Florencia in the Amazon at the Kennedy Center

Photo taken from Kennedy Center website.

K- I confess I do like opera although that hasn’t always been the case. As a kid, when my mother listened to opera I used to think that it sounded like chickens being strangled. However, living in Europe, I could easily attend an opera or classical singing from anywhere such as a church or the street corner. After awhile I learned to appreciate it. So when C asked me to go to Florencia of the Amazon at the Kennedy Center I said “yes, certainly!”

First we started with dinner and a drink at the bar. It actually wasn’t crowded sowe were able to get a table. The mussels were good, but I would say the frites were even better – especially with beer.  After dinner, we dashed to the opera house and went to our seats. As the seats aren’t on a huge incline, being a short person, I asked to sit near the aisle so I could peek around anyone sitting in front of me.  The show was in Spanish and had the subtitles above the stage. The story was interesting, which was basically an opera diva returns to the Amazon to see her true love. Although the actors did a great job and the singing was beautiful, it was much better not knowing what they were singing. Seeing the subtitles saying “Iguana, I don’t like eating Iguana!” or something like that, kind of ruined it for me.  But overall I enjoyed it. I think the show is no longer, but if you get a chance to an opera – La Boheme is coming up – I would recommend it.

C – That’s hilarious. I totally agree with K on the subtitles. And there were a few parts of the opera that made me go, “hmmmmm.” I will say that we got the best of the cheap seats – $25/each – and that’s because this year I became a member of the Kennedy Center. I’m at the second level which is “contributor” for $120/year. Here’s why it’s worth it:

• Ticket priority! Weeks before shows go on sale to the public, members can choose from their pick of seats. In the past few months I’ve seen the Magic Flute, Jerry Seinfeld and Florencia in the Amazon. In the next few months, I’m headed to Evita, the Mark Twain Prize and La Boheme. The cheap seats sell out first, so ticket priority has been key.
• Member lounges. At this level, it’s nothing fancy. But during intermission, do you really want to stand in a concession line? Coffee, lemonade, water M&M’s and cookies are available in the member lounge. I’ll take it!
• $2 parking coupons. OK-So it really only reduces the cost to $21 to park, but still. It’s something.

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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20566

Quick trip – NYC

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K- This past weekend I went to NYC. The Big Apple is an easy trip from DC. There are various ways you can get there but the two most popular are train or bus. I’ve taken a bus to NYC for a day trip. There are many buses you can take with various price points such as Bolt, DC2NY, MegaBus, and Vamoose. It’s okay, for me it’s a lot of time on the road for a quick trip to the city, but I’ll do it. My preferred method of transportation is the Acela – specifically the “Quiet Car.”  I love the “Quiet Car” because it’s just that – quiet. No one talking on their cell phone, chatting loudly, and no kids running up and down the aisle and screaming. It’s a nice few hours where you can nap, read, listen to music with headphones, surf the ‘net on WiFi, etc.

The Acela stops at Penn Station – which was a few blocks walk to The Carlton Autograph – where I was staying at. I prefer walking to taking a cab for many reasons, one being that with traffic in NYC, sometimes it’s quicker just to walk.

While in New York I walked in Central Park, which is amazingly clean and green. Visited the Guggenheim and the MoMa. I have to say I was very disappointed in the collection that was being shown at the Guggenheim. The collection was a bit too “avant garde” for my taste – kind of like a big red “o” painted on a white canvas kind of art. Just not my thing. However the MoMa was fantastic. I loved looking at the Picassos, Rousseaus, Klees, Miro,  and Monets among the other artists that were represented there. Also walked around Chelsea, Greenwich Village and SoHo.

Went to a couple of great restaurants. Lupa, which is an Italian restaurant that serves very simple, delicious, food. I had some pea agnolotti that couldn’t have tasted any fresher and the Fried Lupa Baccala that although it was fried – I am so not a fried-food person but thought I would try it – it wasn’t oily in the least and very good. For dessert I had the Lupa tartuffo, that was a chocolate deliciousness. I also tried the Apician Spiced Dates & Mascarpone with my glass of red wine and that too was delightful.

The other restaurant Cuba was of course, Cuban. Instead of an entree, dinner consisted of a bunch of appetizers. The Empanadas Habeneras with spinach and manchego, Calamares Tamarindo, and Ceviche Mixto were wonderful – I wish I would have ordered more of them rather than the Camarones al Ajillo and Croquetas de Jamon Serrano – that I don’t recall seeing any jamon in. The shrimp and croquetas were not very impressive and I wouldn’t have missed them. In addition, the mojitos were great, not too sweet and just the right amount of everything. They also had a couple of musicians playing guitars, which added to the cozy atmosphere.  Both places are tight on the real estate especially on the weekends, where you definitely need to reserve a table as soon as possible. But, they are well worth it.

Heading back to Penn Station to return to DC, I had to stop at my favorite bagel place “Murray’s” to grab a bagel for the trip. Can’t wait to go back!

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So what, I’m still a rock star!! Pink Concert

The opening band for Pink was the Hives – and that’s all I have to say about that as I’m not a fan. I tried to enjoy their set , but it just didn’t happen. However, as always, Pink was amazing! Her set included old stuff, new stuff and even Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” She did have some weird guy kind of emcee the concert as it was sort of set up to be a game show called the “Truth About Love.” I’m not sure it worked or it was needed as the stage was pretty cool on its own and well….Pink….she doesn’t need any gimmicks as her singing is incredible and she is a great performer. She did have a lot of the acrobatic-thing going on as she began the show descending from the ceiling and later on being suspended by slings and flying through the air with some contraption.

Overall, it was definitely entertaining and the full house she performed to seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. If you ever get a chance to see her in concert I highly recommend it. For me, I can’t wait for her next concert! – K