Viva Las Vegas (Nevada, USA)

ccw824
Sep 4, 2024
8 min read

What happens in Vegas……gets written up in the blog.

August 30, 2024

Well, it’s been a mere 3 weeks since I’ve been to an airport, heading out of town. About time to get back to it, I suppose. HA! Here I was thinking I would be homebound for a bit. Life throws twists and turns and my aunt and uncle make Dmitri and me an offer we can’t refuse. (you see…..because the mob and Vegas….)

They have extra tickets to the USC vs. LSU college football game. And extra room in their hotel suite. So, off we go. This is similar to a football trip I went to a few years ago, also to Vegas. SC was playing in the Pac 12 playoff game and with only a few days of notice, I booked a flight to Vegas, without a room or a way home. And that all worked out. Except for the football loss but we won't go there......

December 2, 2022

When you show up to Vegas without a room and all of Vegas is sold out and your family puts a rollaway bed in the kitchen.....

But back to present day.....

Dmitri and I are back to the familiar sights and sounds of the airport. We are dropped off in Terminal 1 and then for some reason need to go to our gate in Terminal B. We see other people taking a shuttle bus and think, wow, that’s lazy. 30 minutes later and we are STILL walking to our gate and we are rethinking their “foolishness.” For some inexplicable reason, we are flying out of the international terminal and we are thinking—let’s GO. Haven’t even been back in the country for a solid month and we are hit with wanderlust. They announce a flight to Doha and we look at each other and are like YES PLEASE. Doha is a great connector to a lot of VERY cool places.

We board our flight (TO VEGAS!) and see one of Mia’s very good friends and one of Dmitri’s students. Much like flying from LA to Maui at Spring break, you never know who you will run into on a flight from LA to Vegas on a Friday afternoon. Especially when there’s a football game on a holiday weekend!

Ah, the joys of travel. It’s 4:00 and we should have already landed in Las Vegas, been picked up, and be on the way to the hotel. Yet here we sit in a holding area runway at LAX, waiting for it to be our turn to take off.

I overhear that all flights are backed up to Vegas. The people on this flight are NOT happy. The flight attendant tells a man that he’s sorry that no alcohol can be served while on the ground.

Delays are a part of travel. So be it. Meanwhile I’ll try to chill and think about how much fun it will be when we finally arrive. Keeping fingers crossed it’s in time for our dinner reservations at 6 pm. If nothing else, Dmitri and I are roll with it people.

One note while I’m already in gripe mode. We are flying Frontier and they are not unlike many of the other airlines out there who are RIDICULOUS about charging not only to check bags, but now they are charging for carry-on bags as well. It’s a matter of principle and I’m not having it!

Oh yeah, we got out the tape measure, because I will not be a party to this nonsense.

I tell Dmitri we will not be paying ANY more to this airline and so we pack light.

Taylor Swift may be able to "Do it with a Broken Heart" but I can do it with one small backpack!!!

When we arrive, Holly has rescheduled our dinner at Vetri Cucina and we head straight for the restaurant from the airport. I actually brought a cute outfit for dinner, but it's not to be. We show up with our backpacks and in our plane outfits to a really nice restaurant atop the Palms Casino with an incredible view. Cuz we classy like that. Holly knows the frustration of travel so she has ordered a glass of prosecco to arrive to the table just as we are arriving! I take a few photos of the view but they don't come out. So do yourselves a favor and just go eat there already and see the view! I start with a warm salad with cherry vinaigrette and it's so good. Dmitri has a tuna and watermelon concoction (on the menu it's called Bluefin Tuna Crudo with Watermelon, Salsa Verde, and Lime) that is also very good. We split the almond pasta dish (spectacular!) and the spaghetti with lobster and tomato. For dessert we split four ways the chocolate praline cake, a supremely outstanding Peach Frangipane Tart, and some gelato. And there goes any sort of thought that I might try to keep things somewhat healthy this weekend.

After dinner, we head to the Cosmopolitan and to one of the penthouse suites on the 61st floor. Talk about a VIEW!!!!

The suite is enormous. I jokingly say it's the size of my house but I'm actually not far off. The suite is about 2200 square feet. Beautiful living room area with bar and table for 6. Wow wow wow. I think to myself (and perhaps even whisper aloud) that "this feels so right." Hahahahahahahaha.

Seriously, this place has a 4 person cleaning crew with a bin and large cart when it's time for Housekeeping to come!!

August 31

Holly and I are up early, as we have a busy morning. Swimming at 8 when the pool opens, followed by spa at 9, and then getting our hair done at 11:30. I know, I know......it's a tough life here in Vegas.

We order breakfast for the guys and smoothies for ourselves and head out. The pool is pretty empty and we do our laps in peace. There is a smattering of drizzle and it's overcast, which is actually very nice.

From the pool, we head straight to the spa.

And into sheer bliss with Tracy, who for 80 minutes gives me a hot stone massage with her magic hands. Whatever you are paying her, Cosmopolitan spa, it is NOT ENOUGH. That woman is a goddamn massage witch. And if you have been following the blog, you will know that I have certainly had my share of massages the world over! I want to kidnap her and bring her home with me, but she's too big to fit into my backpack. Sadly.

Holly and I head to the room to drop off our spa stuff and grab a quick bite. And, this being Holly and this being Vegas, the quick bite is bacon and 1/2 of an almond croissant. All healthy eating has fallen by the wayside. Which is further proven when we get to the Dry Bar and have espresso martinis at 11:30 am. Who knew the Cosmopolitan Dry Bar has not only a bar but a DJ??????

Tipsy, with beautiful hair, we go to the room and pick up Howard and head to a taco and noodle restaurant. Hmmmmm. That's interesting. It's called China Poblano and the first thing Holly does is order us a margarita. I tell her she's a very bad influence and she cares not at all. She might have even shrugged and told me that we are in Vegas. For this meal, I do follow what my daughter and Lourdes instilled on me on a previous trip to New Orleans when they told me when going to a restaurant with fab food, you must Feed Phone First. So I do get some photos. H and H opt for noodles, but I get something called Young Coconut Ceviche: young coconut, avocado, teardrop pepper, onion and cilantro are dressed with fresh coconut water and citrus juices.

It's pretty great. I also decide to try to be a little healthy and get today's seasonal vegetable, green beans, which--despite being green beans--are very fancy. They are prepared "with ginger, garlic, onion, and spicy árbol, finished with toasted almonds and a squeeze of fresh lime."

It being Vegas, we spot this going on outside the restaurant:

Lunch eaten, it's nap time. Meanwhile, Dmitri has been off in the Venetian, playing in a poker tournament. At some point, he gets knocked out--something about having a full house but someone else having a better full house. He heads back to the hotel room and relaxes before dinner. I head back down to the spa for another dip in the hot tub and get ready for dinner there.

Dinner is at The Palm, at Caesar's, with Howard and Holly's good friends, Michael and Theresa Minden. They are lovely and Dmitri and Michael spend most of dinner discussing buying property in Portugal and the ins and outs of doing that. Dmitri is beside himself, monopolizes Michael, and enjoys dinner very, very much. Holly and I split the steak and it's fantastic. I forego dessert because it's already been a decadent day.

August 31

Holly and I are up and at the pool early for our laps and already missing the relative calm of the previous morning. It's family morning at the pool and there are lots of parents with young children splashing around. At 8 am, they start early for Vegas. We get our laps in and enjoy breakfast in the room again. I mean, with a beautiful table like the one in the living area, why would you go out for breakfast!!! Holly, ever the devil on my shoulder, orders bacon again. She also orders what is probably the best almond croissant I have ever eaten in my entire life. Yes, it's that good. I am prone to exaggeration, but it really is that good. Holly can back me up on this!

Today is the main event, the game at Allegiant Stadium, so we will be chilling in the suite until game time. Dmitri wakes up and feels a little off. Touch of a scratchy throat, not feeling 100%. Because Howard is 92, we set off to get covid tests. Neither of us thinks it's covid, but better safe than sorry. Lo and behold, he tests positive. I test negative. Ugh ugh ugh. We conference with the gang and Dmitri makes plans to rent a car and drive himself home. Luckily, the timing is such that there isn't much traffic and he gets to listen to an exciting football game for nearly the entire ride home.

Howard, Holly, and I set off for the game. It's the Beach vs. Bayou Vegas Kickoff Classic between our beloved Trojans of USC and the LSU Tigers. I'm a bit tickled as the announcer says "and now, for the first time, from the Big 10, the USC Trojans." Holly is very nervous and the excitement is palpable. LSU fans show up full force and they are LOUD. Not rude, not aggressive, not unpleasant. Just LOUD. I read later that about 60% of the stadium is from LSU but from the noise it feels closer to 75%.

Holy moly is it an EXCITING game. Wow wow wow. Far more erudite sports journalists have covered the play by play so I won't go into too many details. But let me just say:

#thiscatch

With 8 seconds to go, SC pulls ahead and we leave Allegiant with a big old fat W. The three of us are thrilled and happy. We celebrate with a late-night meal. And an almond croissant. Dmitri has made it home and is in bed.

September 1

One last lovely room service breakfast (bacon and almond croissant) and we pack up and hit the road. But first, White Castle hamburgers on the way out of town. Jersey girl Holly grew up with them and as Vegas is the only place west of the Mississippi where you can get them, stopping there is a must.

It is a short and sweet trip to Vegas, which is how it should be. We leave town with a win, which is more than most people can say.

And now, I truly truly truly think I will be staying in town for a bit!!