The Phantom of the Opera

This weekend my girlfriend and I had the pleasure of seeing The Phantom of the Opera at Fox Theater in St. Louis.  It was an amazing performance.  This was the 2nd time I have seen it, and the first time for her.  I got us seats as front and center as possible, and really they were fantastic seats (row M of the Orchestra area).  When the organ music first hits your chest and the chandelier comes back to life, it is just an overwhelming feeling.  The entire performance was wonderful.  I can’t say I have a single complaint about it, other then the fact that it ended.

Before heading over to the Fox, we went by a local Italian restaurant called Vito’s Sicilian Pizza and Restaurant per recommendation of my sister and her fiance.  I have to give this place my highest recommendations.  I had originally made reservations for 5:30, but due to unforeseen events (I forgot the tickets at home when we were already on the road… can’t believe I did that), we were running very late.  I called and pushed the reservations back to 6.  We still didn’t get there until 6:15, but they still had our table reserved, so on a very busy night (any time a show is at the Fox, they are busy because they are only a few blocks from the Fox), we had zero wait time and were able to get right in and sit down.  Service was excellent and their food was delicious.  I had the Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti with Meat Sauce, while Heather had Bacon Wrapped Scallops with grilled Asparagus.  Both dishes were great.

After the play, we headed back to our free hotel (thanks Dad!) at the Drury Inn by Union Station.  We decided to stop by the bar in the lower level for a night cap.  It was pretty quite in there, so we mostly had the bar to ourselves, which was pretty nice.  We ordered a “flash fried spinach” appetizer which was surprisingly good.  I don’t know how they did it, but the spinach leaves were as crispy as potato chips.  I had never had anything like it before.  I had my fill of White Russians, while Heather drank some champagne+peach juice concoction (I tried some and they were pretty good).

Over all the hotel was nice.  It had a secure parking garage, which I appreciated.  Driving a convertible, I always worry about my car.  The only complaint I’d have here is that our room reeked of smoke, which neither my girlfriend or myself cared for.  There was a sign in the room that said no smoking, so some piece of shit decided to light up in there any way.  Thanks careless societal leech!  But the room was free, so I can’t complain too much I suppose.

Over all it was a fun relaxing weekend that the both of us won’t soon forget.  I can’t wait to see it again, and I hope it won’t be another 3 years before it comes back again.  If it is, maybe we can catch something else in the mean-time.  I would love to take her to Les Miserable, and I would love to see it again because it has to have been at least 10 years since I last saw it.

If you have the opportunity, I highly suggest seeing Phantom of the Opera.  It is an amazing masterpiece of music, choreography, singing, and beautiful scenes.