Viva Las Vegas!

Ka-ching!

What can I say? It feels like it was all just a dream, and the jet lag sucks but it was sooooo worth it. Before I went my brother told me confidently, 'Vegas is the bomb, you're going to love it!'


And he should know- while living in California he managed to average two visits a year.  Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, my Dad mournfully shook his head, 'Awful place', then seeing my face amended with, 'But I suppose it's probably worth seeing.' Oh, right.

 

A TV in the bathroom mirror!! I IKNOW!

And me? Wellllll- I LOVED it! (Sorrreee Daddy!) Admittedly, not in a ' I want to move there right now' way, like I feel when I go to New York... or San Francisco... or Dublin.....(or Belfast!), but in a 'I SO want another playdate there'  kinda way. Because that's just what Vegas is - a playground for adults!

It's unreal and OTT and flashy and fabulous and so hot- my goodness it's hot! My fair Irish skin prickled every time I walked outside-I was the whitest person on the Strip by far! And there's palm trees and rocks and desert, and roads named after Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr- imagine! But there's no rain so virtually no grass and hardly any whitish blue hued people with ginger hair, but lots and lots of fake boobs and amazing tans - I gotta say, the people watching was second to none!

St Mark's Square....only not as smelly!

Just one cornetto!

Paris

The Big Apple-kind of!

And the hotels! Come on,  where else do you get Venice at dusk 24/7? And Paris in the Spring? And The Statue of Liberty and the Empire State and an enormous Eygptian pyramid? And huge fountains that rise and fall in time  to Andrea Bocelli's 'Time to say Goodbye'? All on the same street!

Couldn't resist!

And don't even get me started on the shopping * closes eyes in rapturous memory*   Two enormous outlets, people! One on either end of the four mile Strip- I thought I'd only died and gone to heaven.
(Loverboy? Not so much.)

We caught a show too-aptly named 'Vegas, The Show' in Planet Hollywood- Frommers gave it 3 stars so that was good enough for me. It charted the amazing music and entertainment of Vegas from the 1940s til today- the showgirls, the Rat Pack, Sonny and Cher, Elvis, Elton John. And it was every bit as glam as it sounds and more! ( I almost booked Donny and Marie as well, but then caught Loverboy wincing and just couldn't put him through it.)

Culture vultures  might be disappointed, mind you- because unless you fancy the Elvis-a -Rama or  Erotic Heritage Museums you're outta luck, but lookit,  plenty of other cities scratch that itch, but how many give you a giant frog in a real waterfall singing Garth Brooks songs? Or the largest chocolate fountain in the entire world? Or a fiery volcano that erupts spectacularly on the hour?
Yep, that's Vegas baby-fabulously grotesque, wonderfully tasteless and utterly unique.... I adored every single amazing moment, so thanks for the memories xxx

(PS Stay tuned  for my shopping guide to Las Vegas, as well as a sneaky peek at a few cheeky purchases)

Himself and Myself after a cheeky prosecco or 3!

Friday Quicktakes

1. January is almost over and thank God for that. It felt like three months- the awful weather, the short days and the whole 'being broke after Christmas' thing is bad enough, but throw a dry January into the mix and I was into a whole new level of fun.

But...I did it and just as I'd suspected,  the weeks were grand, but the Friday and Saturday nights lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. (Translation- they were very dull indeed.) It may well have been mostly psychological, but the lack of that seven o'clock glass or two to herald in the weekend was a right old beehatch.

Overall, I suppose that I'm that glad I did it...and it DOES mean that I'll be enjoying a liquid Lent with no guilt whatsoever, but I'm glad it's almost over. The thing is, I fantasied about having a cheeky glass FAR more than I usually would simply because it wasn't on the cards... Like dreaming of chocolate when you're on a diet. But never fear,  rest assured that tomorrow evening I'll be getting very cosy with a bottle of prosecco. Hello February!!


2. I started back to my writing class last week where there's a few fresh faces and a few familiar ones as well. I actually felt like quite the old hand, with one whole semester under my belt. Not that I've much to show for it mind, but I no longer felt that I was a fraud amongst all the 'proper' writers.
I'm gradually learning not to waste time thinking about writing, or worrying how my offerings will
compare to others, but just to bloody write. Even if it's complete rubbish that will never see the light of day, because hopefully the very act of writing will eventually produce something worth reading. And just getting something, anything down on paper- a very shitty first draft (SFD- thank you again Anne Lamott)- is better than a pile of thoughts and a blank screen.  So did I do that today? Nope, I mooched over here to shoot the breeze with you. But it's still writing...right?



3. Cute picture- couldn't resist. Here's Luke sporting a little something Cormac got for his birthday. Suits you sir!

















4. This week Ireland has gone Garth Brooks mad. He started off playing  two nights and seems to be adding more every hour.  We're one of the lucky ones to be making the pilgrimage to Croke Park in July and I CANNOT WAIT.

It may be a slightly inappropriate comparison but I can only compare the excitement and build up to Pope John Paul II's visit in 1979...only with less praying and more cowboy hats and rhinestones.
See y'all there, all y'all. (Technically that's correct)

5. Boogie in the car seat today HAS to be a Garth number because quite simply, how could it not!? Love this song-hope you do too!
See you in February lovelies xxx