The City, Oh I Wanna Be There...

When the lights go down in the city And the sun shines on the bay I want to be there in my city Ooh, ooh So you think you're lonely Well my friend I'm lonely too I want to get back to my city by the bay Ooh, ooh Its sad, oh there's been mornings out on the road without you, Without your charms, Ooh, my, my, my

The lights definitely never go down in this city. Vegas is all action all the time, 24/7/52/12/365 ... You get the idea. Jay and I were both late to hop on the Vegas bandwagon, but thanks to our great friends Paul and Tara, we are no longer Vegas virgins! The two 'Vegans', as they call themselves, planned an awesome see-do-eat-gamble as much as you can in 2 and half days trip for us. They opened their guest room to us and were our local tour guides all weekend.

Jay and I got on the road Thursday evening, stayed the night in Phoenix and made it to Vegas around lunch on Friday. Just before we made it to the oasis in the desert we slowed down to see the sights of the Hoover Dam. We got a preview of ourselves playing tourists as we slowly drove the winding road through the dam. Our mouths gaping open, hands flying to point out sights, and me constantly flashing the camera with very little effort to focus was a repetitive theme for the weekend.

We arrived in Las Vegas with our tummies rumbling, so our tour guide suggested a dive where only the locals eat, El Sombrero. Sounded perfect to us! We were definitely happy and satisfied as we squeezed out of the tiny restaurant. Next...TO THE STRIP!! Again with the gaping mouths and pointing fingers, oh well it's not like we were able to stop ourselves, IT'S VEGAS BABY, the Entertainment Capital of the World, Imagination Station, Sin City, the Land of Lust!

Our first night was dinner and a show. We ate in Paris at a French steakhouse, Mon Ami Gabi, on the patio at the most scenic table in the restaurant. We were front and center for the Bellagio's water show. Between the bottle of champagne we ordered, the cool desert air, the beautiful people surrounding us, and the serenading water show, we were for sure we had slipped into starring roles of a Hollywood movie. After dinner it was on to MGM Grand for the Cirque du Soleil show KA. The set blew us away. The stage was moving the entire show and the performers moved along with it. At one point were acting on a nearly vertical stage. Read: Me trying to push Jay's jaw closed.

We walked the strip and saw the lights of Las Vegas Boulevard for the remainder of the evening making it an early night due to early tee times for the boys and early massage appointments for the girls. After our pampered morning, the four of us met up for a beverage that would lead us home for a nice nap. We were going to need all the energy we had for the long night ahead of us. I'm sure you've all noticed that our trip has yet to dive into the tables, slots, or roulette wheels.

Saturday night dinner served up a spunky Italian hole in the wall restaurant off the strip called Battista's. Great Italian classics and all you can drink house wine at every table, I mean really what can go wrong here. We knew we were at the hottest place in town when a wedding party arrived for their reception and the groom and groomsmen were wearing classic bowling shirts embroidered with the names of the bride and groom. If you haven't been to Battista's, you MUST go!

We had a lot of pasta and wine to walk off so we headed down the strip again. We just couldn't get enough of the lights! It was the most incredible sight, like a shorter version of time square, but a mile longer. We saw all the major casinos and of course had beverages in about all of them. Tara and I sipped champagne like true celebrities. Like the old folks we are, we all needed coffees a couple of hours in to our saunter down the strip since we still hadn't made it to the gambling tables.

We did finally hit those infamous tables around 2 a.m. at a locale's casino closer to the house. It wasn't nearly as crowded as the strip which amped up my confidence and ability to throw down some bets. We schooled black jack, prayed at roulette, and threw hot dice at the craps table. I was very pleased at how we well were doing. The end of the night rolled around and a few bad hands finally cut us off. We had all boycotted watches for the evening, and it worked! As we walked towards the cab, to our oblivion, the sun was about to rise.

Needless to say, Sunday was our recovery day. Four couch potatoes watched football and baseball all day with only breaks for food and naps. The trip ended on a very tasty note. Paul and Tara fixed fondue for us and we had a lovely, quiet evening at their house. They were the best hosts, better than any casino could have done, and much cheaper! We hit the blacktop again the next morning bright and early, and felt we couldn't get back to our puppies fast enough. Thankfully, Jay was driving and we did make it home pretty damn fast.

Las Vegas - CHECK

We'll definitely be back to this city!

Vegas Vacation!