Sadly, I didn’t take that many photos in Vegas. I failed to take a photo of the amazing Cosmopolitan Hotel pool that I loved and many of the fun places we went. So, please bear with me :)

Las Vegas is a city of extremes. It was one of the most relaxing stops on our road trip while simultaneously being perhaps the most draining. Our first night in Vegas where our couchsurfing host just took us on a walk around the strip, concluded with late night food and rolling home at 4am. Our second night in Vegas was a ridiculous night out, and we didn’t get home until 8am.
So how did we spend our days, you ask? For starters, I got a haircut. This was the first city I really had a chance to do so. Stella got her first taste of late night Waffle House in Nashville, but neither she nor our host had ever had hot Krispy Kremes right off the line. So, a visit to Krispy Kreme in Las Vegas was necessary. I spent two afternoons lounging at the pool at the Cosmopolitan (my favorite hotel on the strip now… even though I’ve never stayed overnight there), and Stella and I did a wee bit of shopping. Stella needed some souvenirs for friends back in Germany, and while I didn’t need to shop, it’s hard not to with the great shopping malls on the Strip. Our host knew all the Happy Hour deals in Vegas and we had delicious, cheap food.

After three nights with our couchsurfing host, we packed our bags because both Abby and Diana had generously offered to host us. We ended up at Abby’s for two nights. Our first night we had delicious happy hour drinks with Diana, dinner at a nice restaurant in the Golden Nugget with them and their friends, and then Diana took us to see Fremont Street, which has a canopy over the street for five blocks that does a lights show in the evening. The following night we had dinner with Abby, and then she sent us to a club where she put us on the VIP list. We were sad that she couldn’t join us, but it was a good time (well, except the fact that we left earlier than expected because unlimited free drinks did us in early). The following morning was brunch with Diana (See a pattern? Food is a major theme in Vegas), before it was time to head out of town.

Summary of Vegas: Wonderful days lounging by the pool, too much good, cheap food, way too many drinks and nights out for this closet homebody, and virtual friends who were even more fabulous in person. Oh, and the bizarre situation with my CS host which I’ll save for its own post ;)

If you’re on Twitter, follow Abby @AbbyTegnelia and Diana @DTravelsRound. They are both great writers and kind, generous travel buddies :)