One Night in Vegas

What was the occasion? Write about the last time you stayed in a hotel.

November 2011. Las Vegas. Hard Rock Hotel.

For the past several years, my husband's annual holiday part has been held at the Hard Rock in Vegas. I almost didn't get to go since my husband's annual "boys trip" to Vegas turned out to be on the same weekend, and he almost took one of his buddies with him to the party. I was bummed. I love going to Vegas - the drinks, the food, and yeah, some gambling too. Thn the idea came up that I could just come out for one night for the party, then my husband would still have the rest of the weekend to spend with his buddies. Yes! But there was another caveat: I had just found out I was pregnant at the time, so that meant no drinking and no heavy partying*. Oh well, I thought, I could still have fun. I love Vegas!

We got there and checked into our awesome suite at the Hard Rock. We chilled for a bit before getting ready for the night. I wore the same dress and shoes from last year's party because...well, I don't really have many dressy things in my closet. Honestly, the annual holiday party is the only time I ever get to dress up. No worries, I thought; people were so blitzed last year that I doubt they'd remember.

The living room portion of our suite.

Behind the TV wall was the lovely, fluffy bed.

Speaking of...that was another reason I really wanted to go last year. I got SO SHITFACED the previous year that I didn't even make it to the party. Halfway through dinner, I was practically passed out at our dining table at Nobu that my husband and a coworker had to escort me back to our room. While my husband partied downstairs, I spent the rest of the night either in bed or with my head in the toilet. Good times.

So between my resolve NOT to repeat what happened at the previous party and the fact that I wasn't allowed to drink any alcohol, I figured I had a very good chance of making it to the party this time! We had dinner at Nobu again, but this time with a different set of my husband's coworkers and their partners. Dinner was lovely, even though I had to sneak a peek at my iPhone a couple of times to check whether this fish or that was safe for me to eat. We hadn't announced the pregnancy yet, so with my fake cocktail, no one was the wiser. After dinner, we headed to the party, which was already in full swing. They played a lot of hip hop and dance, which I managed to get my husband to dance with me for a bit. For much of the party we walked around and chatted with a bunch of other people, as well as sit down, rest, and people-watched. We even went back out into the casino or gamble a bit, but we called it a night fairly early. Tired, but certainly in much better shape than in the previous year.

The next morning, unfortunately, I had to catch an early flight back to LA. While I would have loved to stay longer, all in all, I had a great time and was so glad it worked out.

*As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, we ended up losing the baby in early December. From what my doctors said, the baby had stopped developing around the time of the party. When I should have been nine weeks along, I was only showing as six. Two ultrasounds made it clear that itnhad stopped growing. I'm now fine with the loss, but part of me can't help but wonder if it was anything I did that somehow hurt the pregnancy. I didn't drink, but I did have a few cigarettes. Was it that? Was it the dancing? The heels? The food? The fatigue of travel?? It was a blighted ovum; something, most likely genetically, caused the fetus to stop developing. I know that, but sometimes I still wonder...

Vegas for Old People

So what do married people in their late 30s do in Vegas? In my world, the answer is: EAT. Weekend "benders" now involve obscene amounts of food instead of alcohol. And I'm fine with that.

Whenever we go to Vegas we try to stay someplace new. This time we ended up at The Venetian. I like the fact that all their rooms are suites, most with a large sunken living room and an L-shaped couch. Our suite had a view of the Strip hotel pools below.

Our King bed.

The first order of business upon arriving on Saturday afternoon was to get some food. After failed attempts at Noodle Asia at the hotel (closed for renovation) and i♥burgers at the Palazzo side (long wait time), we ended up at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria by Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. We all opted for the day's specials: lasagna for my husband and a friend, ravioli for another friend, and artichoke pizza for me. All the food was incredibly YUM.

Evil, but divine.

While the  guys drank Italian beers, we drank blood orange cosmopolitans.

Potent, but oh so yummy.

After lunch, we raced around a bit so the guys could secure a place to watch football on Sunday. Take note: if you want a reservation at Lagasse's Stadium, book a couple of months in advance. (They'll just laugh at you if you walk up and ask for seats the day before.) While at a pit stop at the Wynn to figure out what to do, Barry the bartender at the Stratta bar concocted a Blackberry Bliss for me.

Fresh blackberries count as a serving of fruit!

After finally securing a spot for Sunday, we did some light gambling before dinner at Tao. The place was busy, which wasn't surprising since it was Saturday night. We had reservations at 6:30pm, although I don't think we got seated until closer to 7:30pm. I do like the fact that they had a lobby with plenty of couches and drink service while we waited.

We sat next to this guy.

We opted to go family-style for our food, sharing everything between the six of us. For starters we got Lobster Wontons with Shittake Ginger Broth, Kobe Tartare Tempura, and Pork Potstickers with Chile Sesame Glaze. They were all very good, but I was surprised at how much I loved those mushrooms that came with the wontons! For our main dishes, we got Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass, Kung Pao Chicken, and Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon with Tempura of Onion Rings. Again, all were simply scrumptious, but  if I had to pick a "winner" it would have to be the Chilean Sea Bass. That glaze was to die for!

Even though the plates weren't very big, I think we ordered just the right amount for our group. Their dessert (and tea) menu looked very promising — especially that Lemongrass Creme Brûlée — but the rest of our group wanted to venture someplace else. We ended up at a bakery that was also in the Canal Shops where I picked up a few small pieces of pastry.

Sunday was mostly about football, Vegas-style. We got a spot at Blondies in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. While the guys got out there to catch the early games, I took my time to get ready and met them there around lunchtime. I got some wings and a Bloody Mary, which were good, but I think all the spiciness did a number on me because I felt bloated and gassy for most of the day afterwards. Later, for the afternoon games, I got a ginormous margarita and some donut dippers. The dippers were great, but I think they forgot to put the alcohol in my margarita. For something that large, I should have been stumbling over myself, but I felt surprisingly sober.

After Blondies, I headed back to The Venetian to get a hot stone massage at Canyon Ranch SpaClub. For one thing, the facility is HUGE with lots of hallways to walk through. I was a little bummed that I didn't have all day to just laze about and check everything out. My massage therapist, Tanya F., did a lovely job though and those 80 minutes seemed to fly by. (Maybe because I kind of dozed off?) I did have time to check out the Salt Grotto and the Wave Room though; the Salt Grotto was nice, warm, and potentially relaxing if it weren't for the chatty couple who were already in there when I stepped in. I wish a staff member poked in to tell the guy to use his inside voice. Oh, and to stop snorting his snot. Not exactly the sound I wanted to hear while attempting to relax. The Wave Room, thankfully, was nice and quiet, and the moving water images projected on the ceiling added a nice touch. Overall, not a bad experience, but I'd have to rank this place third behind the spas at the Wynn and Aria which were much more Zen for me.

After my time at the spa, it was time to stuff our faces again. This time, we headed over to SushiSamba over at the Palazzo. I love the idea of mixing Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian cuisine, and they certainly had plenty of offerings to satisfy anyone's curiosity. Our servier recommended a drink called Sad Samurai for me, which is how I felt after trying it since it didn't live up to the fruity concoctions from Otto and Stratta the day before. We all decided to get our own dishes this time, and I opted to try some of their Samba Rolls (Maya, Green Envy, and a special Kobe Beef).

Kobe, Maya, and Green Envy Rolls.

My husband and one of our friends got the five-meat Churrasco plates, which, if you've never tried it, is a shit-ton of food. These guys are full-fledged carnivores, and even they will tell you one plate would have been good enough for both of them. I guess considering how small the plates were at Tao the night before, they assumed these would be similar, and it would have been nice if our server warned them about how much meat was involved in those dishes.

Five-Meat Churrasco with dipping sauces.

That aside, the food was pretty damn tasty, and it was a shame we couldn't finish it all. After dinner (and a quick change into looser clothing), a few of us stayed up for a bit of gaming before calling it a night.

Monday was our last day in Vegas and we had time for one more meal. After rave reviews from another couple of in our group, we decided to try Bouchon Bistro off the 10th floor in the Venetian Tower. This time we were warned that the plates are fairly generous, so we split a Pain au Chocolat and a Croque Madame with Pomme Frites.

Dip the frites in the mornay sauce, yum!

Now, we're back in LA and reality. I'm slightly poorer and heavier now, but overall it was a lovely trip spent with good friends, new friends, and great food.