vegas – Sip of Starrshine

Last time on Spring Break 2016, I landed in Vegas for my friend, Megan’s, bachelorette party and we headed straight to the club to get our dance on. After 26 hours awake and a weird song choice by the DJ, we called it a night so we could have energy for the next day…

I was pretty surprised by how not-late I woke up, thanks in no small part to the sun streaming through our open window. It was my first full day in Las Vegas (and Paradise, if you want to pick bones about it) and I was excited to leave the frigid cold of the DC area behind. (The day before my flight, I endured a blustery 30°F walk to work.)

First order of business was brunch/lunch at Mon Ami Gabi! We actually do have locations in the DC metro region, but none of ours are below the Eiffel Tower with a gorgeous view of “Paris”. I have never been to the locations over here and I’m not sure I can ever go knowing that it won’t be as magical as it was over in Vegas. It’s a really cute restaurant, and the hyperrealism that Beaudrillard wrote about is in full force here as you sit in a “Parisian cafe” on the Strip. In anticipation of eating a lot of waistline-unfriendly food for this trip, I stuck with a really yummy salad and we all kicked off the day with yummy food in our bellies.

Ah, la vie en rose... — Sous le ciel de Paris, erm… Las Vegas

Salad with salmon! (Full disclosure: I thought this was going to be smoked salmon, but this was actually very well cooked.)

Meanwhile, the bachelor party crew was at Hash House a Go Go. While I had seen Christine mention going there before, I didn’t realize that the portions were hilariously humongous, as evidenced by the photos we were sent to incur jealousy. Warning: You may want to share food here, do not try to be a hero!Read More »

Let’s kick off recap season strong, shall we?

Although we had planned to get everything ready the Monday evening before our trip, Ben and I kind of zonked out and had to ready ourselves to wake up early Tuesday morning because there was just no way I was going to shower or finish packing Monday night. I was already too exhausted. We did, however, spend a decent bit of time bopping our heads to some get-hyped music:

SO. It’s 4AM Tuesday when I roll out of bed to finish packing and to shower and get myself ready to go! The work day flies by and the next thing I know, I am back at home and a miracle happens: my package is at my door! It has arrived at the latest possible moment, but I can bring my new sandals and swimsuit on my trip. (Which is great because I bought them for the trip, so.)

Ben and I head to the airport, park our car, and I proceed to be 100% passed out on the plane. Except for the one time than I was awakened because there was now a cup of water and a snack on my tray table. (Note: NEVER ever wake me up for things like this when I am flying, I will fly into a sleepy rage.) After my little nap, we arrive in Las Vegas! Almost an hour early, actually, thanks to a nice headwind.

SO, I got dropped off at Planet Hollywood while Ben went off to Don’s bachelor party suite at Stratosphere. While Ben was greeted with shots walking into his suite, I was greeted with a much tamer scene. Some cell phone chilling and fish tacos!!

It's Britney! On my hotel keycard! — It’s Britney! On my hotel keycard!

Anyhow, we arrived in Vegas at close to 11PM and my crew headed to Omnia at around midnight. At this point, I would like to remind you that I woke up at 4AM Eastern time. That translates to 1AM Pacific time. And now I am only leaving the hotel at 12AM Pacific time. And while I was not greeted with shots, being greeted with the NSFW bachelorette party goodies in the hotel room was a strange experience in and of itself… (Given that I am the vigilante who will herd children away from the bachelorette party section of Spencer’s. They get lured in by the Pikachu backpacks and start walking towards the lava lamps and they don’t need to see all the sex toys in between!)