...Stays in Vegas

Saturday morning, we had planned to head to a sandwich place that multiple friends had recommended. Sadly, after walking across the room to grab water, I quickly realized walking the whole strip to get food wasn't in my future. Maddie and I spent the next few hours sleeping and watching Netflix on my Kindle, while the rest journeyed out to pick up lunch. They came back a few hours later with our caprese paninins (which could not have tasted more like heaven) and soon we were all fully recuperated. A quick change into our bikinis and coverups, and we set off for the strip with plans to go to Cosmopolitan's day club Marquee.

But after being told there was a $20 cover charge to get in, we quickly turned around and headed straight back to our hotel. Actually, straight back may not be the best phrase since we decided to cab it without specifying to take the strip back. The cab took us on a freeway and made no attempt to hide the fact that he was scamming us. As soon as we were close and recognized where we were, we demanded to get out and walk the rest. Finally, we made it to the Tao day club which was way crazier than we had pictured. There was a college travel company that had organized a trip for a university in Kansas, so we were already a little off put when we walked in. After grabbing a very expensive drink and hanging out by and in the pool for a little bit, we decided that 40 minutes was our limit. Vegas definitely has a potential to be creepy, but this was the only time I actually felt uncomfortable. There were men in their 40s in their bathing suits underwear just looking around, and I actually thought the night clubs we went to were much more fun. I also have a feeling that if everyone didn't already know each other and we had a few more drinks before, our opinion on the club would be very different.

We spent the rest of our time hanging out in the jacuzzi away from all the craziness until we decided it was time to grab food and head back to our room. I won the award for weirdest snack food again and ordered a salmon sandwich with fries as an early dinner/snack. A few Netflix shows and several shower rotations later, we got ready to go out again. Another celebratory shot of Patron, and we started to head out to dinner. Red 8 was an Asian restaurant at the Wynn hotel and was pretty reasonably priced. I ordered a mojito and lettuce wraps which were very average, but made me happy that I ordered food a few hours before.

During their search for food on the Vegas strip earlier, Andrea, Madison, and Joanna had talked to a club promoter and got on the VIP list for Excess. Afrojack was playing a set, and we were extremely grateful to be able to just walk in once we saw the huge line that was already growing at 11:00 pm. We grabbed our free drink and walked around admiring the outdoor table areas and the club. While Tao was definitely more flashy and Vegas, Saturday night ended up being extremely fun.

From watching Mario Lopez come in and celebrate his birthday, being front row for Afrojack, being invited up to the VIP area (before being asked to leave 20 min later--I guess not talking to people and just taking drinks wasn't the best idea), to meeting and hanging out with fun new friends, the night didn't end until 4 in the morning when we got in line for the cabs. At 5 am we were finally posted up in our hotel room eating a delicious slice of Pizza de Enzo cheese pizza (which I can't believe I had passed over for tomatoes the night before) before quickly falling asleep.

Luckily the four hours of sleep I got didn't leave me with a huge hangover, and we packed up our things while taking precautionary sips of powerade and pedialite (gross, but the most helpful thing we could have packed). On our sad walk to the car, we grabbed food from the Venetian food court--a breakfast burrito that I knew I would not have enjoyed under any other circumstance.

With that last goodbye, we started our road trip back home. As we passed the Bellagio fountains, I finally saw them going off from the car and decided that it counted for my "sight seeing."

The rest of the car ride was spent pitying those who were more hungover than me, drinking an insane amount of Diet Dr. Pepper, and laughing about all the ridiculous things that happened this weekend. While I didn't see any of the sights or even leave the hotel that often, I had the exact Vegas experience that I wanted. I'm so happy that living in LA (and the fact that I actually staid under my small $300 budget including hotel rooms) means that I will be back very soon.

What happens in Vegas...

Vegas is known for endless buffets, high stake gambling, extravagant shows, the Bellagio fountains, The Hangover, and crazy clubs. My Vegas trip, however, didn't involve much besides the clubs, drinks, and hangovers. Which means it was a perfect and hilarious vacation from school/work and the best way to celebrate us all finally being a legal age. 5 of us had planned a trip to Vegas the weekend of the final 21st birthday and we defintiely had a celebratory mindset going into the weekend.

We left on Friday around 3 after everyone got off from work, packed our bags (including an entire bag filled with drinks ranging from a birthday present bottle of Patron to hangover cures like Powerade), and started the road trip playlist. The drive is a short 5 hours, but we quickly changed our mind about waiting to get dinner in Vegas once we reached Barstow. After being stuck in the middle seat and with our phones dying, everyone was starting to get hungry and cramped. A quick stop at I' n' Out and one double double protien style burger later, and our group I was much peppier and we were back on the road.

As we pulled into Vegas, I attempted to take pictures of the strip from the car and got extremely excited for the weekend. We parked in the Venetian parking lot, and checked into our room. I have only been used to the Vagabond hotel by USC and budget hotels around Europe, so I was extremely impressed with the room. It was huge and perfect for five girls since it had two queen beds, large sofa bed and a huge bathroom to do make up in. Since I couldn't balance how badly I wanted photos and how embarrassed I was to be taking them, the photos aren't great.

It was already around 8pm and we were there to celebrate,  so we brought out our suitcase of beverages and set up our own little bar on the desk complete with a small bottle of patron (I don't normally touch tequila but I made a two shot exception this week). After a few drinks in our hotel room--we are college students on a budget after all--we headed down to the Venetian casino to try our luck at gambling. I intended to donate $20 to The Price is Right slot machines, but after my friend Andrea won $40 from a $1 bet and I had lost $7, I put an end to my high rolling ways. We walked around briefly before being approached by a club promoter and getting VIP tickets the hotel's club Tao and tickets for their day club.

After using our complimentary drink cards from check in, we headed in to Tao relatively early at 11 with no line or fee. Ends up being a group of 21 year old girls has it perks, and we made our way to the VIP area and were invited to drinks that included a massive bottle of Grey Goose--aka the best way to feel like you're living the luxurious life. From our spot we could see the whole club and it was crazy. From the girls in bikinis in glass boxes to the dancers in the bathtub with shell pasties literally three feet away from us, Tao definitely gave off the Vegas night club feel.

The night ended on the earlier side around 2:30 with some late night food of pizza tomatoes because apparently I am an extremely strange person. Don't worry, I fixed this issue and went for the pizza slice the next night/morning.

Going into Vegas I was excited, but didn't have any real expectations of what we would be doing, how the clubs would be, or even what the hotel would look like. The result: by the first night I was blown away by the extravagance of the clubs, how I wasn't spending a million dollars, and just how much fun we had from getting ready (stressful dress shopping the week before paid off) to dancing in the clubs. My worry that the next night wouldn't live up wasn't necessary either--we would be up to 5 am, seeing celebrities, and partying to Afrojack soon. 

A Night In Downtown LA

From working full time this summer to starting my senior year at school, I've been pretty busy. Although I've done many blog worthy things in the past few months (hello, Jay Z and Justin Timberlake concert), my night out in downtown LA was the weekend that finally prompted me to get my camera out again.

My roommate Madison had her friend Ashley from study abroad--both visited me in Prague this March--fly into LA, so we wanted to take her out. After a full day of work on Friday, we spent our time getting ready, picking out outfits, and having a drink before leaving. I was mostly excited because I finally got to wear my new Asos leotard I had been looking for an excuse to bust out, and borrowed Ashley's leather skirt to go with it. An all black outfit made me feel cooler than I actually am--which is always a sign of a good outfit.

We has reservations for dinner at a trendy restaurant downtown called Baco Mercat. It was our first time going, and we'd all heard the food was amazing. Our priorities were in the right place since we focused on picking and drinking a cocktail (Pimm's 408) before looking at the menu.

The waitress suggested to order the meal tapas style, and we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the dishes. We split everything between 5 people and the dishes were still big enough to go around (which cannot be said about the similar style restaurant by campus). Every single dish tasted amazing. Even food I don't usually enjoy like Brussels sprouts and cauliflower were incredible. It takes a lot for me to say I truly crave Brussels sprouts, but the "ceasar" brussels sprouts salad was one of the highlights of the meal. Along with the Brussels sprouts was a caramelized cauliflower dish, and we ordered two flatbreads to share. The first and table favorite was the bacon and egg flatbread with tomato, farmer's cheese, and pecorino. The dippy egg in the middle may have caused some fork wars as we all tried to attack it, but it was super delicious. The second flatbread was the carne picada with spiced beef,  yam, pine nut, and feta--also delicious but nothing could compare to the first. "Dessert"was a sugar snap and pear salad. It was warm and had cinnamon, goat cheese, and pomegranates seeds--I ended up pouring the remaining sauce into my spoon before we left.

Like most trendy LA restaurants, the lighting was terrible and my photography skills are rusty. So while my pictures are terrible, it was still a great meal and worth blogging about since this is essentially my journal that only I, Scott, and sometimes my Mom read.

Since our guest of honor is an English major, we grabbed a taxi and went a few blocks to the Library Bar. It's a small bar with large bookshelves and cocktails inspired and named after literary pieces. Although I ordered (a painfully strong) vodka soda, Madison's drink tasted delicious. After we fought our way onto a couch, we sat and hung out to waste some time before it was late enough to head to our next stop. We also managed to grab a few photos by the book case before heading out.

Less than a block away was The Standard- a swanky roof top bar that is surrounded by the downtown LA skyline. We waited in line and mingled until we got to the door. I think there is a $20 cover charge, but as a group of 5 college girls, we weren't asked to pay it (wee, perks!). Once inside the building you head up the elevator to the roof where the bar is set up. The whole place is incredible--lights and skyscrapers surround the building, the pool is lit up, and waterbed couches surround the upper deck of the roof. It was the perfect place to spend my first night out in downtown LA and to take an out of town visitor.

The best part about the swanky night is that it continued into our way back. Instead of taking a taxi, we ordered an Uber car to take us back to the house. The first time you sign up is a free ride for students and a chauffeured black SUV comes picks you up and takes you back home. It was such a fun night and definitely was the highlight of my week--although working 20 hours and taking classes Monday-Thursday didn't give it much competition. I'm already excited to visit a few other bars and restaurants downtown soon!

Last Day in Prague

My last day in Prague was a little surreal. Although I left on Friday, the morning before my flight was spent cleaning my apartment before turning in my keys. So, Thursday was my last full day in Prague, and I planned to spend the last few hours saying goodbye to my new home.

After volunteering at the kindergarten for the last time (and being given two bottles of becherovka as a thank you), I met up with my friend Diana to hang out for the day. Her apartment was having a goodbye lunch at Radost--the vegetarian restaurant-by-day and club-by-night spot we had spent many Thursday nights. I had a half of two different types of veggie burgers that were delicious and ordered my last Czech beer. Although not traditional Czech food, I had enjoyed pork knee with dumplings the night before at one of my favorite restaurants U Kroku with my friend Lauren and her family. Some of the best restaurants in Prague aren't traditional Czech food, so I felt like I was covering my bases before leaving.

After lunch, Diana and I headed to the nearest potraviny to pick up some souveniers and Czech goodies to take home. I bought four 50 ml bottles of beer (you're welcome dad), carmel wafers, and bagel chips to share back at home. After we sufficiently stocked up our suitcases, Diana and I headed from our apartments back downtown to do some last Prague adventures. Our first stop was the Waldenstien Gardens by Prague Castle. While we went to Prague Castle again a week ago, we had missed these gardens on our visit. The area was beautiful, but what we really came for was to find the albino peacock. After searching through the gardens, we got extremely lucky. Not only did we find him, but also managed to catch him with his feathers up long enough for us each to get the picture.



We had also hunted down some acrylic paint and paintbrushes, and set out to do one of the last things on our Prague To Do List's: painting the John Lennon Wall. Although I don't think either of us are the most artistic people, painting on the wall was really cathartic. It was fun and relaxing, and not to mention funny when a huge group of tourists spent about 15 minutes taking pictures of us. We took our time, and were both proud of our end products. I couldn't think of any better way of spending our last day in Prague. It was the perfect last "interaction" with the city that I've fallen in love with, and leaving my mark on the wall gave some closure to the end of my time living in Europe.


We stopped by Kampa park to take a photo with the Chrny babies by a man who recognized us as the painting girls before some of our last souvenir shopping. I grabbed some last gifts for my family, and picked up a key chain that has not left my car keys since I've been home. One last kolbasa for dinner in Old Town, and it was time to say goodbye.

After a whirlwind of packing, cleaning, and scrubbing that stupid spot on the floor in our bedroom, I suddenly found myself on the taxi to the airport. Even though I was really excited to see everyone at home, I found myself tearing up in the ride over. There's very few places in the world where you can drive by architecture ranging from Romanesque to Gothic to Rococo with a cab driver who has lived most of his life under communism, and I was going to miss it. Moving into my first apartment in a foreign country was hectic, but I wasn't sure I was ready to leave my cute little apartment with wood floors and big windows despite the loud family of pigeons living outside my room or the impossibly small and lacking kitchen. As I said one last dekuji to my driver, I was sad that it would be my last time practicing a foreign language in an immersive environment for a long time. Leaving felt surreal and I definitely felt like I wasn't done with Prague quite yet.

Although I inevitably have a few regrets--mainly not traveling around more in the Czech Republic--but I know that it is impossible to do everything. I met some great new friends that made the experience so much fun and having Scott in Europe made Prague feel like home since day one (seriously, a life saver--it was like having your best friend going through the exact same thing you were and an instant travel buddy). Studying abroad has been one of the best experiences of my life and has definitely awakened a need to travel more.

So I'll save myself from more corniness (embarrassing post but necessary in a "journal" aspect), and just say that Prague was the best place for me to be this past semester and I can not wait to make it back to the Czech Republic.