We had an absolutely lovely time in Las Vegas!  It was fantastic to hang out with my friend M., whom I hardly ever get to see any more, and to meet her adorably cheeky leetle baby.  It was also fantastic that the three of us BFFs  actually got to be in the same city at the same time, which is a rare and very special occurrence.

A significant portion of the pictures I took were, unsurprisingly, baby pictures.  I’ll leave those for friends only, but I can show you a few of my favorite things from the trip:

I started getting pretty excited as we flew in over the desert — I have been missing the rugged western landscape something fierce lately, so I savored the gorgeous views as best I could.  The promised lack of humidity had my hair and I feeling pretty fucking pleased as well.

Doesn't that clear, dry desert air look lovely?

Our second night in town, M. suggested we have dinner at Craftsteak, one of Tom Colicchio‘s restaurants.  If you’re a fan of Top Chef then you can imagine how excited I was at the prospect (and if you’re not then I can’t help you!) and the restaurant definitely delivered.  I ate all kinds of fresh, delicious, perfectly prepared food, and it will go down as one of the all-time top-five meals of my life.  Here’s a view from our table after we had gorged ourselves with as much food, wine, and Champagne as we could physically hold:

View from the table at Craftsteak - in that copper pot are potatoes sent straight from heaven.

We were definitely feeling a cozy glow afterward.  So much so, in fact, that I declared the glassy doors outside of the MGM Grand (where Craftsteak is located) to be a thing of beauty and I snapped this picture while waiting for our taxi.

Oooh, pretty.

The next day we explored the infamous Strip a little bit, making me feel the need to take approximately forty-seven frillion photos from the car window, only a few of which turned out well at all.  Here’s one that I think sums up Las Vegas pretty effectively.  Palm trees and casinos and beautiful blue sky, and then a fake Eiffel Tower jutting out of a cluster of buildings.

Something is weird about this picture. Hmmm.

Also spotted: a fake Arc de Triomphe, a fake Nike of Samothrace, and other fake art and landmarks galore.

We also saw some real art, though, when we hung out at the Bellagio for a little while.  Let me tell you that place is pretty opulent.  They had a very nice contemporary art exhibit that we all really liked, but no photography was allowed in the gallery.  My favorite work was a Sol LeWitt floor sculpture based on a modular cube.  I can’t find any photos of it online, but even if I could it wouldn’t matter, because to really see it you have to be able to walk all the way around it.  ANYWAY.  You’ll just have to do without.

I did take plenty of photos inside their glorious flower-filled atruim, though I failed to capture the fucking heavenly aroma inside it.

Icelandic poppies in the flower atrium at the Bellagio.

Here’s what the glass ceiling looked like – similar to the Sol DeWitt sculpture, the best effect is realized by walking around and looking at it from different angles.

The atrium.

After all the gloriously perfect weather, the insanely good food, and the much-needed relaxation with my best friends, I was feeling pretty excellent about life in general.  Even the prospect of a cross-country return flight didn’t faze me (note to future self: only ever travel to places reachable by direct flight; any other type of air travel is not at all worth it).

A little glimpse of the Grand Canyon.

After I got back to New Wye, I even felt ready for the onset of spring (even though I maintain that I am constantly being gypped by the weather here and denied of the winters I so richly deserve).  I thanked my past self for planning a light week in all of my classes and for leaving a house full of clean laundry and clean dishes for my return.  Best spring break ever.