Last weekend was a vacation that was 8 years in the making. It’s been that long (and maybe even longer) that my friend Angela has been pursuing higher education. In December of last year, she officially became a doctor!
Because she’s had her nose in a book or a laptop fired up for the past 8 years, we really haven’t had a chance to get away… do girls’ trips… and celebrate our 20-year friendship as much as we’d like. So, to celebrate her earning her doctorate, we decided to go to Vegas!
The last time we went to Vegas was for Angela’s wedding in 2012, so it seemed prime-time to hit Sin City… and we chose our weekend very carefully. We planned it around seeing not only Britney’s ongoing Pieces of Me show, but also the lovely Kelly Clarkson’s Piece by Piece show. Notice that both of the shows have piece in the name?
We arrived in Vegas early on Friday morning, excited for a day of pool time and thrilled to have some downtime to spend with one another. We checked into our room at The Cosmopolitan, slipped into our suits and took off!
After a quick breakfast (with Cosmos, of course), we found that there were no pool chairs to be found at the hotel. How disappointing! After our final attempt, we were referred to the hotel’s “Day Club” where we could purchase a spot to lay out. Disappointed, but still seeking sun, we went to the Marquee Day Club.
In the end, this choice turned out to be a great one. The $200 we paid for two chairs was actually a credit, so we enjoyed frozen cocktails and guacamole with private service and got sun! Considering that it was 110 degrees in the desert, thank goodness they had frozen options!
After a few hours, we were DONE with the sun and headed back to the room to prep for dinner and the show. This was the night I stepped WAY outside my comfort zone. Can you say crop top?
When in Vegas, sometimes you wear things that you normally wouldn’t wear at home, right? And this outfit just worked. I felt sassy and fabulous… and on we went to the Cromwell!
We arrived a little early, planning to have a cocktail before dinner… and instead Angela and I found ourselves at the Roulette tables! We bet on our lucky numbers with a bunch of crazy kids from Arizona. In the end, we walked away from the table up about $500… a great way to kick off this trip!!
A huge fan of Giada DiLaurentiis and her Food Network show, we made reservations for dinner at her restaurant for Friday night. The decor of her restaurant was impeccable, and I particularly loved her message on her chandeliers: “Eat a little bit of Everything and not a Lot of Anything…”
We followed her lead and ordered our dinners accordingly. We started with a few appetizers (the Sausage Arancini being our hands down favorite!) and each ordered a pasta dish and neither of us came even close to finishing them… My pappardelle with pork ragu pictured below. I sadly barely put a dent in it…
After dinner, we were off to Planet Hollywood to see Britney.
And, pre-show… my tweet ended up on the big screen (for a long time!) How cool is that?
Now, amongst friends… let’s talk about this show.
We went to this show FULLY KNOWING that Brit would be lip-syncing. And, yes… not one lyric was uttered by the blonde beauty. But, we did expect a lot more than what we got at the show.
The show had pretty Vegas sets, and some light Cirque du Soleil type dancing… but that’s about it. Britney never really engaged the audience, her dancing was minimal and really repetitive, and ultimately… the show fell short. NTTC Tip: Skip Brit and go see anything else, or maybe show up drunk. Sober, you’re going to end up laughing out loud like we did.
After the show and a long taxi line, Angela and I headed back to the Cosmo to get some rest for the big day that followed.