Saturday came and so did breakfast. Omelet bar from hell in the basement. YUMMO!! I'm not much for omelets, but these were really good. Throw on some salsa and I was good to go. Breakfast, however, led to the disappearance of Silly's cell phone. She was certain she'd brought it down to breakfast with her, but I found it back in the room. Whew. Caper solved. I should'a been a Hardy Boy.
After breakfast, we got ready and headed to the Plaaaaahhhhhza - pronounced with a long ahhhhhh sound, of course, because that's the way we roll. We made a quick perusal through the shops and I danced with the Pen-wins (because we cool people don't pronounce the "G") in front of J Crew.
Next came Figlio's. Ahhhh, Figlio's. Rice Chex and I have fond memories of Figlio's from trips gone by. The pasta...the tiramisu...the atmosphere. Oh man, the atmosphere! There were these awesome black & white old Italy photographs that covered every wall of the restaurant. Rice Chex even found one that looked like her several years ago. Upon entering the restaurant, though, we noticed they'd updated the decor. We hoped this was the ONLY change, but unfortunately, it wasn't. The calimari that used to be to die-for had been diminished to a sad fraction of what it used to be. The breaded squid now sits in a bath of balsamic vinegar - GAG. The pasta wasn't bad, but it did leave a bit to be desired. All-in-all, I was NOT impressed with the changes and we let the waitress know. They say all things must change, but dammit, why'd it have to be Figlio's??!
Fortunately our distress about Figlio's was quickly squashed by an hour of luxury at Massage Envy. We'd talked about having massages at our hotel, but at $80 a pop, we decided to find a cheaper alternative. In checking out the Plaza website, I found the link for this little gem. We weren't sure what to expect, since it is part of a chain, but we went in with high hopes and low expectations. How wonderfully we were surprised!!! Heated tables, low lighting and skilled massage therapists, we came out an hour later refreshed, rejuvenated and newly motivated to meet our Men!
We went back to the hotel and got ready for the show. Granted..it was only about 3, but we were determined to meet the guys. We headed to the Sprint center as soon as we were ready and after not seeing any sign of the guys and realizing we still had 90 minutes to kill before the doors opened, we decided to find some place to catch some dinner. Across from the Sprint Center is Kansas City's trendy new "Power & Light District"...there we found a great little Irish pub called Raglan's. After contemplating the mostly authentic Irish menu, we settled on an array of appetizers and Rice Chex ordered the Not-So-Clam Chowder. (Little tip: avoid the Daukey Sausages - picture vienna sausages with a bland batter and the chicken skewers were pretty nondescript, too. Ribs, however - HEAVENLY!!) A couple of drinks and the food and we were ready to party!!
After dinner, we headed back across the street and got in line. Keep in mind the doors were set to open within about 15 mins...yet there were no crowded mobs of people - just cool, calm and collected small groups of women in their 20's and 30's (with a few of their moms and daughters thrown in to mix it up a bit). Where were the loud choruses of "Hangin' Tough" and "The Right Stuff?" Where were the shrieks of hysterics at the mention of our five fab from Boston? We were in the right place, right?? Guess things DO change. Getting old sucks. Anyway....we quickly made friends with the people around us in line and shared anecdotes of concerts past. We found ourselves quickly feeling not-so-old again. It was if time had indeed stood still. And if you listened carefully, you'd hear subdued little snippets of "Ohh oh oh oh oh" from the pockets of people strewn throughout the city block.Ahh, we were home!
(stay tuned for part 3)
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