An Ode to Las Vegas

So I recently came back from Vegas (on the 26th) and had a great time as expected. This was my second time going and it was just as awesome as I remembered it. There is always lots to do and its just a beautiful city.

So to briefly recap, I went with Victor this time-just the two of us. We stayed at Excalibur for the 5 days we were there. It's the hotel that literally looks like a castle and its located on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. This is what the hotel looked like at night:

This was a kid friendly hotel so there were a bunch of kids all over the place (i dont understand why parents would bring kids to Vegas) but I didnt let it get to me. We spent most of the day sitting by the pool tanning and swimming. It was about 115 degrees everyday and that's just too hot to walk around in. We ended up getting so tan we looked burnt. The sun feels like its literally next to you, so I wasnt surprised we tanned so much.

After we would hang out by the pool all day we would go walk the strip in the evening. We pretty much went to all the hotels on the strip and caught pretty much every free show available-like the fountains at the Bellagio, the Sirens of TI at Treasure Island, the Volcano Explosion at the Mirage, the shows at Circus Circus, etc. They were all a lot of fun.

We also went to Fremont Street, which is what they call the "Old Las Vegas." This is where the original Las Vegas strip started. The atmosphere was great. People just walking around drinking and enjoying the free concerts they had that night. Also, practically the whole street is under a dome that has huge TV screens as the ceiling (see pic below.) We took public transportation to get there,which was fun. We ended up taking the bus to go everywhere, even the Las Vegas Outlet Center, a mall, that is the last stop on the bus going south. We bought souveneirs there and just walked around.

Another cool thing we did was see the Bodies Exhibit at the Luxor Hotel. It was located right next to Exacalibur and we could see it from our hotel room window. Luxor is shaped like a pyramid and it has a blue light that shoots up into the sky at night. Its really nice on the inside too. We did catch a show at the Monte Carlo. It was the Lance Burton magic show, which I must admit, was awesome. Im usually not fooled by "magic tricks" but some of the things in the show left me wondering how the hell he pulled it off.

We went to one nightclub/bar in hotel New York New York but it wasnt really our kind of atmosphere and it was so expensive to get in. We were running low on money by then and decided that next time we go to Vegas, we will try to get into one of the fancy, celebrity nightclubs. They usually only let in groups of skinny girls dressed like skanks but we are gonna give it a try. This is the view from the south part of the strip looking to the North. It is amazing to look at when the sun goes down and the temperature is bearable. New York New York is located right behind the Statue of Liberty imitation.

Lastly, one of the most exciting things that happened while in Vegas was that Vic proposed to me. He did it officially-getting down on one knee with a ring. We were in a resort lobby with a bunch of strangers, looking to get a timeshare (we got to the hotel too early to check in and had to waste a few hours and they offered us free tickets to Lance Burton). In the middle of introductions, Victor gets up and starts to say that everyone in the room is so nice and that he feels its the right moment to do this. I had NO IDEA what he was talking about. He then goes on to say that he didnt have enough money to get a ring until now, and I'm like "what the hell is he doing?" It still hadnt hit me...

So he gets down on one knee infront of all these strangers and he asks me to marry him. At this point, I am in so much shock that I nod yes and the crowd goes wild with cheers and claps. I was furiously blushing from embarassment of being the center of attention and the surprise of it all. It was like a scene right out of a movie and something I'll never forget. The ring is absolutely beautiful and it has "me" written all over it. Its simple, elegant and just perfect.

To conclude, I had a great time in Vegas. I got to relax, tan and do some sightseeing. We saw some great shows, ate a lot of good food and got engaged. I came back happier than I've felt in a while and thats a big deal for me, so thanks Vegas :)