Last Week's Trip to Vegas

Last week is pretty much a blur - I was so busy at my conference and had so much going on, and that coupled with the fact that we were in Vegas - the world of over-stimulation, created an exhausting weekend!!!

I had such a great time seeing all of my friends and colleagues around the country that I don't usually get to see more than once or twice a year.  Seeing them is such a rejuvenation to me and I love having the chance to catch up with everyone!

My friends and I ate at some of the best restaurants I've ever been to in Vegas - places that I would definitely recommend!!!

Monday a friend of mine and I went to Holsteins in The Cosmopolitan.  He had a burger and I had a radicchio steak salad and the we shared an alcoholic milk shake - DELICIOUS and pretty reasonable for Vegas.  We explored the hotel and found and area where we found great views...

On Tuesday, 4 of us went back to the Cosmopolitan for lunch and ate at Wicked Spoon.  It's a $26(ish) buffet, but everything is served as small plate portions, which is amazing because you didn't load on too much of one thing and waste it if you didn't like it.  The food was fantastic and they had everything from breakfast, to shrimp coctail, to rissoto, to sushi and a great dessert bar.  I will definitely going back there!!  I didn't need to eat for the rest of the day - could have been the 5 trips back to the buffet!!

Wednesday was the night that we had the celebration of my mentor's retirement.  After the party, I got kidnapped by a small group and taken to, what they call, the Per Diem dinner.  When traveling to a conference for work, I get a certain amount of money per day to spend on food.  The point of the Per Diem dinner is to spend your day's worth of money on dinner.  WELL, I didn't quite do that, but I definitely came close!  We went to THE Steakhouse at Circus Circus... I ordered the petite cut prime rib, and this is what I got...

There is no way in the world that I would call this petite.  I didn't eat a bite of carrots and I may have tried the mashed potatoes, but I pretty much just ate the steak - it was gigantic!!!

We had meetings and educational sessions and socials that filled up the rest of the week, but I did manage to spend a little bit of time in my very favorite place in Vegas...

... the Fountains at the Bellagio.  We were there at the end of the night so we got to see 3 shows in less than 45 minutes - Time to Say Goodbye (Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman); All that Jazz (Chicago); Star Spangled Banner (Whitney Houston).  I tried to find a video to show those of you who haven't seen them, but you just have to go - photos and videos don't do them justice.

I'm back home safe and sound and have a few days off before we leave for our next adventure!!!