Let me start by saying that Vegas is my favorite weekend getaway. It’s a quick flight, you can find cheap hotels, and you don’t need more than 2-3 nights there. Trust me. If you can thrive longer than that there I would love to know your secret. Anyway, I’ve been to Vegas several times but this was my first single girls’ trip and it was FUN. Here’s a rundown of our itinerary and the things I liked and didn’t like (Hint: there weren’t many things I didn’t like).
One of my friends and I flew in late Thursday night after work, checked in, changed, and got to Vegas’ing. No time to waste. We started with drinks at Juniper inside Park MGM. The drinks were awesome (also overpriced, but welcome to Vegas. Everything is overpriced) and came in the cutest glasses with the best presentation. I had the Cucumber Cooler (and if you know anything about me this isn’t surprising because any kind of cucumber cocktail is my favorite) and my friend had A Little Birdie. The only downfall of this place was that it closed at 1:00 a.m. on Thursday evening (it’s open later on the weekends). When the lights came on we downed the rest of our drinks and made our way to The Strip.
The next stop was the well-known Chandelier Bar inside The Cosmopolitan. This is a great spot for photos. Seriously, I don’t know if it was the drunken glow or the lighting but I was very impressed with the pictures we took here (you know, for us vain people). Though, I have to admit the drink I had was pretty disappointing. It was called The Royal Tenenbaum and was some sort of spicy concoction which I usually like, but wow. It was a little much. However, my friend’s drink was really good and the bar is a really cute and fun stop for casual cocktails. The last stop that night was the 24-hour CVS next door to our hotel. In case you didn’t know – grocery stores and pharmacies can sell liquor in the state of Nevada. So we stopped to grab snacks and cheap vodka to push us through the weekend.
Friday morning, we got up after three hours of sleep and worked out. I know, I know who works out in Vegas? But I chose to go for a run on The Strip before it got packed with people and I absolutely recommend this. It was an awesome way to see the sights, and due to all the activity and scenery it made the run so much more bearable. Our post-workout plan of action was to grab a buffet brunch at Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan and wow wow wow was this the right plan of action. The food was awesome. They had everything you could’ve wanted as far as breakfast, lunch, snacks, and desserts go. It was Heaven. But the real draw to this place was the bottomless champagne (though, I opted for a coffee and Irish whiskey. I was feeling adventurous apparently). Worth every penny.
Friday night’s festivities were some of my favorite of the trip. We ventured downtown to Fremont Street and went to a speakeasy called The Laundry Room. I have to admit, the word I would use to describe my first impression of this place would be ‘uppity’. They gave us a debrief on the rules of the place prior to letting us in the door. Come on, we’re here to drink, people – get over yourselves. But I was quickly swayed and became a huge fan. The place is really small so you have to have reservations to get in. The mixologist, Anthony, was incredibly skilled, more than willing to make drinks off-menu based on the flavor profiles you gave him (I highly suggest doing this – the off-menu drink he made me was the best!), and good looking (a bonus, right?). These were hands down some of the best cocktails I’ve ever had. We’ve come a long way from Burnett’s and Sprite, ladies and gentleman! They also serve some sort of magical popcorn. It was amazing. So amazing that we had 4 bowls of it. This is an awesome place to check out if you want to enjoy quality drinks away from all the tourists and crowds.
Saturday was our stereotypical Vegas day since our other friends got in late Friday night. After a quick bite of breakfast our day started with Skyy & Pedialyte (it was after a couple of these we decided our Vegas names would be Lola, Trixie, Candi, and Jasmine. Subtle.) on our way to a Tiesto pool party at Wet Republic. If you do not like crowds, dirty water, and extra expensive drinks this is not the place for you! However, I learned that with enough Skyy & Pedialyte and watermelon margaritas anything is possible (a pitcher of those margaritas cost $95 might I add). Since we quickly learned that drinks were expensive and the pool was cloudy we decided we needed to make friends, and that we did. We conveniently befriended a bachelor party with a table and bottle service (please and thank you on those vodka cranberries). Once Tiesto came on and I got my fill of dance music, sun, and booze I headed back to the hotel for a quick rest and dinner.
Saturday night’s big festivity was… drum roll please… Magic Mike! To sum things up – wow. It did not disappoint. We had a great front row table in a prime ogling spot. The wild crowd consisted of females of all ages, birthday parties, and bachelorette parties. The show is very interactive which, HELLO, is worth the cost (as if 10 men with six-pack abs on stage wasn’t enough). One of our friends was pulled on stage for a skit? Piece? Act? Dance? Whatever you’d like to call it. It was such a fun show and a great ladies’ night choice! 10/10 would see again. And if someone wouldn’t mind telling me where these guys exist in the wild that would be much appreciated!
Don’t you worry, the trip couldn’t end without a few good stories to tell. Saturday night we went to a fun new bar called On the Record. As we were walking across the dance floor a guy touched my arm and motioned for me to go over to him. With a quick laugh and shake of the head I went on my way. Seconds later the man and his wife came up to me, exchanged pleasantries, and asked where I was from. They were overly enthusiastic when I said I was from Texas and quickly told me they were local to Las Vegas. Hmm interesting. Then the man told me, “We just think you’re so pretty!” Ding ding ding there it is. They’re swingers. My suspicions were confirmed when I watched them interact with the other couple they were with and the men started dancing a little too…enthusiastically?… with the other’s wives. This is now the SECOND time I’ve been approached by adventurous couples in recent months. If someone can explain why this may be I’m all ears.
Finally, after Vegas chewed me up and spit me out it was time to go home. I knew there was bad weather back home so I wasn’t surprised when my flight got delayed by 40 minutes. No big deal. The fun began when I landed in Texas. My flight didn’t have a gate so we sat on the plane for 45 minutes while they brought stairs and buses so they could bus us over to the terminal. Once my flight made it to baggage claim there were no bags. Fine it usually takes a little while. An hour goes by and still no bags. An hour and a half goes by and people were ready to riot. We were finally told that the baggage carousel belt was broken…ok and why couldn’t they move it to another one??? Amazing question but they didn’t. About an hour or so into this ordeal a guy from my flight started chatting with me. What I thought was going to be brief small talk (you know, because I thought that surely our bags had to be coming out soon) turned into a two hour long first date. That’s right, you did that math right – it took 3 hours to get our bags! Tired, cranky, and poor I said so long to my airport boyfriend and my crazy Vegas weekend and hopped into my $100 Uber and went home. *Cue Sex and the City-esque closing scene*
What’s your favorite thing to do in Vegas? Let me know below!
Haley Meets World 