CALIFORNIA, Day 6, June 26, 2011
Happy Sunday to all of you! Well, it has been one of the most unusual days I have had as yet, with a variety of activities under my belt as well as Maureen's. Alexandra and Rusty, thanks for reading my blogs. Hope to hear from the rest of you as "followers" in the future.
The day started out sunny and remained so. As we headed to SF, we decided to take BART instead of trying to drive into the city, as the Gay Pride Parade was going to be in full force and it would be next to impossible to park in the vicinity of Davies Hall, where we were going to hear Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis." We parked at the metro station at Millbrae, then took two metro lines in succession into the city. Lots of other people had the same idea, and many of them were dressed in rainbow colors and everything from fishnet stockings to rainbow capes, and sported tattoos, half-uncovered buttocks, mohawk hairdos, and there was even one well-endowed woman who had lodged a can of beer between her breasts. Needless to say, Maureen in her classic pantsuit and I in my skirt, high heels and Nehru jacket looked a bit different. We got to the Civic Center station at about 11:30, and, as we made it to streetside, there was such a crush of humanity that there was only one way we could get across the street and to the vicinity of Davies Hall. Everyone was behind barriers awaiting the floats and marchers, and music was non-stop, throbbing, and loud.
Since we were hungry, we went to a restaurant close to Davies Hall, called The Grove, where I had huevos rancheros and lavender flavored lemonade. The place was so busy with people coming in and out that it was a wonder we were served so fast. Then we walked back to Davies, and I took a picture of the exterior and interior of the building, which struck me as very 60s in architecture and interior decoration. There were balconies on the first and second floors of the building, and I got several excellent shots of the opera house across from it, city hall diagonal from it, and the Gay Parade participants dancing and parading below.
The performance of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" was at 2:00, with four soloists, chorus, and orchestra, and Michael Tilson-Thomas at the helm. In late 1818, when he learned that his friend and patron the Archduke Rudolf would be made a cardinal and Archbishop of Olomouc (in Czech Republic, a town I visited last year!), Beethoven determined to compose a Mass for Rudolf's installation, although Beethoven would not complete the work until about 40 months after his imposed deadline. It is a very beautiful composition, and I enjoyed hearing it tremendously (my first time). It was hard to reconcile that Maureen and I were hearing a Mass while right down the street, people were whooping it up at the Gay Parade. The "Missa" was presented without any intermission, and after the concert, we went to an artisanal chocolate shop down the street and enjoyed a coffee and a hazelnut cookie before continuing to walk back towards the Civic Center, stopping by a bookstore and then making our way through continuous streams of revelers and hangers-on of the parade. We practically got trampled to death going down the metro station stairways, but once we got on the Millbrae train, the crowds started thinning out and we actually were able to secure seats.
Arriving in Millbrae, we got back in the car and proceeded to Palo Alto, where we parked close to a movie theatre and gelato place, where Maureen had tiramisu and coconut hazelnut and I had tiramisu gelato. Afterwards, we went to the Landmark Theatre to see the British movie "The Trip" about two men who spend a week in the north of England reviewing eating establishments, doing impressions of famous actors, and coming to terms with their middle-aged years. A fun movie--I had seen it before, but Maureen had not, and it was good to catch some lines of that wordy movie I had missed before.
And now we are back at Maureen's, enjoying Port Salut cheese and crackers, currants (the first I have had in a year), and a cup of tea. Great, varied day today, though it's nice to be back in a quiet environment after all the noise of the parade. As ever, Sylvia
The day started out sunny and remained so. As we headed to SF, we decided to take BART instead of trying to drive into the city, as the Gay Pride Parade was going to be in full force and it would be next to impossible to park in the vicinity of Davies Hall, where we were going to hear Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis." We parked at the metro station at Millbrae, then took two metro lines in succession into the city. Lots of other people had the same idea, and many of them were dressed in rainbow colors and everything from fishnet stockings to rainbow capes, and sported tattoos, half-uncovered buttocks, mohawk hairdos, and there was even one well-endowed woman who had lodged a can of beer between her breasts. Needless to say, Maureen in her classic pantsuit and I in my skirt, high heels and Nehru jacket looked a bit different. We got to the Civic Center station at about 11:30, and, as we made it to streetside, there was such a crush of humanity that there was only one way we could get across the street and to the vicinity of Davies Hall. Everyone was behind barriers awaiting the floats and marchers, and music was non-stop, throbbing, and loud.
Since we were hungry, we went to a restaurant close to Davies Hall, called The Grove, where I had huevos rancheros and lavender flavored lemonade. The place was so busy with people coming in and out that it was a wonder we were served so fast. Then we walked back to Davies, and I took a picture of the exterior and interior of the building, which struck me as very 60s in architecture and interior decoration. There were balconies on the first and second floors of the building, and I got several excellent shots of the opera house across from it, city hall diagonal from it, and the Gay Parade participants dancing and parading below.
The performance of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" was at 2:00, with four soloists, chorus, and orchestra, and Michael Tilson-Thomas at the helm. In late 1818, when he learned that his friend and patron the Archduke Rudolf would be made a cardinal and Archbishop of Olomouc (in Czech Republic, a town I visited last year!), Beethoven determined to compose a Mass for Rudolf's installation, although Beethoven would not complete the work until about 40 months after his imposed deadline. It is a very beautiful composition, and I enjoyed hearing it tremendously (my first time). It was hard to reconcile that Maureen and I were hearing a Mass while right down the street, people were whooping it up at the Gay Parade. The "Missa" was presented without any intermission, and after the concert, we went to an artisanal chocolate shop down the street and enjoyed a coffee and a hazelnut cookie before continuing to walk back towards the Civic Center, stopping by a bookstore and then making our way through continuous streams of revelers and hangers-on of the parade. We practically got trampled to death going down the metro station stairways, but once we got on the Millbrae train, the crowds started thinning out and we actually were able to secure seats.
Arriving in Millbrae, we got back in the car and proceeded to Palo Alto, where we parked close to a movie theatre and gelato place, where Maureen had tiramisu and coconut hazelnut and I had tiramisu gelato. Afterwards, we went to the Landmark Theatre to see the British movie "The Trip" about two men who spend a week in the north of England reviewing eating establishments, doing impressions of famous actors, and coming to terms with their middle-aged years. A fun movie--I had seen it before, but Maureen had not, and it was good to catch some lines of that wordy movie I had missed before.
And now we are back at Maureen's, enjoying Port Salut cheese and crackers, currants (the first I have had in a year), and a cup of tea. Great, varied day today, though it's nice to be back in a quiet environment after all the noise of the parade. As ever, Sylvia
Can't wait to see all the crazy Pride pictures! Sounds like a really great day even if you were just on the periphery of the Pride events :)
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