The Cool Girl’s Guide To Las Vegas

Tell me that I can’t do something, and you can bet I’m going to do it. At least, that was my mantra growing up. And, while my "do first, ask later" antics may not have gotten me far when it came to homework or making inroads with my parents, they did bode well for me at the golden, I.D.-waving age of 21.

At long last, my reckless weekend ways were welcomingly embraced by the open arms of adulthood’s eternal playground: Las Vegas. Want to drink on the street? No problem. Stay out 'till 4 a.m.? Sounds good. Why? Because no one tells you "no" in Sin City.

Only a four-hour drive from L.A., Las Vegas called to me and my college classmates like a siren song. But, we should really call those initial visits "Vegas for Dummies," because, although a rite of passage for the newly-minted cocktail crowd, the barrage of bandage dresses, sardine-packed pool parties, and wrap-around club lines gets old, fast.

Fortunately, there is an entirely different side of Vegas cleverly hidden from club-going youth, and it's just as fun and provocative as the one we've all visited — maybe even more so. Adult Vegas is peppered with hidden pizza parlors, Evian water misted cabanas, topless pools, and erotic shows. (Who needs a loud nightclub!?)

Ahead, allow us to take your Vegas game from beginner to advanced, bypassing the well-trodden paths, and opening your eyes to the lesser-known and more grown-up treasures that await you just a road trip away.