Partyhopper

After reading Karen's blog post about her whirwind trip to Las Vegas, I had the sudden urge to hit Sin City myself. Luckily around that time an email landed in my inbox inviting me to the opening of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's new club, Wasted Space. So I enlisted my pal Sara to be my plus one, threw a bathing suit and a party dress into a bag and headed for the aiport.

Bronwyn and Sara pose on the red carpet at the opening of Wasted Space.

Full disclosure: The only other time I'd been to Vegas was with my mom, who, although she's a pretty fun lady, is more interested in checking out things like the Chihuly glass garden at the Bellagio than hitting the bar scene. This time, I had 36 hours to do Vegas like a rock star, and the Hard Rock was the perfect place to start. Sara and I met each other at the airport, checked in to the hotel as V.I.P.s--thanks to Vegas PR master Matt Harris--and headed straight for the pool. After a lunch break at Pink Taco, we went back outside to learn that Ice-T had arrived to entertain the poolside crowd.

Ice-T performs for the pool crowd at the Hard Rock.

Turns out the afternoon rap fest was just the opening act to our music-filled day. After some room service and a disco nap, we made our way downstairs to hit the red carpet at the opening of Wasted Space. I'd like to say that waiting for tardy celebs is much more enjoyable--though potentially quite costly--when you can nip over to play the slot machines during any lulls in the action. After about an hour (and $20 lost on the one-arm bandits) Gavin Rossdale finally made his way across the casino from The Joint, where he'd just finished performing. I extended my best wishes to he and Gwen Stefani on the impending arrival of baby # 2 on behalf of In Style and asked how his beautiful wife was doing. "Just fine," he assured me.

Bronwyn interviews Gavin Rossdale.

After our chat, Gavin headed inside to christen the stage at Wasted Space and we followed. With an acoustic guitar in hand, the former Bush frontman entertained the crowd with tunes from his solo album, Wanderlust, and a few classics like "Glycerine" from the old days. After his set, hipster supergroup Camp Freddy hit the stage. Donovan Leitch, Dave Navarro and the rest of the boys in the band turned up the energy and kept everyone from Paris Hilton to Mandy Moore in the Vegas spirit until the wee hours.

Camp Freddy rocks the house.

After just a few hours of sleep, Sara and I weren't sure we had the energy to brave the Hard Rock's infamous Sunday Rehab pool party, so I took a tip from Karen and headed over to Tao Beach at the Venetian. We chilled on chaises and sipped Tao-tinis in the ultra-exclusive space until hunger set in, then it was off to Slots-A-Fun for one of their world famous 99 cent 1/2 pound hot dogs. As midnight approached we headed back to the airport a little more tan and really tired, but proud that we'd done Vegas right.--Bronwyn Barnes