Our last few days in Vegas were amazing. As it got closer to the end it seemed to go so quickly! There was still loads of stuff that we wanted to do. The girls wanted to check out IHOP (International House of Pancakes) so we decided to head over there for breakfast and it was by the Stratosphere so it meant we could see that too. We jumped into two taxi's and headed over to Old Town Las Vegas. I couldn't believe how different it looked to where we were staying. There were lots of little shacks which our taxi driver explained was where the prostitutes lived. It reminded me of documentaries I'd watched on TV and I found it fascinating! I couldn't stop looking out the window. The Stratosphere hotel where we were dropped off had the same feel as its outdoor surroundings. I found it quite sad, as it wasn't at all glamorous like the Cosmopolitan and made me think this was the type of place poor gambling addicts would end up. I'd be lying if I said I felt comfortable in my bikini and kaftan! We rushed through, all feeling a bit awkward, and went to meet the girls in the other car. I rang them and they said they were walking into IHOP now so we crossed the road to go and meet them. This was not the kind of place we'd been used to eating on our luxury week away... I felt like I was in the ghetto (LOL!). The girls had been stopped walking by someone saying "Girls like you shouldn't be dressed like that walking around this neighbourhood" It was safe to say we were fairly 'shaken' by the new surroundings, and swiftly decided to jump back in cabs and head back to what we knew - buffet breakfast in the hotel!
I quickly snapped a picture of the Stratosphere before running inside
It was so hot outside so was lovely to be able to cool off eating some breakfast in the air conditioned restaurant. Instead of going to our hotel we went to the Venetian for something different. They had a buffet breakfast till 11.30 for $20 so we did that. This suited me perfectly as it meant I could pick foods I knew were suitable for me, and also fill up! I had a spinach and cheese omelette, with a yummy fruit salad. There was an option for gluten free bread, but this was in the form of a burger bun but I wasn't really fancying an omelette burger. I was pretty full up on what I had eaten, and I made sure I drank lots of water and also had a pot of herbal tea. I had been rather constipated whilst being on holiday, but this isn't really unusual for me however it still makes me stressed and anxious. This is so my downfall, that I can't just stay calm and not worry. Getting anxious about not going to the toilet just makes my constipation worse. Luckily I had my Laxido sachets with me, so I could take one of them but even so it wasn't helping much. I think this is partly because I wasn't eating as I would normally do at home. We were waking up late morning and having food, but then not eating again till dinner time. Because I still don't really have an appetite, my tummy doesn't rumble to remind me that I'm hungry so I forget to eat. We were having such lovely dinners I didn't even feel hungry when I was waking up, but my friends were really good at always making sure I'd eaten enough and felt ok. During the daytimes I was living off plain chicken Caesar salads which was incredibly boring, but easy for me. When we were out and about during the day times the girls would check in I was ok and prompt me to get some food, so chicken and salad was the easiest thing to get and it didn't taste bad, just ended up being repetitive! Every restaurant that we ate at was so helpful, and before every meal asked if anyone had any allergies or dietary requirements. This was so good for me as I could totally explain what I could and couldn't have and they were more than happy to accommodate.
So after breakfast we explored the Venetian hotel and decided to go on the gondola's outside as it was one of the things we had wanted to do before we left. We went on two boats and had a little ride around while the boat guys sang romantic Italian songs. It was so cute! They had Venice sailor outfits on with little hats, and it really felt like you could be in Italy. Aside from the burning desert sun! It did feel nice to get back in the air con afterwards.
Me and my friend Helen on the Gondola
We had a little mooch around the shops and then it was time for dinner. There was no posh restaurant booked for tonight as we were going to a pool party in the evening instead, so we just had to grab something. Our hotel had lots of restaurants so we went to a tapas in there. I didn't think there would be anything in the tapas I could eat, but our waiter was so helpful he arranged for some plain roast chicken and asparagus to be made for me, which was super yum. I really should have taken some photos of my food to share, but I just ate the food far too quickly to think! After we'd all eaten, we wandered into the shopping mall and began hunting for some dessert. We went into Ben & Jerrys and all got ice creams. As I've said before, I am ok with dairy (touch wood!!) so ice cream is something I can treat myself too but just not too much of it. I had one scoop of chocolate ice cream thinking it would only be small and it was huge!! The portion sizes in America are madness. They did these ice creams in brownie covered wafer cones as well which looked delish! Sadly I couldn't have the wafer cups :( but there was no way I would've been able to eat it! None of us could finish them all off. So with very full bellies, we went back to the hotel to have some chill time before Drai's pool party at night! Evening/afternoon naps were my saviour. There was no way I could've kept going without them.
The biggest ice cream I've ever seen!
Drai's was wicked. It was one of my favourite nights in Vegas. We had been given our own table with Vodka and Champagne so all the girls were loving it. I asked the lady for a bottle of water, which cost me $14 so I can only imagine what the alcohol should have cost ha. The music was hip hop and everyone was enjoying themselves. We made friends with another girl group from Philadelphia who had just turned 21 and were also celebrating so we had some drinks together. My friends were really supportive of me not drinking and still included me and had a laugh with me, they were always asking if I was ok, if I needed anything and if I did want a drink. Because I was having such a good time and a laugh with all the girls, I decided I would have one drink. The girls poured me a glass of champagne and were blowing the bubbles out with a straw and pouring it in and out of other glasses to get rid of the fizziness! Haha. Because I cant have carbonated drinks, we'd come up with the solution to just have it flat. It tasted fine, and went straight to my head. I liked it because I was now on the same level as all my friends and I was really having a proper laugh. One was definitely all I needed though! We partied till 3/4ish then went to bed. It felt so good to take my shoes off and get under the covers. The next day we woke up about 10ish so had had a fairly decent sleep, but as soon as I woke up I could feel my tummy was not right. I had to rush to the toilet as soon as I was up and was praying it wasn't going to continue like this for the whole day. Luckily we just had a day of sunbathing by the pool planned, so I could make sure I was near a toilet but it just wasn't pleasant. I had also been passing blood, and I can only think this was due to the champagne. It must have been too acidic for me. I was scared and worried about what I had done, but the only way I will know what I can and cant have is by trying. So at least now I know champagne is a no-no for me! I'll have to stick to Vodka and water ha.
Me and Autumn at Drai's
Me & Eleanor
The best girls!!
Swim-dancing
Our last night in Vegas was incredible. After a day of sunbathing, we got all dressed up and went to the Bellagio to watch the fountains before dinner. We saw the fountains going as we pulled up in the taxi, but we'd caught the end of the show. The shows were every 15 minutes though so it didn't matter waiting. We had a good viewing spot and only had to wait 10 minutes. 10 minutes passed and nothing... maybe it was every half hour. Half hour passed and nothing... maybe it was every 45 minutes. 45 minutes passed and nothing... you get the gist! We were all melting it was so hot out, our nicely blow dried hair was not looking so nice. In the end we gave up. We'd seen a bit of it so were satisfied enough.
Final rays in the sunshine
Prime viewing spot at the Bellagio to see the fountains
Sweaty girls waiting in the heat to see the fountains
We headed to the Encore hotel for dinner. There's an amazing restaurant in there called Andreas which serves a mix of food from Chinese/Japanese style to steak. Walking in there made me feel like I was in a James Bond film. It was done out so elegantly and had a real stylish feel to it. I've always said I would hate to be proposed to in a restaurant, but this one is an exception. My future hubby would get top marks for proposing to me in Andreas! Haha. I only got the idea of it being nice for a proposal because we had personalised messages written on our chopsticks. The waiters knew we were celebrating our 21st birthdays so had written 'Welcome to Andreas, Happy Birthday Daisy' on our chopsticks (obviously the other girls had their own names!) and it was such a lovely, special touch. We all didn't want to use them and wanted to take them home! It set the night off so nicely and we were all excited for dinner. Again the waiters were so helpful and really accommodated to what I needed. We had edamame beans, rainbow sushi and wagu beef burgers to start (I just didn't have the burgers) which was yum. Then for main I had salmon with egg fried rice and green veg, all which was gluten free and crohns friendly! Everything about the evening was perfect, the food was amazing, and they were playing 80s music which we all loved and were singing along to. It was really good fun, and to top it off, they bought out seven plates with candles while the DJ played Stevie Wonder's 'Happy Birthday' song. The girls had mini cupcakes with happy birthday written on the plates, and I had a scoop of sorbet. It was so thoughtful! We felt like princesses. Then a table next to us sent over a bottle of wine as we were celebrating which was a really sweet touch. After we'd finished up we headed to the club next door to continue the night.
Me, Helen, Eleanor and Emily at Andreas
Super cute personalised chopsticks!
My birthday Sorbet
Rainbow fish sushi yum yum! I was able to have some of this as all that was in it was fish, rice and avacado
My yummy dinner. Salmon with corn and corn puree. I left the corn for safe measure, as had read that it can upset crohns. As I already had the bleeding going on, I thought best not to try something else that could upset me. I had it with green veg instead and it was so nice.
We set our alarms for 09.30am to wake up and pack our cases and check out. I felt so sad and really didn't want to leave. I had had such a good time, an even better time than I'd expected and I couldn't believe it had come to an end. We all had our new Victoria's Secret purchases on to travel home in, so were super cosy (and warm!) - air con was an essential. For the final supper we went to an Italian in our hotel where once again they were so helpful. I had gluten free pasta with pesto and chicken which was so yum. I was feeling rather drained after continuous toilet trips and still passing blood, so having a proper filling meal felt good. I was set up and ready for my journey home. That's the only thing about travelling home, all the waiting. Once you're ready you just want to go! We headed to the airport after lunch and after a bit of shopping, we sat down to wait to board. The wait just got longer and longer as a storm has started as we were due to board. Thunder, lightening, the whole works. Luckily, we were only delayed two hours and once we were on board they were pretty quick with serving our dinners. I had ordered a gluten free meal so had chicken breast with rice and veg which was perfect for me. After eating that, I took two Nytol tablets and plugged into Pzizz. Luckily I slept for the majority of the flight which I needed as I was heading into the office on the Friday. You may all think I'm mental, but it ended up being the best thing for me to get over the jet lag. By going into work I stayed up for the whole day, then slept most of the night. Friday's at work are always quiet anyway, and it was my boss' birthday so I wanted to give her a card and bottle of vod!
Eye masks for the flight home!
After what felt like an eternity I was finally at home in bed!! I was well and truly shattered. It was only 10pm, but I had to be up early on the Saturday for a blood test. A little reminder to myself after an amazing week away, that I still had Crohns. But it's ok, I can deal with it. I'm the one in control, and am feeling more positive now than ever.
XOXO Crohnie Girl
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