CafeChatNoir

At first I felt mildly guilty for managing to parlay a trip to a bank into 3 nights in Sin City, but now, I’m feeling rather smart about the whole thing.  It’s always nice to have a little break from reality, and honestly, Vegas is the most unreal place I’ve ever been and perfect for a quick getaway. :-D

Bag is packed, traffic to the airport is clear, I’m on the list for an upgrade (I’ve flown United a *lot* in the past 9 months) and the only thing I can’t locate is a pair of non-scrip shades.  I have a sneaky feeling that I will be able to find a pair out there.

Penn & Teller*, wine tasting & art lecture, dinner at Picasso and poolside time with fruity drinks with umbrellas in them are *just* what the doctor ordered.

*Though I will admit some trepidation – my seat is excellent.  I am slightly concerned that my head might be cut off.

Cool, but very weird. I told my brother it’s like a 6 year old went on an acid trip and made a city. (I’m still having problems wrapping my brain around the slot machines in the airport. Even if I did put in a dollar and get $1.50 back. Woot!)

And yes, I know, I should be out Vegasing and not sitting in my room, but I’m waiting for the engineer to come up and fix the safe before I finish getting cleaned up and head out for dinner. (Something got very lost in the translation when I called down to the front desk about the safe and they initially sent me up four feather pillows. I really don’t want to be the guest that needs special pillows.)

Got in last night, wandered around the hotel, goofed with the slots a bit and settled in at the bar. Made a new friend in Ivan the Terrible (who is actually Australian) and we talked and drank and played “spot the hooker” and made fun of a couple of tossers who were pissed that they weren’t getting free drinks while playing video poker. (I suspect that they were related to the idiot on my plane who wired 50K to Caesars and was annoyed that all they were doing was sending a car to the airport. Dude, you have to *play* the 50K, not just let it sit on deposit.) Today I chatted with the housekeeper for my room and discovered she has family in Woodbridge!

Time does not work here – and it’s not just the lack of clocks. Today, I got my tickets for the dinners and such, went by the business center to send something out, and got lunch. Somehow this took me 6 hours to accomplish. I cannot explain why. I have also repeatedly gotten lost in the hotel – this place is HUGE, and I know I have still not seen all of it. There are 18 places to eat just in this hotel. I did notice immediately that you can’t get anywhere without going through the casino – obviously intentional, and it works. If I am not stopping to play, I am stopping to watch other people play. (The hotel needs to be aware that I may break them – I am up $20. Yes, I am keeping track.)

The Bellagio is beautiful. They have this ceiling decoration that is all blown glass flowers – it is gorgeous. I’ll try to get a decent picture of it. (I keep forgetting to take pictures cause I’m just staring at everything like an idiot.) Went through their conservatory last night and the Orchid house – my grandmother would have flipped to see that.

I have also come to the conclusion that I don’t have enough cleavage or high heels for this town. :) I really would like to know the frequency of broken ankles around here.

Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday morning are all about the eating, so I may not see the outside of this place until Sunday afternoon.

I finally figured out why I was having so much trouble deciding on whether or not to go to Vegas.  When it comes to all things involving my grandmother, I feel like a total screw-up.  Now, being out of town the next time something went sideways, I’d feel like an even bigger screw-up.  No, I didn’t say it was rational.  But once I realized that was the problem, I decided to hell with it, if I’m gonna be a screw-up, might as well go all the way and be a screw-up in Sin City.  (I can envision the phone call now…  “Grandma fell again?  Sorry, just split Aces, I’ll have to get back to you in a bit.”)

So, event tickets, hotel & plane are booked.  Going down Thursday night and coming back Wednesday.  (I could have booked the red-eye back Tuesday night, but Wednesday would be shot anyway, so might as well spend another night in a cushy hotel room!)  The eating & drinking extravangaza runs from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.  Tuesday I have to deal with Wells Fargo, but in theory that shouldn’t take more than an hour.  So, I’ve got Friday, Sunday afternoon, all day Monday and most of the day Tuesday to bang about.  As it is, there seems to be more than enough in the Bellagio itself to keep me occupied for a good while – botanical gardens, art museum, window shopping and spa.  I also have heard Ceasar’s is great for window shopping for things you can’t possibly afford.

Now I need y’all to tell me everything I need to know about Vegas, cause I’m fairly certain everything I’ve seen on TV is patently false, other than it is in the desert and has a lot of neon lights.

So far all I know is to split Aces or 8s, and stick on 17.

I’m thinking there is likely a bit more I should be aware of.