Good Afternoon All!

So I’ve taken a few videos that I really wanted to post on here but they are taking FOREVER to upload to YouTube. Apparently this connection is kind of slow. I might give up on the videos until I get back to Pittsburgh or find a speedy connection here (which isn’t very likely).

So first of all, I’m melting. It’s SO hot. I’ve been carrying my trusty blue water bottle around with me everywhere and trying to stay hydrated but I was still dripping with sweat by the time I got back to my hotel this morning.

Let’s review what I’ve done so far… Yesterday I got to my hotel and checked in by about 4. I unpacked and consulted my map and little guidebook. My mission…was Whole Foods. lol. AH I wish I could post the videos. They are so much more entertaining than my typing. Oh well.

So I started walking along the Strip toward Whole Foods. I knew it was pretty far away but I couldn’t remember how far. Well once I got to the Miracle Mile shops or whatever they’re called, I was STARVING so I tracked down a little sandwich shop. I’ve noticed that there are very few vegetarian options at any of the restaurants around here. This is sad. I was hoping to find a cool little vegetarian place to try. Oh well.

I ordered the only vegetarian thing that they had on the menu at this place — a wrap called The Spa.

It was actually really good and they had a condiment bar with all kinds of different sauces. I got Satay Peanut Sauce. mmm.

Roasted vegetables, spinach, feta and balsamic vinegar:

I ate the whole thing plus a few of the chips.

Okay…now I have the energy to continue my Whole Foods trek. So I continued walking along the Strip and noticed that I was kind of nearing the end of the heavily populated area and wasn’t so comfortable walking around by myself. Luckily I packed a route map of The DEUCE. Oh yes, Vegas has double decker buses that run along the Strip call the Deuce. Ha. I found myself a bus, paid $3 and made my way to the mecca that is Whole Foods.

The inside of the bus..can’t figure out how to rotate the picture… Oh well. The bus has TV screens showing the upcoming routes.

Only I would come to Vegas and go to Whole Foods.

In order to make my trip a little cheaper, I decided to buy some lunch ingredients to keep in my hotel room and just make my own lunches and snacks. I also packed baggies of pre-mixed oatmeal/cereal/cinnamon to make overnight oats for breakfasts. I am ridiculous.

I used to be afraid of Whole Foods and now I am in love.

I ground some fresh, raw cashew butter!

And I saw someone braving the 100 degree weather and running! You’re a crazy man!

That picture was taken from outside of Whole Foods. See how far it was from the Strip??! Thank goodness I caught a bus. I would have been walking for hours.

I caught the Deuce back to my hotel and made friends with some drunk people on the bus. Las Vegas is HILARIOUS. Everything is over the top and you can carry around drinks. Like alcohol. The place where I got my wrap was selling alcoholic smoothies. I haven’t had a drink yet. I probably won’t. I thought about buying a bottle of wine AT WHOLE FOODS but decided I wasn’t really in the mood to drink. I’m surprised people aren’t passing out on the sidewalks from dehydration with all of this drinking and 105 degree temperatures.

I finally got back to my hotel around 9 and was pretty exhausted. My brain was thinking it was midnight. I ate a yogurt snack and some baby carrots with cashew butter and then laid in bed watching the Travel Channel.

There might be a package of carrots in my ice bucket… The housekeeper probably laughed. I stored a yogurt in there overnight too.

I got to bed around 10 and slept until 8 AM! I was pretty exhausted. I ended up doing a lot of walking yesterday.

I soaked my oats overnight and they were ready for breakfast this morning. I added a yogurt to this too. Looks appetizing right? Cashew butter was involved too.

After this, I showered and headed out to find coffee. There is a Starbucks in my hotel. $3.25 for a small coffee! Ohh well.

I packed snacks for the road too:

I didn’t end up eating the Kashi bar but I did eat the carrots and grape tomatoes.

I wandered and wandered and wandered this morning. I came across my favorite store in the whole entire world, Anthropologie,

where I found a giant porcelain snail candle that I really wanted to buy but couldn’t figure out how I would get it back to Pittsburgh. I’m still considering it…

Here are some of the pictures that I took yesterday and today. I decided I would post all of the “tourist” pictures in gallery form and then the food pictures individually since this is a food blog…

After very much wandering (and dying from the heat) I made it back to the hotel for lunch around 1. I created a tuna/carrot/tomato/mustard wrap on an Ezekial sprouted grain tortilla plus some baby carrots on the side and a nectarine.

I don’t have a refrigerator but I’m making do with things like this:

Protein!

Here’s lunch:

Alright that’s about it for now. I think I’m heading out to the pool to do some reading and swimming! More later.