Estrella/Vegas '09 - Part 8 Solo Las Vegas

A few things you need to know about Las Vegas if you've never been there.

• People there refer to the major sites on the strip the same way the rest of us talk about neighborhoods.
  
• Those resorts you see on establishing shots in movies like Ocean's 11, or shows like CSI? They're actually much bigger in real life.
  
• Much much bigger.
  
• The blocks they sit on are equally huge, to the point where "it's two blocks away, we should grab a cab" actually makes sense.
  
• Their are slot machines everywhere.
  
• There is a strange absence of fast food joints on the strip. If you're hankering for a Big Mac, you're not going to get one unless you go to the 'burbs.

The plane landed and I opted to not walk to the hotel. It was only 5k, however, despite the fact that the strip is immediately south of the strip and I could see my hotel, I didn't know the lay of the land. This turned out to be wise because freeways don't have sidewalks. Plus the shuttle bus only cost $6.50.

I checked into the hotel and talked the front desk clerk to upgrade my room (made possible by being a Starwood member, which conejita_diabla insisted I sign up for).

After settling in and giving my nice clothing a quick swipe with an iron, I set out to explore. First order of business was food (it was around 18:00 by this time). Checking some restaurant reviews I discovered that Ago restaurant in the Hard Rock resort had Burratta, which I've been wanting to try since I read an article about it a few months ago. Sold!

Hard Rock is one block south and one block east of the Westin hotel, so I figured I'd walk. Remember I didn't really know the scale of Vegas yet. It took half an hour, putting the walking distance on the order of three Km. Oh well, I was by myself and absorbing the ambiance of Las Vegas, so I didn't mind.

The food was delicious and very expensive (my total bill after tax and tip was $60USD), so it's a good thing I went that day - I'd have never convinced the Emu Caravan to join me as they spent all their cash on SCA bling at Estrella. Would I go again? Maybe, the problem being that there are so many other restaurants in Vegas and I think I want to try them all. At a rate of two a year it could take me awhile.

Walked back to the hotel and decided to nap. I was expecting the Emu caravan to arrive sometime around midnight and there was no way I was going to last that long.