Vegas, baby

I miss my sisters.  Several of my friends here live close to their sisters and see them regularly.  I live far away from my sisters and see them rarely.    So this spring, when lamenting that we never see eachother, the littles - my sisters Julie, Jacquie and I - 27 months between the three of us - planned a trip.  To Las Vegas.  I'm really not sure why we chose Vegas.  Apparently it was my idea and all I can chalk that up to is a) I'd never been there, and b) it's relatively easy to get there from anywhere, and c) it's warm.  So the other two J's jumped aboard and we booked our flights and then, suddenly, it was time to go to Vegas.

And holy smokes did we have fun.

I planned to document all the amazing meals we ate - the food in Vegas is spectacular.  I was going to talk about the food scene and the cocktail scene and the general scene scene.  But alas, dear reader, the best laid plans tend to wilt when one is vacationing in Vegas with ones' sisters.  I was having too much fun to worry about all that and I was usually laughing too hard to hold a camera straight.  So let's settle for some general observations and a photo journal, shall we? 

Vegas:  first time there.  And probably the last.  Wow.

The positives: perfect weather, tons to do, incredible people watching, world class food, fantastic hotels, the Bellagio fountain, open container laws, the shows (I'm told.)
The negatives:  the total excess, the smoking, the sadness of walking through a full casino floor on your way to breakfast, the sleeze factor, the inappropriately dressed girls, the food & drink prices.  
The upshot:  my sisters and I would have laughed our asses off no matter where we landed, but it was awfully nice to be in 80 degree weather and the meals we ate were epic.

Friday was giddy with the fun of it all, beginning with an ill-fated quest to find CVS in which we landed in the freight elevator with ten maintenance guys,

 

 but then progressed to an afternoon of drinks, sun and constant laughter by the pool.

 A lot of drinks by the pool

Then we headed out for  a night on the town.

 

We met Mark Dowd, my sister Mary Beth's boyfriend and a very old family friend, for a drink before he headed out to a work dinner.  Of course he draped himself across our laps when we requested it.

Friday night we ate at Sushi Roku, in Caesar's Palace, and it was, bar none, the best sushi I've ever had.  My sisters felt the same way.  Every bite was epic.  So was Julie's fake birthday cake with the gigantic sparkler.

 

 That awkward moment when the entire restaurant is singing happy birthday to you in November and your birthday was in August.

Saturday we blissed out in the Aria spa.  It was the most relaxing day I have ever had.  Seriously:  eucalyptus steam room, hot stone bed meditation room, incredible robes, multiple hot tubs, outside private pool, cucumber water everywhere and the world's most incredible facial.  We all got one, thanks to the surprise gift card from our adorable husbands/fiancee, and we decided we emerged that night looking at least ten years younger.

Saturday cocktails were spent at the Chandelier bar in the Cosmopolitan. They have a bar perched within the lobby's four story chandelier.    It is overpriced, touristy and absolutely beautiful.  And it was the best damned cosmo I've ever had.

 My favorite picture from the weekend.  Our album cover if ever we record one.

Saturday night we ate at Mon Ami Gabi.  We wanted to sit outside and watch the Bellagio fountain, but it was a two hour wait.  Instead, we got tucked into a corner and were waited on by Francois, our very French and very adorable waiter.  We split an arugula salad with grilled salmon, a kale salad (bad, but he didn't charge us),  roasted brussell sprouts and a steak au poivre that was to die for.  Incredible crusty bread, delicious red wine, and another fake birthday celebrated with chocolate.

 That second awkward moment when the entire restaurant is singing happy birthday to you in November and your birthday was in August.  But look at these sisters of mine: aren't they gorgeous?

In between these two meals was a lot of drinking, a lot of time at the pool, and a LOT of time laughing. We lounged in our room every moment we could, because it was spectacular. We inexplicably felt compelled to dance every time we got in the elevator.

 We gambled a little bit.  We really sucked at it.  See?

And we ended it right where we started: drinks and laughs by the pool.  

Why oh why do we live so far apart?  I love you littles.