As promised, I couldn't "do" Vegas in one post, there was just too much to see and really, The Mob Museum was so awesome, it deserved it's own post.
It might not sound true to character, but I'm not a huge fan of the strip so I made the requisite trek pretty short. Everything there is a little too new for my taste, plastic and disposable like the giant day glow cocktail mugs shaped like the Eiffel Tower I saw a drunk lady throwing up into. Just not my scene.
That said, I won't turn my nose up at the buffet at the Winn, it is divine and in one of the never ending malls I did managed to find one of those material goods I was willing to forgo my kids' college education on... If you guessed the Ferrari Museum, you'd be close, but actually it was a gorgeous print of the poetry of Dante Gabriel Rossetti at Bauman's Rare books and a $30,000 copy of Ian Flemming's Live and Let Die in it's original dust jacket. For that kind of cash, I'd hope to get some of Sean Connery's preserved sweat thrown in too.
While I yearned for Vegas' old noir vibe, my husband did manage to chat with Wayne Newton at the check in desk for Southwest Airlines, but that hardly compares to my visions of the old casino days of vixen card counters and Elvis at the pool of the Flamingo.
Wandering off the Strip though, and into the downtown and arts district we were rewarded with cool thrift stores, friendly locals and some kick ass Mexican food.
Casa Don Juan on Main St. does a great chili relleno and had a super impressive wall of Frida Kahlo on one side of the restaurant and Emilliano Zapata on the other. Across the road I found some lovely vintage and modern decor at Corner Store. Wasn't sure how to get the velvet couch back home with us and still kicking myself for passing up this lovely Remington typewriter. Thinking it would make a nice change from the cut ransom notes I've been slaving over.
Also on Main St. was Medusa's Antiques, which had some decent stuff in the front of the shop and an amazing room of tiki collectibles in the back. Next trip its where I'll be spending all my allowance money.
If you're into the downtown Vegas scene, there's a documentary being made by William Swaney that is worth checking out, Beyond Neon based on the coolness I saw in the hood and the super nice folks, it sounds like a great film going down.
Next up: Seattle Squirrel Madness
