Viva Las Vegas- A Return Trip to the USA

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Ronnie and I have been here just under 6 months now...and it was time to take a short trip back to the Land of Liberty. We decided on the most calm, neutral and relaxing city to ease us back into American culture...Las Vegas.

We left our little casita very early in the morning and took the long trek to Sin City. We arrived at 1:00pm which left us plenty of time to do some major clothes shopping and to induldge in one of the things we have missed the most in SMA: really fresh sushi. It just happened to be Happy Hour when we arrived which basically kicked off our non-stop partying for the next 4 days. After dinner, we returned to the hotel to get dressed up then head to The Mirage to see Cirque Du Soleil's LOVE. It was fantastic, but towards the end of the show we were really tired.

The next morning we got up and decided to do the Luxor's buffet. It was actually really good but with Ronnie and I's smaller appetites, we only ate one plate full and a bit of fruit! Then we headed out for even more shopping in Mandalay Bay and the new mall called Fashion Show. At the mall, we decided to go to the food court for some all-american fast food. We decided on KFC. I have heard about a new bowl there where you can get potatoes, corn, chicken and gravy all in one bowl. It sounded ridiculous to me so I had to order it. Let's just say I loved the mashed potates and that was about it. I guess I can see the appeal if you are a kid.

Next, some close friends of ours from SF, Andy and Josh, had arrived and we went to go meet them at their room in Excaliber. After chatting for awhile we went down for some drinks to catch up even more. Then we cruised several casinos like New York, New York (who took out all those rad fake trees in the middle. It is now SUPER borning in that casino), MGM and Excaliber. At around 1:30am we decided to get some greesy eggs to fight off our future hangovers. We then called it a night.

Luckily the next morning, none of us had hangovers! We had breakfast at a diner and played Keno over $9.00 pancakes and $3.00 worse-coffee-I-have-ever-tasted. We then played in the arcade where we won a ton of toys. I even won 5 Kermit the Frogs in one claw grab! It was ridiculous! We then went to the Venetian to see some statue people with water sprouting out of the tops of their head and big tree people. Strange. The gambling was fun there though and they made awesome Bloody Maries. Next, we had to head back to the hotel to meet our other set of friends from SF, Urian and Grant. We then went for dinner where I HAD to get the steak and crab legs special. I mean this is Vegas! We then got dressed up, got more drinks and then headed out to the dance club Studio 54. Urian, Andy, Josh and I danced and danced while Ronnie and Grant went gambling. We danced until our whole bodies hurt and then went to go gamble again. We found this amazing mechanical horseracing game that only took quarters. (I think this is the only machine in all of MGM that takes quarters nowadays.) There was no one at the table when we first got there, but by the time we left, a whole crowd had gathered around us, laughing, gambling and drinking. It was so much fun to just laugh and laugh with people from Chicago, Malaysia, Australia and more! It was now about 2:30 so we went to an all-night deli to get mile high sandwiches and fries.

The next morning, we were all very slow to get up. Only Ronnie, Urian and myself made it to breakfast at 11:00...barely. Afterwards we met up slowly with everyone else. While we were waiting, Josh hit a jackpot on a penny machine. He hit an 18,000 credit and just kept winning. He won about $150 from $8.00. We then trudged on to other casinos we hadn't seen yet...the new Miracle Mile, Bellagio and Paris. In Paris we played roulette for a long time. Urian had earned a bunch of money and then at the very end...like the old saying goes...bet it all on black. And well....this is Vegas...so he lost it all.

Andy and Josh then had to head off to catch a plane. It was so sad to see them go and I missed them the rest of the time we were there. It's like we had all become a new breed of Rat Pack. Urian had been telling us we had to go to the Star Trek bar at the Hilton. When we arrived, we learned that the ride had closed. Sadly, all the casinos are really getting rid of their themes. So we hung out there for just a little bit and I won $80 on a StarWars penny machine! (Thank you Darth Vader). Then we headed over to Circus Circus until we realized that it is pretty sad in there. We saw a trapeze show where the performers fell twice. Next we went to a place Urian had seen on PBS that was famous for huge hot dogs called " Slots of Fun." The hot dog was terrible and we played soccer with it in the street for awhile.

Finally we hopped in a cab (that went around in a circle to rip us off...this should have been a clue) to the Old Strip on Fremont Street. It was very bright and at first we were really excited...until we went into the casinos. They were very dirty and odd feeling. Like the people weren't playing for fun in there. We went to one bar where none of liquor bottles had labels. Urian ordered a whiskey and when he tasted it, asked what it was. The bartenders had no idea. So he ordered a shot of Jack as it was on special for $3. The shot came in a cup the size of the top of a cough medicine bottle. We laughed and laughed about it. After staying too long at the old strip and annoyed by the bad clip art in the "light show," we decided to head home.

That night we packed, got up early in the morning to have a buffet that was pretty brutal and then rushed off to the airport. It felt like it took forever to get back to Mexico and to be honest, it feels a bit like Boxing Day, or the day after Christmas. We do love San Miguel of course, but our trip has made us homesick for the US. Especially since it is around the holidays.

It really was the perfect trip to Las Vegas.

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