Vegas wedding weekend wrapup

Well, I came back from Vegas to overcast, drizzly, (relatively) chilly Seattle, and after getting caught in a downpour on my way home from the store this afternoon, I'm ready to go back to Vegas. Bah. Actually today's weather keeps changing from dark grey overcast, to downpours, to sunny breaks with a bit of blue sky, to lightly grey overcast, and so on. Mostly though it's been a lot of dark grey and rain. On the one hand that weather's best faced in the company of others, even if it's just being at a coffeeshop with other strangers; on the other hand, it makes me not want to leave the house, particularly not on foot. So that's not helping my moodiness much.

Anyhow, Vegas was fun, although there was a bit of feeling, "boy, it's a shame we're here for Brandon's wedding - it's kinda getting in the way of Vegas." In the months leading up, I had been fearing (for no good reason) that I might be left to my own devices a lot; then suddenly last week my feelings flipped and I started thinking I'd be busy a lot and not get to do all the things I wanted to. In the end, I had about the right amount of time on my own, but most of my time with others was wedding-related stuff rather than specifically Vegas stuff.

Friday night I did hang out with John and Elizabeth, watching the Fountains of Bellagio from a bar balcony overlooking the lake (all my fountain show photos are from Sunday night on the sidewalk, though), before going off to TI for a late dinner. After they went to bed I strolled around the southern part of the Strip, from Bally's down to Mandalay Bay and back, as I realized I might not get a chance to check out all the casinos as I like to do. I'd forgotten how much walking it is and how tiring it can be, especially after a long day; plus I was wearing my good shoes because the bar had a dress code, and it turned out those shoes weren't good for sustained walking. At one point, as I was stumbling out of the Excalibur in a daze, thinking only of how far I still had to walk back, I realized that the good-looking woman standing off to the side who was calling and waving was trying to get my attention. I didn't stop to talk, as I was feeling overwhelmed and just wanted to get back to my hotel. Also at the time I thought she might be a prostitute ("come on over! don't be shy!"), although as I recall she was dressed almost conservatively for Vegas in jeans and a regular top, so maybe she was just friendly. Really friendly.

Despite all that walking and being tired, unfortunately I didn't fall asleep quickly because my bed was too hard, so I spent Saturday morning trying to sleep. Saturday afternoon I walked the northern part of the Strip, from Caesars Palace up to the Wynn and back. First I took several photos in the Conservatory of the Bellagio, and then some in the Forum Shops of Caesars Palace, in particular the new entrance to the Forum Shops on the Strip. Saturday evening was the bachelor party, a fairly sedate affair involving dinner at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House and drinks and conversation at the Peppermill Fireside Lounge, a cool place I happened to visit last time I was in Vegas. (I never wrote about that, but Scott has a highly amusing account of that trip.)

Again Saturday night I didn't sleep well, this time because I was in a rollaway bed with no support at all, plus I had to get up mid-morning in order to have time to get ready for the wedding. The wedding and reception were Sunday afternoon; I haven't yet uploaded my photos from the wedding, I'll get to that later this evening I think. After the reception everyone spent a few hours just resting, then there was a small casual gathering of friends with the married couple. A few of us headed out to the Strip to catch the Bellagio fountain show, and then as I wasn't tired, I walked around the Strip some more. I was delighted to discover that Planet Hollywood has only recently started converting the Desert Passage Mall into the new Miracle Mile Shops theme, and I walked through to get some photos of the old Desert Passage design as well as a couple of the new look, which I think is cold and soulless. I do have to admit, though, that the casino's interior as the Aladdin did look a little cheap, while the new interior design for the casino is sharp and stylish. (I should've taken photos of the casino, but I thought that might be frowned upon.)

In all it was a good trip, but as I said it felt like the wedding activities took up a lot of time away from just being in Vegas. Still, some Vegas is better than no Vegas, and I'm certainly happy to have been there for Brandon's wedding. Hopefully it won't take another four years and a wedding before I get to visit again.

See the full set of non-wedding Vegas photos on Flickr.

the worst thing I saw in Vegas

the worst thing I saw in Vegas
Originally uploaded by Philaros

Also, let me just add this: has the Luxor lost all sense whatsoever? Who on earth thought that advertising these two shows together was a good idea? Note that besides this prominent sign outside the Luxor, there are additional advertisements all over Vegas. I pity the poor girls of Fantasy, inextricably tainted by association with freakin' Carrot Top. It's hard to think of a less sexy combination.