This post might win the award for cheesiest blog title ever. Oh well! It stays!
Over the past weekend my law school friends and I took a much needed hiatus from school. We all had had craptastic weeks and the vacation was in order. We all were moderately sick from the virus that seems to live in the law school. I had a supremely crappy week because my family dog, Wally, had been put down. He was old and in declining health but it was still very sad.
Him and David, Christmas 2010. I might write more about it later depending on my mood etc.
ANYWAYS. A vacation was in order. My friend Chrissy and I had never been to Vegas before and an old friend of hers, and a Vegas veteran was also heading out there for the weekend. It was the perfect time to go. Thus, 3 friends and I packed up the car and headed east to Las Vegas. The drive was uneventful. Nothing interesting was happening in Barstow (shocking, I know). Before too long we arrived at the Palazzo Las Vegas.
We got a fantastic rate for a great room. We were pretty fortunate to have such a baller room.
And our view!
After we arrived we walked around a bit, toasted to our vacation and enjoyed dinner. Overall I think the food in Vegas was a bit subpar (with one notable exception that we will discuss later in the post!).
After dinner we spent an hour getting ready and then went to see trance dj Cosmic Gate at the Cosmopolitan.
The show was awesome. Probably the best dj I’ve ever seen. I haven’t seen many djs yet as I’m just getting my feet wet in trance/house music but the show was fantastic. Walking back to the hotel and seeing the strip at night was pretty special too.
Despite going out the night before I woke up early on day 2 and went for a long walk along the strip while my friends slept in. I explored The Forum and chugged Coffee Bean to wake myself up. Lucky for me there was a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf right underneath the elevators that lead to our guest rooms! As per usual, I was on a first name basis with the barista in under 12 hours.
My friends and I mellowed out in the hot tub and by the pool all afternoon.
My happy place.
We even sipped pina coladas poolside. I also finished reading Vogue with Adele on the cover. I didn’t check my email and my phone didn’t have reception. The lack of reception was frustrating but in retrospect was relaxing.
After pool hanging for 6 hours and working on my tan Chrissy and I went on a mission to the one restaurant I really wanted to check out: Bouchon Bakery!
OK, so we have a Bouchon bakery in LA but I haven’t been to the LA outpost yet and Amanda is always talking about it so I felt like I needed to check it out. I was not disappointed. The Bakery is located in the Venetian which is connected to the Palazzo so we didn’t have very far to go.
My other happy place. Ignore my damaged hair. Vegas is very dry and I had yet to dump an entire container of conditioner in it. SIDE NOTE: I was not prepared for how dry it is in Vegas. Within 5 mins my lips were chapped. I didn’t have chapstick or lotion and was completely unprepared. I swear, we had to leave due to dehydration and tiredness. Luckily I used bb cream on my face which is the only reason my face looks hydrated. This is kind of a random recommendation coming from this blog but I am obsessed with BB Cream. It moisturizes, has SPF, foundation, treats acne and prevents aging. Basically it’s a miracle cream.
I looked though the case but I only had eyes for one thing…
Macrons! I picked up coffee and pistachio to try. Both were delicious. Next time I want to try a croissant. They looked so good!
After snacks we went to dinner. This meal was pretty decent. We kept it simple and just went to a restaurant on the casino floor at the Palazzo: Zine.
After dinner we went out again (hey it’s VEGAS!). This time we checked out XS at the Encore.
Can I take a moment to say, despite being dehydrated and tired we all look extra pretty in Vegas? This is a not humble brag. I’m not sorry that I’m not sorry.
This time only the ladies got in (cover for the guys was crazy inflated and the line was very long) but we still managed to have a good time. The DJ wasn’t as fantastic as the night before but was still pretty good. We danced and had a good time. My only gripe about Vegas clubs (besides the insane cover the guys had to pay) was the fact that many people in the clubs didn’t really want to dance but more just wanted to take pictures of themselves in the club. It’s all well good in my opinion just don’t do it in the middle of the dance floor. Enjoy the moment, ya know? I did take one shot as we were leaving the club.
After we walked back to the hotel and got chicken and waffles. They were also delicious! The skin was so crispy which, in my opinion, is the mark of great chicken and waffles.
We left pretty early on day 3. We had a long drive back to LA and while I loved Vegas I was pretty tired and ready to be home again.
Chrissy and I did wake up early for a walk down the strip again.
It’s so weird seeing Vegas in the morning. There were some walkers and runners and people still making it home from the night before. We were able to see some more of the exterior of the casinos. I wish I’d walked around more but hey there always is my next trip!
On the whole, I really liked Vegas. I can see why people don’t come here for more than two or three days. I think in the future I would like to research more food options. I was thoroughly unimpressed by the food options. Perhaps I didn’t know where to go but I thought it was overpriced and just not that great overall. I also would like to check out some shows next time and come at a time when I can take full advantage of the resort amenities at the hotel. The pool at the Palazzo was very nice but it was a little cool to do anything other than lay in the sun and hot tub.
Have you been to Las Vegas? Any recs for the next time I go?
Sorry to hear about your dog!
Looks like you guys did Vegas right! I love the Palazzo/that whole end of the strip in general. I feel like I always end up eating weird things when I’m there, but my trick is to bring bagels and bananas so breakfast is taken care of, and you don’t have to rally the (hungover) troops in the morning to eat since there’s food ready in the room!
One day I want to go to Vegas solely to eat at some big-name chefs’ restaurants…Mario Batali’s place at The Venetian would rank highly on that list.
sorry about your pup. my family dog jacob had to be put down on dec 18 of 2010 and it was really, really hard. i wasn’t there which i’m still not sure if it was better or worse for me. but he lived a long happy life and i’m sure wally did too. oy, i’m tearing up just writing this. anyway, hang in there 🙂
ooh! I am a Vegas foodie. I’ve found good places but it’s taken many trips and lots of research. Most of the places I really love are either super expensive (overly so) or hard to find.
Food at the Palazzo didn’t impress me so much but I am obsessed with their rooms. So so cozy.
i’m glad you had a fun get away from it all type trip in vegas. my friends and i are queens of the 24 hour trip…one night to go all out works for us. two is a little more sane but anything more than that isnt really needed! my one tip for the clubs is to chat with the promoters that spend their days at the pools trying to find people to boost attendance at their clubs. this is actually their job…they aren’t trying to pick you up…and they’ll get you in to the clubs without a wait or cover 🙂
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