And after a couple of hours we were all completely satisfied. The ladies were 'booked' for special 'girly' celebrations so the 'blokes' set off for the Vegas gun range, where they got to do 'boy' things which I am sure Roger will elaborate on at a later date.
Machine Gun Vegas picked up the senior ex-military members (Flashman, the Major and Mac) plus the greenhorns Andy and Adam and took us to the indoor range. An ex US Army instructor took all through the obligatory briefing along with the occasional Fu**ing don't do this and fu**ing don't do that sort of stuff we were accustomed to from grumpy sergeants, then it was onto the shooting. 9mm Glock, 5.56mm sub machine gun, riot shotgun and the big boy, the 5.56mm SAW machine gun. All so so to Flashy as he has done the lot before and drilled the targets as you can imagine. The three ex military seniors actually shot very well. The instructor slaps a 40 round belt into the SAW and whispers to Flashy, "just pull the fu**ing trigger and don't let go sir." Now that was a blast. The Osama target was riddled. A great day but strangly, the cordite fumes made us very thirsty....
Jo and the ladies headed off at 1pm for the 23rd floor of the Mandarin Oriental where we enjoyed a delightful High Tea overlooking the Strip. Delicate sandwiches and tiny cones of chicken curry with fluffy scones, pineapple jam and clotted cream were all on offer, just in case we were still hungry after breakfast. And then there were the beautiful petite cakes and slices which satisfied every bodies sweet tooth. We peeped into the adjacent bar for more spectacular views and photos before we wandered home via the CVS drug store which sold everything from makeup to groceries, thongs to sunnies and off course liquor and drugs !! The kiwi girls were amazed and indulged accordingly! Back to New York New York to hear the tales from the 'shooting gallery' and then some quiet time before we once more rendezvoused at the concierge to jump in cabs for the Cosmopolitan Hotel and off course the 'Chandelier Bar' for a cocktail.
Cosmo's were in order naturally and the party of adults and older people got into party mood it was not long before we meandered across the strip to our dinner destination - why Paris off course! Joanne had booked dinner for us all at Mon Ami Gabi, a charming French restaurant sitting just adjacent to the Eifel Tower. Here we were most appropriately indulged with wonderful french food, think french onion soup, goats cheese, mussels followed by steak with pomme frites and wild boar ragu , to name just a few of the choices. Roger selected some fine French wine to accompany the meals and to cap of the evening we indulged in Jo's 30th birthday cake reflecting on her 3rd birthday party Clown theme cake!
The night played out in the casino where there was lots of winning and even more loosing and one of the party subsequently missed their flight to New York the next morning but it seems that all in all it was a 30th birthday to remember and definitely a far cry from her mothers' 30th birthday in the back bar of Kirk's Hotel in Mornington many years ago. One wonders just where the next generation can go to celebrate, after all how can you beat Vegas!!
Finally some food photo's - and what do I get? Fruit loops... Nothing from the French Restaurant? Sounds Great though - How would you rate Mon Ami Gabi?
ReplyDeleteOh and 30 years from now for the next generation. Aunty Jo will be 60 and Nanny P and Pop will be in wheel chairs!