More on the epic Las Vegas vacation

When we last left our heroes, Jeff and Catherine, they were enjoying an afternoon at the Caesars Palace pools. It was Sunday, Jeff Putz day, and they started it with endless bounty at Excalibur's breakfast buffet.

After just a brief nap, we made ourselves pretty so we could rock out at The Venetian to see the Blue Man Group. For the record, Catherine was much prettier than me, though you'd expect that given the little black dress. It didn't look right on me (kidding). I was excited to see them for the second time, and interested to see how different it might be with a sold-out show. Last time I was down in the front section because the balcony was closed. I actually like the balcony better in a lot of ways, because you can really see the entire experience. Much better show because of the energy, and the improvised stuff was much funnier.

Seeing the Blue Man Group's stage show is not like a life-changing musical or something, but it's wildly entertaining and there are certain points in the show that really overload your senses. Very good times.

Prior to the show, we learned that you need reservations for the gondola rides in the canals (indoor and outdoor), and we never did end up getting reservations, unfortunately. Something to do next time. Cath also confirmed that I'm not crazy when it comes to "The Venetian Funk," that weird smell in the casino areas of the complex, which also occupies the Canal Shops. It's kind of a smoke with fragrance smell, and it's really, really not pleasant. The girl I met in March, Mary from DC, she smelled it too. I can't for the life of me understand why they do it. Caesars has no funk, and the air handling is so good that it's not even smokey.

The down side to visiting The Venetian is that they're pounding the new Phantom show everywhere. I had known the music for like 17 years, but I had never seen the show. Cath is a musical geek, and she loves the show. By the time we made it back to our room, we decided we had to see it, so we bought tickets online.

Before returning to Caesars, we tried to get closer to Treasure Island, across the street from the V, to see the pirate hoochie show. I freaked out and wanted out. Too many people, all pushing and being assholes. Cath was also uncomfortable because of her footware, a necessary sacrifice, she said, for the purpose of looking good. We did see the "eruption" in front of The Mirage. It wasn't that impressive.

Home sweet Caesars, we ordered a pizza from room service. We stayed up surprisingly late bullshitting about life, Vegas, and the Phantom tickets.

Monday was the first time things didn't just magically go our way. We wanted to go to the Bellagio for their breakfast buffet, because it's supposed to be exquisite, but with the holiday weekend, it was more than $30 a piece. No thanks! We went down to Aladdin, which stopped serving breakfast, then Paris, which has a huge line (something we'd later learn to deal with), and finally ended up with a very, very mediocre lunch at Bally's. It was 11:30 by the time we actually sat down to eat.

All of the crap caught up with me and my stomach was pissed off. We took it easy for the afternoon, watched the TV, napped, and generally relaxed. Our Phantom show was at 10pm. No regrets on relaxing though, because we had been going pretty much non-stop since we arrived, with just sleeping in between.

The gambling bug did bite a little though. We played a few slots, some video poker, and the like. We had a surprisingly good dinner (turkey) at the food court in Caesars, in the newer casino near the Colosseum theater, where Celine Dion does her thing. Since I signed up for the "Total Rewards" thing where you eventually get perks, coupons or whatever from playing at the various Caesars properties, we went over to the Flamingo to seek $5 blackjack tables. Didn't find any, but we played a little video blackjack there.

We arrived back at The Venetian at about the time that the earlier Phantom show let out. This is when we learned how to make sure you stay in the comp alcohol. While the servers came around a lot at Caesars around the slots, sitting at a bar with video poker machines meant total access to a bartender. Catherine and I each fed a $20 to the machines and started playing, mostly quarter bets, but sometimes more. We didn't want to go nuts prior to our show, but it was nice to get poured free. I cashed out at $41, Catherine at $19.

As I mentioned, I've known Phantom of The Opera for a very long time, and it seems like a crime that I had not seen the live performance. The Las Vegas show seemed like a natural fit for this town, and especially this location, which is to me a little classier than a lot of places. No boobie shows here. The theater was built for the show, which obviously let them do whatever they wanted from a technical standpoint.

Upon entering the theater, the stage is set for the auction scene, and the side of the theater are covered in old drop cloths. It looks a bit like a run down old theater. The chandelier is actually broken into four or five pieces, suspended by cables around the theater, with the largest one under cover on stage. These pieces move around the theater in spectacular fashion after the auction scene, seemingly floating around each other.

The story has a few minor changes because there is no intermission, so like the movie, the chandelier crash doesn't come until mid-way through the second act. There are also changes to dialog and lyrics here and there, but every song is still performed.

The cast was amazing. I think the guy who did the Phantom was better than Michael Crawford. (There are two actors for each of the three leads, presumably one for each of the two nightly performances, or on different days.) The actress playing Christine was stunningly beautiful, if perhaps not entirely confident. The Carlotta we saw was over the top and very powerful. Just perfect!

I kick myself for not having seen the show ages ago, and I'm really happy I decided to see it now. It was worth every penny, and I'd go see it again.

More on the last day and a half coming soon...