Eat. Drink. Vegas.

I love Vegas. The thought of Vegas warms my heart and brings a giant smile to my face. I've had so many good visits and created so many memories there that probably couldn't be created anywhere else in the world. Vegas is so uniquely awesome you just have to experience it for yourself if you've never been. Each trip takes on its own identity and life that you really can't ever plan for Vegas other than by packing enough of a variety of clothing, shoes and accessories and cash to cover any of a number of situations. This particular trip was no different.

My friend Big Kate, a name she took on when we were in the throwes of sorority life at KSU back in the day on account of she was my Mom/Big and I was her Dot/Lil, is a professional event planner for Bayer. She gets to go to lots of neat places (and some not so neat places) to plan conferences or events for the employees of Bayer. Over the years I've met her in various places around the country...Nashville, Chicago, Vegas. This was actually our second trip to Vegas and I was very much in need of Big Kate time and Vegas time so the timing was perfect! She's recently engaged so we had much to discuss, especially since I have yet to meet the future Mr. Big Kate. However, after a wonderful text response from said fiance on NYE in light of the fact that Kate had already passed out and couldn't respond to my text, I already suspect he's a keeper and perfect for BK. More on him later. The short version of why Kate was in Vegas centers around this Potato Royale event that was going on and I think Bayer was a sponsor (I've slept and drank more between now and when Kate and I had the convo re: why she was in Vegas). The signs for the Potato Royale were all 007-ey. I suspect this was an attempt to cool up the event which, while I know nothing about it, is obviously about potatoes and I just don't know that potatoes and the people that work with them or around them are all that cool. I'm not really judging because I was an accountant in a past life and we often threw events that we thought were way cooler than they really were because we totally geeked out on accounting. I suspect the same is true for these potato geeks. At any rate, the PR is what brought Kate to Vegas and thus me to Vegas.

My first few hours were spent unsupervised as Kate had to work. This was not a good idea. I quickly headed to Munchbar and grabbed a salad w/ tomatoes, banana and cherry peppers, feta, red onions, grilled steak and balsamic vinaigrette and 3 sides of vodka sodas w/ lime. The meat wasn't any good but the rest of it was! I love banana and cherry peppers and I don't often find them on salads so that was a nice surprise indeed. I don't know exactly how long I was at this little restaurant before I wandered out into the casino and quickly threw away a couple hundred bucks on Sex and The City slots. Damn my love for SATC and my being a sucker for the flashy lights and lure of the possibility of winning big money!

Once Kate was done working we got ready to go out. She had made reservations at Tao, which is Asian food but really really good Asian food. They're well-known for their Giant Fortune Cookie w/ chocolate and white chocolate mousses as filling. Yes, we ordered one. Yes, it lived up to the hype. The cookie part was even good! It seemed like it was freshly baked - not hard and stick-to-your-teeth like the ones you get from carry-out restaurants. It came with a side of fresh fruit and a chocolate drizzle. We ordered the tuna tartare w/ crispy rice squares as an app. It was unbelievably delicious. Our main courses were the Lobster Pad Thai and the Miso-glazed Chilean Sea Bass with grilled veggies and a flight of cold Sake. I've only ever had hot Sake but these were really premium Sakes so they were really quite nice to sip on while eating and were very effective because I remember at one point looking across the table at Kate and thinking to myself, What the heck are we talking about and how long have we been talking about it and what did I just say? No lie. We also had had a couple of cocktails at the bar before being seated and I still had the three vodka sodas from lunch in my belly so it's no wonder really.

After a lovely, three plus hour dinner we headed back to our room for some shut eye so we could tackle the next day and night. Friday we awoke and had a quick bite to eat at Starbucks before heading to The Fashion Mall. Kate needed some new yoga pants and I'd never been to that mall so it sounded like a good idea. Plus, we were both in need of a good walk and some fresh air. Surprisingly, it was quite chilly in the desert! And windy! It was definitely coat and gloves weather. After shopping we headed to the Wynn because Kate had never been inside. It's very pretty, as most of the interiors are, and decorated with lots of fresh flowers and brightly-colored tile inserts in the floors.

Kate and her classy pink cowboy hat.

A slot game I played in the Wynn. All in Espanol!

It was about time for lunch so we headed to La Cave - a classy wine bar that serves tapas located inside one of the many wings of the Wynn. It was fabulous! And expensive! But mostly fabulous! Kate enjoyed a few glasses of wine while I enjoyed a Bloody Mary and a couple more vodka sodas. We ordered three tapas and shared - the warm, salt-roasted beets with melted goat cheese and pistachios, the mixed greens w/ shaved goat cheese, farmed onions and yogurt vinaigrette and the steak, mushroom and bleu cheese flatbread w/ carmelized onions. Holy balls they were divine! And approximately three hours later we were done eating and visiting and drinking and had racked up a $125 bill so we decided it was time to head back to the room. On our way we stopped by Walgreens and picked up vodka and club soda for room drinks. We were now ready to get ready!

We turned on some PJs (party jams) and got ready to go out. We made reservations at Comme Ca, a French restaurant inside the newest hotel on The Strip - The Cosmopolitan, which is very Mad Men and very cool. It will definitely be where I stay next time I'm in Vegas. It was filled w/ chandeliers and swing bands and over-the-top wall coverings and floorings and furniture. Very cool and hip and young. Comme Ca is located on the third floor of the hotel so you have a very good view of The Strip and all its bright lights and glory. We ordered a Raspberry/Lemon Drop and Cosmo for cocktails and then had one glass of white wine each with dinner on account of our three or four vodka sodas in the room. We are trouble. Anyway, they brought out crusty mini-baguettes which were warm and perfectly chewy. We ordered escargots for an app. I'd never had them before but I'm always up for trying new things and turns out they were delish! Kate ordered the mussels w/ Chorizo and spicy tomato broth while I ordered a side called The Forager and an app of calamari. The Forager was warmed cremini mushrooms, arugula and carmelized onions and came in a tiny little Dutch oven. The calamari, well, it wasn't what you typically think of when you think of calamari. It was totally delish, grilled and came with a cracked caper sauce. Yum. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

So three hours later we were done visiting and eating and drinking. We were walking back through the Bellagio when we were approached by a manager for The Bank nightclub. He gave us his card and said the club opened at 1030p. We'd get in for free and there was an "open bar" until midnight. We kind of jumped at the idea but we already fading so we thought if we were going to try and go we'd need another drink in us to keep us awake. We stopped by Fix and grabbed a vodka soda, chit chatted some more and then called it a night. LOL. We didn't even attempt to go to The Bank we were just too tired and full of rich, French food. And we're probably too old to be clubbing with the youngins' in Vegas anyway. We headed back to Caesar's to climb into our warm beds and go to sleep.

I found that our night chatter was just as entertaining, if not more so, than our day chatter. Friday night's topic of discussion was living with a guy and having farting contests. Apparently this is what happens when you've been dating for a while and then move in together. Romance goes out the window. Moral of the story, Kate maintains she was not the first to fart in the relationship, Ben was. However, her first release of gas was when she was asleep, which then woke her up but she quickly closed her eyes and pretended she didn't know it happened and that it didn't wake her up. Awesome. Just awesome. She cracks me up.

So another successful trip to Vegas under my belt and a good catch-up visit with Kate. Add in some beautiful pics from the clouds on my way into Vegas, out of Boise and in to Denver and it was pretty much a perfect trip.