Time for More 'V's' - a Vegas Digression

So as promised in my last post which was (I shudder in embarrassment) almost two weeks ago - there are more V's to discuss. But since some of them are old news, I think it's best not to get caught up in their despair. I'll briefly summarize:

Verizon is a massive black hole of a company whose only concern is to take your money - preferably in the most unjust manner possible. You can try to fight them, but you will not win. Trust me, if there's any girl with fight in her for such things, it's me. And I lost...terribly. I admit, I'm not 100 percent over it, but I am moving on...

Another V - Las Vegas - is also old news at this point - though I will chat about that for at least a few moments since it's a happy digression. For the first time, I traveled to Las Vegas and thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite being sick, not drinking, and not going to a single bar or club the entire time. Sure, in the past, my Vegas trips have been fun, but they've also been a whirlwind of trade shows, too many people and lots of drinking. Lots.

This time, I took the trip alone to attend the Las Vegas Market Center week and the first ever "InspireDesign" trade show which took place within it. The shows had some noteworthy points, like my on-air interview with Nancy O'Dell (which was completely unplanned and unexpected - I didn't even know who she was until I got there and her "people" told me...that's why you get for not having TV).


Or the Italian exhibitor space with lion-head chairs and some other pretty cool items. But it was the alone time, the time to walk around and really take in the city, that I appreciated most.

I stayed in the three hotels at CityCenter, the just completed, mega-development right off the Strip near Planet Hollywood and New York, New York.

It wasn't easy switching hotels every single night, but it allowed me to really experience the hospitality venues at CityCenter, and I'm glad I got a full-picture of them.

During my time in Vegas, I had the good fortune of making it OFF the Strip for the first time. I visited Todd-Avery Lenahan, of ABA Design Studio, in his offices near the "Red Rock" I've always heard about.

I didn't have too long to enjoy the view, but I at least got to see what it was all about and started to realize the appeal of living in and around Vegas. Before this trip, I never could comprehend why anyone in their right mind would willingly go to Sin City. And suddenly - driving down what seemed like a never-ending road leading straight into the rock - I realized that this place is breathtaking.



There's much more I could go on about from the trip, like my first time to a restaurant in Vegas I actually enjoyed, which - go figure - is not a hip, new, trendy spot, but an old standby; Mon Ami Gabi, inside Paris.

Or I could talk about the less than amazing dinner I had at - go figure - a few new and trendy restaurants in the city. I could even talk all about some more happy happenings, like the new friends I made from Hunter Douglas Hospitality. But I will leave you with this, and perhaps this is directed toward one or two people in particular, but it translates:

Las Vegas? I like it now.