Superbowl Sunday

At the beginning of trip-planning, I decided that Superbowl Sunday should be a day of rest, relaxation, and junk food no matter where I am in my journey. So when it happened that Superbowl Sunday watching could be tackled in Las Vegas, I was very okay with it. 

Because I'm moving to outside of the San Francisco area, it was only natural that I root for the 49ers. Although my soul is forever pledged to those underling runts, the Cleveland Browns, I need to figure out some things to bond with my new neighbors over... since I'm not really into hardcore environmentalism or astrology. 

 

I woke up to this view. Those are mountains. Like the kind made out of dirt and rocks. Ohioans, take note!

Since Allison had to work a ridiculous double-shift, it was myself and Cap'n Dave. We started off the morning casino-bound to hedge our bets. A few quick sights along the way: 

 Chocolate fountain to the OMGth degree. Jean-French-Something Patisserie. Stunner.

As an added perk of Dave and Allison living where Dave and Allison live, there was just a stretch limo there to take us out to the strip in the morning. No big deal. But yeah, I was freaking out.

Eventually, we ended up at HofbrauHaus for junk food and game-watching, which was an excellent call. The place is a German palace of brew and potatoes, and it's only one of two in the US. The place is absolutely Vegas - kind of kitschy, over-the-top, and HUGE.

 

Their retail store sold liederhosen!

Naturally, beer was sold by the liter.

Souvenir for the day! A one-liter HB beer mug. I probably won't use it for beer. Because owwww my liver.
 
After watching the game, and you all know what happened, I hung my head in shame and Dave and I made the crawl down the strip back to the apartment, absolutely exhausted. Something about a buttload of beer, junk food, and excited people meant two sleepy drunks. Here are some sights on the strip from along the way! I made sure not to add the picture of the drunk blonde puking on a sidewalk, because I have class.

This is the Chinese-New-Year themed chocolate sculpture in the Aria. Someone has too much time on their hands!

But no, really, Aria is gorgeous. And my favorite casino on the strip. Well-decorated, and it's a tad bit classier than some of the other joints. Like it doesn't totally smell like smoke and the cocktail waitresses don't all look like escorts and there are no weird stains on the carpets.

But Vdara's probably still my favorite hotel there, based on coffeebar alone.

This is Crystal in the recently-constructed City Center. It's a mall that no one can afford to shop in. 

Las Vegas is a great city. It's an honest city. It's about money, sex, and food. And it doesn't try to cover that up. And they spend time and money to make things fun to look at. In general, I own too much plaid to live there, but every once in awhile, it's a fantastic place to visit.