A surprise night in Vegas

                                                                                      In front of the MGM

Delicious dinner at the Wolfgang puck (in the MGM): truffled potato chips with Maytag blue cheese sauce, Big-eye tuna tartare with spicy mayo and crispy sesame wonton, Fried calamari with gremolata aioli and mesquite grilled steak skewers. Desert was a baked Alaska with homemade pistachio ice cream. Delicious.

Oh, Vegas! You are everything I hate: loud, obnoxious, fake, overwhelming and pricey. Last year, we drove the strip and I figured I could check the Vegas box. I swore I would never again set foot here, but we had to have parcel shipped somewhere and the Las Vegas Thousand Trails RV park is a great place to do so, plus there are showers and laundry facilities right there... and well, JF's parents are flying in this week. So, Vegas it was. 

But what I didn't know is that JF and Martin and Isa had a plan. When we left the Virgin BLM on Sunday morning, we were all parting ways for a few weeks (Jen's family to Moab, Isa and Martin for a tour of Colorado + Grand Canyon and Ching and Jerud were staying put a little longer). When I saw Isa and Martin pull in at the same Vegas campground, I knew something was up! JF had made reservations to see the awesome show Absinthe for that night and we were going out together while the girls had a sleep over in Isa and Martin's rig! I was so excited!

Driving to the MGM with the Westy wasn't our best move... Clearly, we are not used to cities anymore. The Westy (with its roof top box) could not fit into any covered parking lot, so we had to find a spot to park a mile away from the restaurant (you can park for free in any casino's parking lot). We had no reservation and were already a bit squished with time... and I was hungry. We were not off to a good start... But we finally found the restaurant and relaxed. The restaurant is open onto the casino and you can see and hear all the hustle and bustle around. Girls walked by in bikinis, the slot machine sirens kept going off, a bunch of soccer fans walked by, scanting slogans. It was the full Vegas experience!

Once we left the restaurant, we had 45 minutes to walk 5 blocks to the Ceasar's Palace where the show was. Believe it or not, it took us almost all that time to get there! I honestly have no idea how people found their way around the strip and casinos before Google Maps. This place is a MAZE! 

On our way, we passed by not 1 but 3 Chewbaccas, too many sexy police girls, a few bad bunnies (it was Easter, remember), a guitar performer asleep on his guitar, lots of homeless looking persons with orange shirts (on which you could read: Hot ass escorts) distributing cards with naked women on them (the ground was littered with these cards... and there was still lots of kids on the streets), a Muslim man and his veiled wife filming himself with a selfie stick as he walked down the Strip, and so. much. more. 

The show was like nothing I ever saw before. A mix of circus and comedy. Totally NOT politically correct, very sexy and offensive. In the first 5 minutes of the show, I am sure many people wonder WTF this is. The host - the Gazillionaire - looked at a guy in the first row and treated him of Republican and said: Nothing says Trump supporter like a button down polo shirt and a trophy wife!! The two hosts did a great job at ad-libing and interacting with the crowd. Two hours of obscenity, sarcasm and amazing performances (and hot bodies!) What's not to love? 

It's a night I am not about to forget!