Sizzling Sin City!

Trip date: May 2013

You know the old saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", but I think now a days, people should consider that with everyone equipped with smart phones and internet access, the saying should be "What happens in Vegas, stays on Facebook".

Case in point; Rachel, Ally and I headed down to sin city to see his purple greatness aka Prince about a month ago. We landed late morning, our town-car driver waiting to take our bags to the car, and were whisked off to the Wynn Encore, our preferred hotel choice as it is small, upscale and free of children. A quick check in (both to the hotel and on Facebook) and we were changed into our suits and sitting down to a delicious and wine-fueled lunch.

A little drinking in the pool, a little hot-tubbing (no time machine!), and some pool side gambling makes me a very happy girl. As the afternoon ended, we headed upstairs where we had champagne chilling on ice, and had a little Prince dance party in our beautiful room.

That night we headed to RM Seafood for dinner. I'm not in the habit of bashing businesses online so I'll just say that I don't recommend it and leave it at that. Afterward we swung over to check out the new and very hyped Cosmopolitan, we all thought it was overhyped and not all that great, but Rachel did win big so at least the cab ride was covered ;)

The next day we decided to go to the Encore Beach Club for Will.I.Am's show. Some Boston guys, on a bachelor party, had rented a cabana for $10k and had invited us to join. We really had no idea what to expect, which was evident by the fact that we sauntered to the front of a 2 hour queue and griped about having to wait for 20 minutes to be let in. We walked into a total rave, happening in broad daylight. It was absolute madness. The lifeguards were in the pool, making sure people didn't get too friendly, if you know what I mean. Boys and girls behaving badly and it wasn't even 1pm. And amateurs drinking too much, leading to situations like this...

If you are wondering if that is any of us, you don't know me or my friends very well. We would never touch our knees to a public bathroom floor!

We stayed till the end of the show, both Will.I.Am and the crazy people watching, each entertaining in their own right, before leaving the madness to escape to the spa for a soak and a massage. Two worlds were never so different.

That night we had a lovely meal at the ever reliable, ever delicious, Bouchon. It's a bit of a tradition for us to eat there, one I am happy to continue! Then we were off to the Hard Rock Hotel's Joint for Prince. It was an amazing show! He sang new stuff and old stuff, he played guitar, he played piano, he was awesome.

A bit of gambling till the wee hours, room service breakfast the next day, and a full afternoon by the pool before an early evening flight home, made for a really great girl's weekend. And a lot of good Facebook posts!

Vegas snaps

Viva Las Vegas!

Every year a group of my girlfriends get together and invade Las Vegas. It started out A LONG time ago and we use to go in December for my birthday. A couple of days in Vegas right before Christmas was actually really relaxing- you were whisked away from the last minute shopping and holiday stress and plopped in a chair at a less busy than normal blackjack table with Christmas carols playing on the sound system. I can remember our financial status' by the hotels we stayed in- Harrahs, Flamingo, TI, Mirage...

photo courtesy of brookenbria

For my bachelorette party (hen's night to you Aussie's!) 6 years ago (next month!) we of course went to Vegas. And the yearly party switched from a winter to a summer thing. Some go every year and some we haven't seen for a while. There have been pregnant attendees and those who have left newborns at home with dads. But I'm happy to say I have attended every year and will continue to do so (since I look upon it as my little party!).

No Vegas trip is complete without a trip to In-n-Out Burger, this year we had a kick ass limo driver who took us to the drive thru! Yeah, double double animal style in style!

This year I put the girls in charge of the hotel decisions and kept the limo & restaurant reservations as my job. Ally did a great job of getting us beautiful and connecting rooms at the Wynn Encore. I can't say enough about the staff at the Encore. The service here was really top notch! Our bell hop even took time to show us around our room, including a lesson in using the bedside remote for lights, tv, drapes, etc. There are two pools, one family style and one European pool where you have to be 21 to be in. This was awesome as we never heard or ran into any kids! They have a rule that you aren't allowed to take pictures at this pool either...

photo courtesy of Ally Cox

Some of us went to the spa at the Encore for massages and all declared it the best of the Vegas spas and our massages in our top 3, really it is fantastic and I highly recommend!

Our girl Ally is turning 40 this month so as a treat we had a little surprise party for her before going out to an awesome dinner at Bouchon on Saturday night.

photo courtesy of brookenbria

Brooke and Michelle did a great job of decorating the room and setting up a nice table of snacks. Ally's husband Dino surprised her by sending 2 beautiful bottles of Schramsburg Champagne up to our room. And we all brought fun little presents for the girl of the hour.

Four years ago during one of the annual trips we also had dinner at Bouchon. The Bouchon Bakery was opening the same weekend we were in town so I asked our waiter if Chef Keller happened to be in the restaurant that night. When he said "yes" I asked if he could come to our table for a minute. Chef Keller came out and actually sat with us for a bit, signing all our menus and being very gracious. At the end of the evening he sent out every dessert on the menu for us to enjoy. When we were seated this time we realized we were at the same table and had the same waiter, he remembered our experience also and at the end of our dinner the kitchen sent out every dessert on the menu again. Very nice and an easy way to make us all feel very special!

A few nights of late night gambling, drinking cocktails non stop, laughing our asses off, hanging out at the spa, playing "Wheel of Fortune", singing the Party Pit song and catching up on all the celebrity gossip makes for a very fun weekend with the girls. I'm already thinking about next year...