We woke up Saturday Feb 8th wanting to further explore the North end of the strip- pretty much anything between Flamingo and the Stratosphere. It was another great day for walking weather-wise. I was excited to wear capris, a tank top & flip flops (but with a light jacket). Even though breakfast has been our favored meal on this trip- I think we had breakfast on the run. I had a couple of cuties in my purse from travel that I had in the room so I had one of those and a little bit of tea.
All three days we had been wanting to check out the monorail but never really got around to it, so we decided to check it out today. Talk about a quiet form of speedy transformation! Maybe it was just because it was the morning, again we found it to be SO quiet around town until about 11am. We waited just a couple of minutes before it arrived and took it to the last station before turnaround.
Once off we navigated our way towards the Stratosphere and again nothing was really open yet as it was just after 10am. We roamed the entertainment floor and a few of the little shops- before things got to be busy we decided to check out Vegas from the Stratosphere's viewing deck at 871' in the air. I was feeling just a wee bit dizzy being that high up... and the thought of falling was enough to keep me back away from the glass. I am not afraid of heights and I have bungeed before, in Cabo [see HERE] but the glass has a way of making you feel like if you lean near it you are going to fall to your death! Once we made our way to the outdoor viewing deck it was MUCH more comfortable!
We watched the rides for a while just waiting for barf to fly through the air... struggled with selfies trying not aid our cell phones/cameras in a suicide fall, took pictures for others and then accepted the return is having someone take our picture with the impressive landscape and view of the strip in the background. I have to say this... couples pictures... next time we go to Vegas I am putting away a fund for souvenir photos ONLY! Geeez with the amount of times that we were pulled aside or waited in line before entering something we had paid for to get a "just a quick picture- its apart of the event" we could have had a framed picture of us with a cheesy Vegas background for every room in our house. I kind of wish we would have at least got one of them! hahaha but they were all sooooo bad!!!
After making our way down from the Stratosphere we headed back towards the strip. We stopped into the World's Largest Souvenir shop- because Aaron and I just love that crap! I had to find a couple little things for Avrie and ended up finding a couple of magnets, some fun shades, a light up pen glitter and a fabric bracelet. All things that Avrie loved opening up when we got home- but have since totally forgotten about them, ha!
Next we were off to check out Circus Circus. I thought it was pretty cool in there- not a place I would EVER stay [too many kids!!!] but a fun place to stay say, if you have to be in Vegas WITH your kids! ;) We caught a free acrobat show when we got there and ended up getting lost trying to find the Adventure Dome- which was pretty much a mini Nickelodeon Park like in the MOA. Rides, games, food, vendors all for the kids.
Another place we had been wanting to utilize while out in Vegas are the Tix4Tonight booths. We decided at this point to plan out the rest of our day by getting a deal on everything else that we would fit into this day; a nice lunch, the wax museum, a buffet dinner and an evening show at our hotel. It was SO slick and SUPER simple. You can literally fly to Vegas without a plan what so ever- stop at a Tix4Tonight booth do a little figuring and voila your have a day of fun in the palm of your hand and at a reduced rate!
For lunch we decided on Dal Toro Ristorante [with Italian being my favorite cuisine] I couldn't wait to find a great place for a good pasta meal! As soon as we sat town and we had our drinks I knew this was going to be good. I found myself deciding between two items on the menu and went with our waitress's recommendation- the Cannelloni it was SO so soooo good! Aaron's Tortiglioni Rustici was pretty good too, but I don't think he enjoyed it as much I was mine. After our meal we checked out their exhibit of the exotic/celebrity cars- there wasn't much to look at and Aaron couldn't stand that nothing was labeled with who owned it or anything about the cars, he's about the facts.
We waddled our'full'selves over to Maddame Tussauds Wax Museum. I was SO excited for this- I had been wanting to get in here since we walked by it on day 1! After submitting our admission tickets we had to wait in line for the ol' souvenir photo [OF COURSE]. Upon entering it's kind of like a haunted house but not... and then all of a sudden you are in a room with a BUNCH of really famous people! Some take a few seconds to figure out who they are... like JLo [i didn't get a picture of here] but she is actually pretty little! Then you have Lindsey Lohan- I don't think I would have figured that one out without a sign.
Before I was on the hunt for YOU KNOW WHO- I took pictures with my sister's heart throb Johnny Depp and Leo for a picture to send to 'Kristin Britney'.
Moving on...
I found Aaron sitting along side, J)enna J)ameson [WHO!? just kidding. boys... making paul proud here]
Showing up #23 Michael Jordan[letting him know who's boss]
Chillin' wit' SNOOP Dogg [or is it Lion now...??]
and being buff[er] than Arnold!
and then Aaron found me...
Puckering up, on tippy toe, next to Angelina Jolie! [shes pretty TALL! or maybe she had heels on, i don't remember Brad was making me nervous]
Smellin' what The Rock smells [surely he remembers meeting me at MOA in Jan of 1999!!!]
Matching up with Sheina's #BestVegasBuddy Andre Agassi!["who has known sheina longer, pal..."]
Getting up close and personal with Gaga
[we had a staring contest. she won.]
Belting it out alongside Celine Dion "my heart will go onnnnnn!" [her and i both have really long arms!]
Lolli Lolling with Katy!! [i should have kissed that girl!]
There were so many more not pictured, some including; Jeff Gordon, Oprah & Bradley Cooper [who looks WAY TOO MUCH like our good friend Russ!! i have always thought so, but now i REALLY KNOW SO! wow!]
AND FINALLY....
you got it!! but i have no words...
and to think i have actually been THIS close to Britney AND had my picture taken with her... ANNND I remember feeling JUST as star struck then!
Oh well, maybe I will be better the NEXT time we hang out! ;) I made Aaron take a BAZILLION photos and he was so annoyed... HE WAS ANNOYED!? I WAS ANNOYED... I kept feeling so awkward. Do I really love Britney that much... yes... YES I DO! hahaha BUT at least Aaron was able to finally meet Britney up close and personal.
Near the end of the exhibit we sat in a car with Elvis for ANOTHER souvenir photo [imagine that!?] these are the pictures that I would have purchased but TOTALLY forgot to even look at them at the end! I didn't remember until we were already gone. DARN! Hands down that Museum was my highlight of the day- it was too fun standing next to the stars. I am a celeb freak and although I would LOVE to spot one and be near one I have NO idea what I would ever say to one... I couldn't even act silly around the wax BRITNEY!!!! Well anyway, BYE Britney... Bye Madame Tussades. ...that was so fun! I would for sure add this to your next Vegas vaca! ;) Who would be your favorite celeb to pose with?
After Madame's we headed across the way to check out the Mirage. Let me tell you... Aaron & I both agree that if/when we get back to Vegas, this will be the place we stay! It felt the most like our style; up beat, personal, laid back but still young and fresh and oh yeah... AND it smelled SO GOOD IN THERE... like a BEACH!!!! I want to get back there someday.
Late afternoon we headed back to the hotel to rest and relax before getting ready for dinner and our last evening in Vegas. After a much needed nap we got ready for the 'you gotta try a buffet in Vegas' experience for dinner. We went with Planet Hollywood's Spice Market. While waiting in line for about 30 minutes [which sorta felt like an hour when you're hungry!!] we had a good time people watching. Once we were seated Aaron and I parted ways for food- we both came back with half filled plates and not all that excited about what we found [or rather didn't find]. If we had to pick favorites from the buffet I'd go with the lemon sauce triple berry salad and the Mexican cuisine, while Aaron would say the fried Chicken. It just wasn't our thing and probably our biggest regret of Vegas... whomp whomp... but now we know that we don't ever have to do that again for dinner. I think a brunch buffet would be a MUCH better experience. you can't go wrong with breakfast.
After dinner we made a stop into Britney's Piece of Me store so that I could spend an entire night of tips from Millers on one tank top #WORTHIT and then we made our way back to The LINQ to FINALLY make my purchase at The Purple Zebra! Can you tell I save all of my shopping for the end of my trips?
This brand new candy and frozen daiquiri bar lets you buy the yard like drink glasses and fills them with either alcoholic or non-alcoholic daiquiri mixes. I went with a pink Zebra leg for my cup [cant wait to use this at the lake this summer!!] and out my mixology skills together with the Fireball Whiskey & Peachy Keen blends, yummmmm! I slurped down about a 1/4 of it before decided that I would NEVER be able to drink all of this...
...and I never did but I have a SWEET #MORETHANWORTHIT $20 lake/pool/cabin drink glass!
Last on our agenda was the show X Burlesque. This was at 10pm back at Flamingo. You didn't think I would make Aaron come with me allll the way to Vegas, have him be my date for Britney and not find something that he might enjoy too, did you!? haha
Well anyway, this classy & entertaining show was a great pick. While the girls are indeed topless it's not sleazy and we were in a crowd of anyone from bachelor groups, to couples both young and old. Aaron and I, we fit somewhere in the middle. And while I will say the show is for men- it's definitely something for the ladies to see as well. It was 75 minutes of choreographed dance numbers with girls of all shapes and sizes, if you know what I mean... dancing mainly to rock music- for the dudes, a little bit of country again for the dudes and a couple of pop songs- which were my favorite. Britney was WAY better... but Aaron might have enjoyed this just show a tad more.
After the show and just before midnight we decided that we had had a really long and exhausting day so we headed back to the room to clean out the booze in our fridge and pack up our things #partyanimals!! We had a very early wake up ahead of us, with a flight out of Vegas at 10am the next morning- meaning we had to be up and to the airport no later than 8:30am so packing at 6am would have been the worst thing ever!
The next morning Sunday Feb 9th we were up early. I was sure to wear my new favorite shirt home & said "piece" out to Vegas with a good new fashioned bathroom selfie. We made it home without any troubles and was SO happy to see our squishy faced Avrie girl! She had a great time hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa's playing toys, watching movies, and they even went ice fishing!
...and that my friends & family ends our fun weekend in Vegas! It was our first time and while it's not our #1 pick for vacationing we would like to get back there someday. AND if anyone is going for Britney... you know who to call. I would LOVE to see Brit Brit again with another fellow Brit fan! ;)