Vegas, Baby! (Said in my best Joey Tribbiani voice)

While my parents were here visiting, Superman and I took a small vacation to Las Vegas. Our first ever vacation sans-children. We left on Monday morning and came home Wednesday evening. It was not nearly long enough to see everything we wanted to see, but it was a good amount of time for our kids and my (now exhausted) parents.

Rather than write an extensive travelogue, I decided to share my Top Ten lists for Vegas. So, without further ado, I give you:

THE TOP TEN THINGS WE DID IN VEGAS!!!

(image here)

10. The "Aquarium" at the Mirage

This one doesn't actually deserve a place in the Top Ten. I am only adding it for those who may think this is actually an "attraction." It's. NOT. It's a FISH TANK at the check-in counter at the Mirage. We walked all over that dumb hotel, looking for "The Aquarium." I was seriously disappointed when I realized how lame it was. I was more than disappointed. I was mad. This may or may not have been related to the fact that it was the end of day 2 and my feet and blisters were killing me, but it was a huge let-down. In any case, this is NOT attraction to go out of your way to see.

9. New York, New York

This was a fun hotel. I have never been to New York (it's on my bucket list) but this place looked like what I've seen on Sex and the City. Building smashed together, fire escapes, Irish pubs and hot dog stands. I was kinda disappointed that we didn't get run over by a taxi or mugged, but maybe that'll happen when we go to the real Big Apple.

8. The Forum Shops & Atlantis

The Forum was breathtaking. As an extension of the Venetian, there were painted ceilings and Roman architecture everywhere. This is the Fountain of the Gods and I just happen to be standing in front of Aphrodite.

In the Forum is the Atlantis aquarium. A small fountain and circular aquarium (this one actually earned the title) set the stage for the Atlantis show. It's about 10 minutes long and there are pyrotechnics and quasi-realistic robots. It was entertaining. My kids would have loved it.

7. Dal Toro

This was a fantastic Italian restaurant in the Palazzo. The most delicious lasagna I have ever tasted. Also, the best house salad. My only complaint was that we assumed the salad was part of the meal, since the waitress presented it as such. We didn't realize they were TEN DOLLAR salads. Now, it was good, but I'm not really a fan of paying ten dollars for something without meat or chocolate in it.

For the rest of the trip, we used it as an excuse to not spend more money. "If we hadn't spent $20 on salads, we could have ridden the roller coaster." "Man, I'd love to spend $26,000 and get the authentic Superman cape that Christopher Reeve wore in the movies. Too bad we got those salads...."

6. Bellagio botanical gardens

Inside the Bellagio is an exquisite garden and Atrium. The fountains were fantastic and it was just beautiful everywhere I looked.

This is the ceiling of the Bellagio's lobby. This picture doesn't do justice to artist Dale Chihuly's work.

5. Breakfast at Tiffany's

Yes. We ate breakfast at Tiffany's. We bought bagels and juice at Starbucks and walked to Tiffany's in the Forum. We played the song on my phone.......

It was epic.

4. Bellagio fountains

Lame picture, but awesome sight. The song playing during this particular show was Elton John's "Your Song." Superman and I love the Moulin Rouge version of the song (how many times can I say song?) and thought it fitting that "our song" played while we watched. I wish we would've had more time to stay and watch other shows, but we just didn't.

3. The Lion King

The Lion King was a fantastic show. The sheer creativity involved in the costumes and set design were astounding. We saw it our last night in Vegas and as good as it was, I wish we had seen in the first night. We were able to get discount tickets from "Tix 4 Tonight." If you're going to Vegas and want to go to shows, definitely hit up these places. They are all over the strip. You'll want to get there early to make sure your show isn't sold out. They saved us 30% off our Lion King tickets and 25% off at Dal Toro.

2. The Venetian/Palazzo

The painted ceiling in the Venetian's lobby.

We were dumb-struck at this sight.

Do you see the gondolier? It was almost like I was actually in Venice.

Then I crossed the bridge and the "almost" went away. I think I even felt myself start to sink. It was a beautiful and convincing sight.

The entire Palazzo was mind-blowing. From the hand-painted ceilings, to the fountains, to the statues, to the gondolas, walking through the Venetian was..........

magical.

And finally,

1. Phantom

When Superman told me we had tickets to "Phantom," I didn't think it was the real Phantom. I thought it was some Vegas version of the show where the Phantom was a Thunder from Down Under guy and Christine was a show-girl. It wasn't until I saw the sign at the ticket-office that I understand we were actually going to see PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Freaking out commenced immediately.

"Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!!!! This is going to be SOSOSOSOSO AWESOME!!!!!! You have no idea. OH MY GOSH. You have NO idea what to expect, do you, Superman? I mean, *I* don't really have an idea, but I have some idea. It's going to be incredible. OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH. We're going to see Phantom. We're going to see PHANTOM!!!!!!!!!"

The show did not disappoint.

There are simply no words for how extraordinary Phantom of the Opera was.

The music.

The effects.

The vocals.

It completely, one hundred percent, blew us away. We saw it our first night there and it set the bar so high, Lion King didn't stand a chance. And Lion King was a great show. But I wish we had seen it first, and Phantom last. It would have been the perfect ending, rather than the "aquarium" at the Mirage.

Stupid aquarium.