Katja and Francois

Katja is a gypsy at heart (albeit one with an unfortunate fear of flying), always looking for an excuse to pack her bags and set off somewhere. It thus didn’t take much convincing when Francois, her number one partner in crime, asked her to join him on his work trip to Las Vegas. While it wasn’t a place Katja had ever considered visiting, she’s not the type of girl to turn down the opportunity to discover somewhere new. And, while she prefers travel that requires the use of her passport, she figured that even though she wasn’t leaving the country, she was certainly headed to an alternate universe.

Not surprisingly, Katja found Vegas rather disturbing, and the slow moving masses stressed out her quick-paced New York self. Still, she had a fabulous time discovering the city in all its tacky glory. Unfortunately for Francois it was his fourth time in Vegas, so the novelty had long worn off. But then again, he hadn’t had the pleasure of Katja’s company (i.e. a drinking partner) on prior visits, so this trip was certainly an improvement.

Neither Katja nor Francois had any interest in gambling, so instead they wandered the strip, people watching and checking out the over the top décor at the many massive hotels. The Flamingo hotel’s flamingos (among the few real things in the city) were the highlight for Katja,

although she did find the numerous faux sculptures at Caesar’s Palace

and the over the top everything at The Venetian to be most amusing. She had hoped Francois would take her for a romantic gondola ride at the latter, but no such luck. Apparently he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea with so many wedding chapels around.

He did, at least, whisk her away from the madness and riffraff (they’re a bit snobby about the company they keep), by taking her to the Mandarin Oriental’s bar for some rather tasty cocktails and a great view of the city. It wasn’t all sophistication, however, and Katja and Francois admit to having spent the previous evening wandering the strip, jumbo frozen margaritas (with an extra shot – how could they refuse?) in hand. Thankfully the Bellagio has a nice gym, so they were able to work off some of those cocktail calories, as they certainly had no desire to come back to New York Vegas-sized.

The two continued the festivities and cocktail drinking upon their return, with Francois throwing a fabulous tropical themed fete to celebrate his birthday. As usual, there was dancing, drinking and merriment until the early hours. Kata would like to say that one day she’ll realize that late nights and liquid dinners aren’t the wisest of decisions, but at this point she’s come to terms with the fact that she probably never will.