2008.12.29. Louvre

2008.12.29. Louvre. First time ever I had to pay admission. Avoided the line at the Pyramid, but couldn't avoid the million noisy tourists marching up and down (those who stood still were either posing for photos or flashing at Mona Lisa). Revisited some of my favorites: the 4 seasons by Arcimboldo, the opulent Apollo Gallery, the charming court yards Marly and Puget. 4 hours only covered about 1/3 of the space. But my legs were giving up.
After lunch, walked to Luxembourg Garden. Too cold to sit for long and watch kids throwing ice in front of the Senate. The lovely Medici Fountain looked quite forlorn.
My one day in Paris ended with a kir at Place St Michel, and a photo at Notre Dame (the line was too long for me to get in before my train to Florence) (€95. Can be €75 or €125 for a bunk in a 6x compartment.)
The holiday/Christmas mood was still in the air.

2008.12.28. Ballet Raymonda at Opéra Garnier.

Music: Alexandre Glazounov Choregraphy: Rudolf Noureev Set & costume design: Nicholas Georgiadis Lights: Serge Peyrat

Sumptuous set. Group dances were not as synced as I expected. One male dancer had a slip when he landed. Still, very enjoyable. Deep stage allows more action to be laid out. New York Times didn't give a very favorable review.

Opéra de Paris claims to have 62 €5 standing tickets for sale 90 minutes before curtain for any performance. In fact, they sell these as well as unclaimed reservation 45 minutes before. For this 3pm sold-out show, ~200 places were available, and not as many waiting in the line.
When the ballet finished, it was already dark. Place de Vendôme was glistening of blue lights, utterly charming. Place de Concorde was noisy and full of cars and people. Champs-Elysee was lined up with white vending stalls, festival in lieu of the usual grandeur.

2008.12.21. Color Purple

2008.12.21. The Color Purple at Paramount Theatre. Nice songs. Too much amplification in the theater. Used a lot of lights to compensate the lack of sets, quite effective. Costume is not bad, however, the jungle people in Africa look more like in South America to me. Overall, enjoyable.
Snow hits Seattle hard these days, and the theatre is half empty.

2008.12.9. Holiday Sing-Along concert with Seattle Symphony Choral at Benaroya Hall, accompanied by organ or piano. The lobby is nicely decorated. Lots of kids, some barely able to walk - quite noisy. A Kiro TV's news man talks to the audience between songs to liven up the atmosphere. Only the last piece - 3 short songs out of Handel's Messiah - is worth Seattle Symphony Choral's caliber.

2008.12.6. Erik Weihenmayer - the first blind person to climb all 7 highest peaks in each continent - gave a talk at the new Mountain Hardware store. Despite of his unprecedented achievements, he appeared to be modest and unpretentious. Quite inspirational.

2008.12.1. You can't take it with you at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Fabulous stage set, however, only one, even though there're 2 intermissions. The rich parents of the new boyfriend come for dinner one day earlier. Quite fun.