That's What You Get for Waking Up in Vegas...

Do you like how it's taking me a month to blog about a two week trip? Good thing I didn't go anywhere for a month huh? Normally, I only travel for a week at a time, but this summer and last summer I somehow managed a two week trip. Last summer I spent a fabulous two weeks in England visiting a friend from college (or as they say uni). So from Arizona I flew to Vegas. I'd been to Las Vegas once before, many years ago, I think I was in junior high. I forgot how big the Las Vegas airport was. It was the only time in my life, my luggage arrived at the luggage carousel before I did. I also got a kick out of the fact that there are slot machines in the airport. You don't even have to enter the city to blow all your money. I made it through a day and a half before I gambled a cent and to be honest I didn't gamble much as I play the two cent machines. I put one dollar in a two cent machine at MGM and it lasted me over two hours. Um, do you think I have a problem if I sat at a slot machine for two hours? I needed something to do while my friend was at work. Vegas Evening One and Day One were just a chill evening and afternoon hanging out at my friend's place. Went to some local spot for drinks and dinner. The outdoor bar had these cool misting machines. Have you seen them? I've never seen them around here probably becasue we don't usually have 100 degree days, but yeah, they were cool, literally and figuratively--it's the little things in life that amuse me. Martinis in Vegas are expensive! But delicious. :) Day Two I toured the strip. Now this was a big deal for me because I don't usually tour places alone, but my friend had to work and since I was in Vegas, well, I obviously, wanted to see it. To be perfectly honest, I just wasn't into it at first. I had no idea what I wanted to do, I didn't want to gamble all day, and not all the shops were open yet. You'd think since I like to plan everything that I'd have had some sort of plan, but no. I wandered, tried a few slots, and then went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum (I might have spelled her last name incorrectly, but I am currently too lazy to look it up). I'd been to the one in London and NYC, but both times I had people with me. I think it would have been more enjoyable if I'd had someone with me so we could do all the dorky poses with the celebrities. I managed one self pic, but it came out weird (see above). After Madame's, the day got better. I discovered Paris (the hotel/casino, not the city) and enjoyed poking around the shops, playing a two cent machine, and I even ate lunch alone. I never eat in public alone though at home or work I do it on a daily basis. I think I have some social anxiety disorder or something. Even in college, I wouldn't go to the dining hall alone. My brother eats alone all the time when he travels for business and he says it's no big deal, but I just feel weird, but I was hungry and there was a cafe in Paris so I forced myself to get over my fear and go eat alone. And you know what? It wasn't bad. I'm not saying I plan to do it again any time soon, but it was kind of nice. I took my time, wrote some postcards, and chilled for a little while. Spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the strip, shopping, and blowing another dollar or two on slots. Several of my friends also texted me some suggestions of where to shop and what to see so I followed their suggestions. And despite my initial reservations, it was nice to have some alone time, no one to rush me or complain when I took too long shopping or couldn't decide where to go next and since it was one street I didn't have to worry about getting too lost. So it turned out to be a decent day followed by a fabulous evening, where I did not have to eat alone. :) My friend had made reservations for us at Paris. We sat outside and it was so pretty because we could see the fountain show at the hotel across the street. I know this is going to sound completely dorky, even for me, but it was like being on tv or something, how often do you get a nice view like that at dinner. And I'm not a big people-watcher, but omg, the people watching on the strip is crazy. Got a huge kick out of that, well, except when the guy dropped his yard of beer and some of it spilled on me (thankfully he didn't get much on my cute dresss). Much as I dislike beer, especially when it's spilled on me, I almost felt bad for him. I imagine a yard of beer is not cheap. So good food, good comapny, and a great view.

P.S. Had someone been with me at Madame T's, I could have had my picture taken in a wedding dress marrying George Clooney, how cheesey-cute is that. When I went to Madame T's in NYC with Megan, he proposed to us. Too funny.