A general plan for the first night....

When I go to Las Vegas, I don't like to overplan.  It's a vacation.  One of the things I like most about Vegas is that it's a 24/7 town, more so than any other place I know.  You can loung at the pool, make a run at a craps table, settle in at a bar, take an afternoon nap, whatever.  And you don't feel like you are missing anything.  It's wonderful.

So, unlike flying into some places, I'm not worried about arriving at ten o'clock at night.  The cabs will be there, the hotel will be ready to check me in.  The town is just barely waking up at ten o'clock.

So I have a general, and very flexible, plan for my first night.  After my long confined flight, I want to do two things when i get off the plane: walk alot and eat.  So I'll settle into my hopefully super-cool room at Planet Hollywood and then run out to eat.  Since I'll be so hungry that a quality meal would be wasted, I'll eat for fuel rather than satisfaction.  I'm thinking that I'll walk over to the brand-spanking new Metro McDonald's on Harmon Ave.  I have my doubts that it's any different than every other McDonald's on earth, but I'll let you know.  When I'm sufficiantly stuffed with greasy fast food, I'll start walking.  Generally, the plan is to cross over to Caesars, move south to the Cosmopolitan, where I'll sit at the Chandelier Bar and watch the beautiful people walk bye for a bit.  Last on my list for night numero one is the Monte Carlo, I like the front bar there.  A few rounds of video poker, a beer or two, by that time the adrenaline will have worn off, and I'll start feeling the long day.  Maybe 1:00 AM, I'll have one (or two) more beverages at a bar at PH, see the club girls and the other cool kids walking by, see if I can spot the working girls.  And then to bed.  Call it a bar crawl if you will, it's more of just a walk.  With beer stops.  Like I said, all plans are flexible, and I'm easily distracted, so there are no guarantees.

Since my body never quite catches up with the time change, I'll probably be up at 6:00 AM or so, looking for that big over-the-top breakfast, one of my favorite things about Vegas.  And then we will go from there.

Thanks for reading.
 
*BTW, spellcheck doesn't seem to be working.  Forgive me.

Places I'll go in Vegas, part 4

This one just came on my radar, but it looks so good I had to put it on my list.  I need to add some new things, nobody wants to fall into the rut of just hitting the same places over and over again.  I don't know how new this place is exactly, but it's new to me!!

Public House at the Venetian.  The Venetian is a great place to walk around, it really is a beautiful property, and I've always found it less pretentious than it appears to be.  The last time I was in town, I had a great lunch at First Food there, a terrific spot with a nice view of the strip.  It was pretty empty when I was there, and there was a great bartender who let me try a couple of local beers they had on tap.  I'll probably stop in there too, but Public House has really caught my attention.  The Venetian is certainly a high-end place, but they do have a few restaurants that are very good and don't have outrageous prices. 

Looking over the menu at Public House, it is certainly fancier than your average pub food.  They call themselves a "Gastropub", which I really think means slightly fancier pub.  They also advertise that they have "Nevada’s first certified beer cicerone – the equivalent of a wine sommelier."  I think this means that the staff knows their way around the beer taps.  I love craft brews, and like to try the local brews when I travel, so I often ask for recommendations from the barman.  I'm guessing the people here can help me out.  Keep the flair bartenders, please, give me someone who knows what "hoppy" means.

So, if you are keeping track, or planning on stalking me, here is the list so far.

1. Holsteins Shakes and Buns at the Cosmopolitan
2. Mob Museum downtown
3. Margaritaville at the Flamingo
4. Public House at the Venetian