Lunch at Delmonico (the place I’ve called “work” for the last six years, where I’d never eaten)! Yet another surreal experience. The attention, the appreciation, the wine, the cheese platter, the service, I know I work there, but, oh my, that’s an extraordinary place to dine at! I finally get it! (Thank you for the treat, Eli and Farid!)
I had already been through so many magical emotions that day, that the bottle of wine stretched time and made this moment endless. I had so much fun that it was hard to believe there were many hours of celebration yet to come.
Having lived in Vegas for six years now, I guess I have some connections. A girl at work gave us a free room at the Palazzo, to celebrate the big event! We checked in after lunch and felt like royalties. The rooms there are gorgeous, the view from the 31st floor – breathtaking! I let Al and Sami hang out there for a while and I went to the parking lot, to bring the suitcase full of bottles for the party, almost as heavy as the one we went to Fiji with.
As I dragged the dead corpse through the hotel’s hallways I thought of how awesome it was to see Vegas as tourists. The true amazing Vegas, the hotels, pools, restaurants, shows, clubs, bars, and a breakfast in some café where you say: “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”.
4pm: A brief rest at home, which I spent chasing Sami around his room while mommy was taking a nap, so she’d last till later than 9pm this evening.
7:30pm: Baby - asleep. Baby sitter – installed. Parents, in the car again, thinking how insanely full some days can be and how much time we waste in oblivion.
I insisted on having a Mexican dinner in a restaurant in the Palazzo that cost $9million to build! As gorgeous as the restaurant was, our experience was nothing spectacular. The moral of the story I knew even before we went: “It doesn’t matter how expensive something is, but whether or not it has character, a soul!”
Time to party!? Being the conditioned fearing American I’ve become, I dreaded the fact that security was going to go crazy from all the noise, music and people coming up to our room. I seriously thought I was going to get fined for something again, or whether or not there was a law, forbidding more than, say, one bottle of wine in a hotel room, and say, more than 29 people.
As the drinks added up, my concerns melted away and people started showing up. It was a wonderful feeling again! All these people, many of whom my co-workers had come to honor me and show respect on my birthday! I felt really good! Loved the attention, loved the party! Me and Alka exchanged looks from across the room and just like at any other party, hardly even got to talk to each other. So many people to chat with! I guess we miss our old Bulgarian parties where the whole world would get in a single bedroom apartment and have the best of time.
May I mention in retrospect that Alex’s surprises didn’t end with the presents and a breakfast. She also baked a Birthday cake for me, in the shape of a skateboard! Hence, for a couple of days I wasn’t allowed to open the fridge either. So we topped off the Mexican dinner and the many cocktails with a delicious cake…I’m a man of age now, I'll start watching my diet...tomorrow!
As the party dwindled to a small group of us, having a quiet conversation I felt no nostalgia of the day that had past. Like never before, all I felt was an immense happiness and endless gratitude to my Alka for making this my best Birthday ever!
Even though it would have been nice to spend the night in the Palazzo room, our babysitter’s time was running out and we had to get home to the little family member, who never even suspected we had snuck out.
The next morning I read the total of about 50 messages I had, wishing me all kinds of awesome things. I felt rich! It seems I truly have reached the hardest goals in my life – I have an amazing family and wonderful friends!
Thank you, to everyone that touched my heart! You know who you are! I love you!
Thank you, my dear Al, for making this the best Birthday EVER!
4 comments:
Before anyone says anything, the knife on the last picture is for the cake! OK!?
This was exactly what we're thinking about. Of course it is for the cake. I'm wondering why did you mentioned that ....... :)
See? I'm already getting teased!
awesome!!!! So glad she could make it so great for you!!! So, you finally enjoyed Delmonico, huh? What did u eat and what wine did u have? And ...Dos Caminos deff not all that...they do have great guacamole though.....
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