Vegas Baby!!

John and I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Las Vegas with some wonderful friends of ours,

Brian & Gina Gemalsky.

We flew out on Monday night (April 4th) and arrived in Vegas about 11 pm (Vegas time). We were certainly tired, but made the most of our first night and walked along the strip and hotels. This was my 3rd trip but all the others 1st trip, so they were certainly in awe of what Vegas is all about.

That first night, we spent time gambling in

Treasure Island and in our hotel, the Rivieria.

Even though the 'Riv' was a short hike north of where the majority of the hotels were, it turned out to be a very nice hotel, not as busy, clean, nice rooms, and of course a pool.

(no we did not see the Crazy Girls as seen as the deck of cards, they were a free gift courtesy of Gina's players card!)

Gina and I decided to head to bed around 2 the first night, but the guys decided to stay up til after 6:30. I think they were pretty excited.

Tuesday: Day 2- Gina and I spent the day laying

and relaxing by the pool. It was at least 80 degrees, sunny, not a cloud in sight. Someone should have warned me to put on some extra sunscreen, but I'm sure I would have failed to listen. Needless to say, I got a nice sunburn on my chest and legs mostly. But it felt great to get some sun and a little color on my pale body.

We met up with Brian & Gina's friends for dinner at Lagasse's Stadium in the Palazzo to watch some of the games the guys had bet on during the day. What delicious food and fun!

Tons of TVs and comfy couches to lounge on

John & I enjoying good food, friends, and sports :)

Wednesday: Day 3 was spent walking around again, I swear we logged in at least 15 miles! (or so my feet and legs thought). We walked through Caesar's, Bellagio, The Magnificent Mile (Mall), the Venetian (my personal fav), and the Palazzo. (I think this was it..) Here are some pics of the various walking destinations: (Both are inside the Bellagio)

We ate a "fancy" dinner at Olives in the Bellagio.

We stood in line for over 45 minutes (first ones in line I might add) so we could get a table out on the porch. This way we could be front and center for the fountain show they showcase in front of the Bellagio. It was a beautiful sight! We were also the youngest people at the restaurant by about 30 years! It certainly pays to have good advice on the best places to eat.

Wednesday night we had tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil's "O".The one and only thing I wanted to do in Vegas was see a Cirq show, and O was probably my top choice. It was

an amazing experience, I sat on the edge of my seat (with sweating hands and feet--good ol gymnastics nerves) in anticipation. The hour and a half just flew by. I would definitely see O again!

(this pic is before the show outside of the theater entrance)

After O we walked in front of the Bellagio to watch the fountain show since it was now dark. Those fountains are beautiful every time I see them. We also watched TI's pirate ship show. I had seen it once before, but certainly did not remember what it was about. After just coming from a Cirq show, I don't think any of us were overly impressed, but it was still a sight to see.

We called it a night back at the Riv with some late night Fish fun at our "spots". Gina & I at our Gold Fish slots, the boys at the Roulette wheel. Another great day!

Thursday: Day 4 was a very windy day! After breakfast we decided to sign up to play in a slot tournament. The object was to get as many triple diamonds as possible. This was probably the most fun 15 minutes we had, I wish I had recorded this! John was the top winner in our group of 4 placing 8th, only 2500 points out of the money slot, maybe next time honey!

Of course we walked another 15 miles. Today visiting the Wynn and Encore, as well as Caesar's again to cash in on the guys sports bets. The Wynn and Encore were simply stunning hotels, definitely "5 Star" (hehe- we had a good laugh with that)

Our last few hours were spent at our "spots" getting all of the gambling out of our systems. I certainly think the amount of time we spent in Vegas was sufficient. I was feeling cranky and getting annoyed with annoying and unfriendly people. I'll take that as a sign it was ready to go home.

Our Vegas trip was absolutely fantastic!! We had such a great time with Brian & Gina and certainly can't wait til the next one (somewhere tropical hopefully)