing. The atmosphere was great, and the food was excellent. We had eaten some snacks too close to dinner time, so it ended up that we ordered an appetizer (Kobe rice ball) and a Margherita pizza for the three of us to share. The bread that they served was SUPER yummy - all drenched in butter and garlic and served with a side of marinara. Ten minutes into us being seated, Alex looks over my shoulder and says, "That guy totally looks like David Spade." We turned to look, and sure enough - he was sitting about twelve feet behind me. He looked pretty tanked, and when people began to ask for pictures, he got up and headed for the door. :-) No, I didn't get a picture with him. I don't like bothering celebrities.
We got our hands stamped to get to the front of the line at the Lavo nightclub, and went out to gamble for a bit. This involved free drinks, of course, which was part of our game plan. The nightclub itself was pretty neat. Alex has pictures on his camera, but I don't have access to them right now. Let's just say that Damian and I had a good time until Alex took off and we couldn't find him. By then it was about midnight, and Damian and I headed back to our hotel. We hadn't heard from Alex for hours, so we waited for him in the room. He finally came stumbling back around five in the morning, talking about crackheads, gambling, and Coronas and carrying a six-pack of Sierra Nevada. He is such a weirdo.
The next morning, Damian and I got up around 10 and got ready to go downstairs for some food. We found that they were going to be filming an episode of Man vs. Food in the Nascar Cafe, and we wanted to watch the host eat a 6-pound burrito. We didn't realize that we would be interviewed on-film by the host. :-) We will have to see if we make it into the episode. On a side note, the Nascar Cafe has horrible food. In my opinion, at least, it's quantity over quality - everything comes by the pound or half-pound. And since I am not that into fried foods, I didn't really enjoy it. Damian ordered the appetizer sampler (the size of two babies, and enough to feed five families), and I got the nachos (yuck, period). I probably would have been better off ordering something like a salad in a place like that.
I had to leave before I could actually watch the eating of the burrito (I won't spoil the end of the episode for you :-)) in order to get to Danielle and Jon's wedding. The ceremony took place at The Flamingo, and the reception at Pampas Brazilian Grille at Planet Hollywood. The food was awesome, but my stomach had been acting up - maybe because of the nasty food served at the Nascar Cafe. So I didn't eat much, and we also unfortunately didn't get much time to shoot on the strip. It was nearing midnight, and all of us were so pooped that we could barely walk. We wrapped up the session and walked back to the Flamingo.
When I got back to my hotel, I had a vodka-cranberry and hit the hay. The boys had been sleeping for hours in a drunken stupor, so they went back out to the strip until five in the morning. We drove home the next day, and that was that.
When we got there on Friday, the boys immediately saw the huge sign on the Nascar Cafe (which was attached to our hotel) for the 180-ounce tower of beer. I gave up on the idea of them accompanying me to the pool, and went to get into my swimsuit. We parted ways, and I immediately located the poolside bar. Mistake number one: not eating for most of the drive up (we made it there in 8 1/2 hours), and drinking a huge mixed drink while lounging in the 96-degree weather. I ended up dozing in the sun, but unfortunately did not get any color. Great.
Soon after, I had to start getting ready for our dinner reservations at Lavo. I still had a small buzz, but I managed to get into my little black dress and get out the door. We took a taxi to the Palazzo and went to dinner. Lavo was just like Amy had said - amazing. The atmosphere was great, and the food was excellent. We had eaten some snacks too close to dinner time, so it ended up that we ordered an appetizer (Kobe rice ball) and a Margherita pizza for the three of us to share. The bread that they served was SUPER yummy - all drenched in butter and garlic and served with a side of marinara. Ten minutes into us being seated, Alex looks over my shoulder and says, "That guy totally looks like David Spade." We turned to look, and sure enough - he was sitting about twelve feet behind me. He looked pretty tanked, and when people began to ask for pictures, he got up and headed for the door. :-) No, I didn't get a picture with him. I don't like bothering celebrities.
We got our hands stamped to get to the front of the line at the Lavo nightclub, and went out to gamble for a bit. This involved free drinks, of course, which was part of our game plan. The nightclub itself was pretty neat. Alex has pictures on his camera, but I don't have access to them right now. Let's just say that Damian and I had a good time until Alex took off and we couldn't find him. By then it was about midnight, and Damian and I headed back to our hotel. We hadn't heard from Alex for hours, so we waited for him in the room. He finally came stumbling back around five in the morning, talking about crackheads, gambling, and Coronas and carrying a six-pack of Sierra Nevada. He is such a weirdo.
The next morning, Damian and I got up around 10 and got ready to go downstairs for some food. We found that they were going to be filming an episode of Man vs. Food in the Nascar Cafe, and we wanted to watch the host eat a 6-pound burrito. We didn't realize that we would be interviewed on-film by the host. :-) We will have to see if we make it into the episode. On a side note, the Nascar Cafe has horrible food. In my opinion, at least, it's quantity over quality - everything comes by the pound or half-pound. And since I am not that into fried foods, I didn't really enjoy it. Damian ordered the appetizer sampler (the size of two babies, and enough to feed five families), and I got the nachos (yuck, period). I probably would have been better off ordering something like a salad in a place like that.
I had to leave before I could actually watch the eating of the burrito (I won't spoil the end of the episode for you :-)) in order to get to Danielle and Jon's wedding. The ceremony took place at The Flamingo, and the reception at Pampas Brazilian Grille at Planet Hollywood. The food was awesome, but my stomach had been acting up - maybe because of the nasty food served at the Nascar Cafe. So I didn't eat much, and we also unfortunately didn't get much time to shoot on the strip. It was nearing midnight, and all of us were so pooped that we could barely walk. We wrapped up the session and walked back to the Flamingo.
When I got back to my hotel, I had a vodka-cranberry and hit the hay. The boys had been sleeping for hours in a drunken stupor, so they went back out to the strip until five in the morning. We drove home the next day, and that was that.