Leaving Las Vegas...Sorry had to :)

Hey everyone...sorry it's taken me so long to update...but I think I've just been enjoying the departure from Las Vegas so much that I didn't quite want to re-live the whole experience quite yet! However, I must admit, there were some awesome happenings in Las Vegas that need to be shared.

The Las Vegas kids, like I said, were amazing audiences. So that made Vegas worth it all the way. Then on Wed night, Moria and I went to the Bellagio to see "O" by Cirque du Soleil. We splurged for the $150 the week before, and had decided on purchasing the front row center seats rather than the $95 back balcony partial view seats. Boy, was that the best decision ever!

The show started with the classic Cirque clows entertaining the audience right before the show. They were hilarious, detailed, masterfully physical performers, making me feel a twinge of desire to go to clown school someday. Then the lights went down slightly and some of the other characters entered the arena (it was a huge house...probably close to 3,000 seats). A man was picked out of the audience "randomly"...I knew he was a plant right away, he was just too darn cute! They dragged him to the stage and he read the "turn off your cell phones" speech off a sheet of paper...the next thing you know he was flying towards the ceiling...seems that when he was yanked off stage for a mili second, they hooked him to a flying aparatus, and the secret of his true identity was revealed to everyone by his sudden flight to the rafters.

The large red silky curtains were majestically pulled very quickly up and away and the show began. Cirque always creates a magical world in its shows of recurring themes, abstract plot lines, romantic entanglements, and really hot bodies :). The music is ethereal, the skill is incredibly death defying, and I always leave the theater feelings as if this company of acrobats, musicians, and artists deserves every penny I paid for my ticket. What a good feeling.

As I mentioned, we were indeed front row dead center and this was an incredible place to watch the show. At one point, the clowns were doing a bit and flung some inflatable inner tubes off the stage...Moria caught one of them and was able to take it home with her! I got a little souveneir of my own. The lead guy, that had been the plant in the beginning, was given a flower by another one of the lead guys, a strange butler-esque man with electrocution style blonde hair. The butler had scoured the audience moments before handing him the flower, and finally his eyes rested on mine (little did I know, Moria was pointing fingers at me the whole time...thanks Moria!!!). The lead guy locked eyes with me as well...he went to give me the flower, so I started to stand, but the butler yanked him back...and admonished him for his poor presentation skills. He was taught how to bow to a lady (all of this was done physically of course, as there is not usually any understandable words spoken during their shows), and finally he came back to me to do it the right way. I was motioned to stand, and I did...bearing my bum to the 3,000 people in the theater, and when he bowed and gave me the flower...I gave a curtsy and took it from him. It was a beautiful yellow flower...sunflower like. What a cool moment to be in the show! And to get to stare into that man's eyes for a good 20-30 seconds :). Made my ticket price worth it!!!

So after watching the divers, acrobats, fire throwers, dancers, hilarious clowns (ay yi yi, ay yi yi)contortionists, and wonderful actors, Moria and I left completely content with our theatrical experience. I was hoping to maybe find an actor or two (or maybe one specifically, hehe) and get a picture...but they had another show in an hour. I can't imagine doing two of those a night...incredible.

We had more shows the next day, and our last night in Vegas was also a memorable one. My new friends, Scott and Steven, took me and Caitlin to a dinner at the Top of the Word in the Stratosphere. This restaurant in a revolving one, with an incredible view of the lights of Vegas from every angle. It was great spending dinner with these guys and wishing them well as they start their new adventure in Vegas selling Mardi Gras beads! If you become rich and famous, don't forget the little people!

Friday morning we departed Las Vegas for the last time...having spent a good 10 days there, my oh my. I was not sad to leave this city behind, but I'll not say I'll never go again...who knows. With the right people, it could be fun I suppose ;).

We are now in Tempe, AZ...and tonight Patty and I are going to see 42nd street which has one of our Catholic friends in it: Jonathan Mills...pictures to come!