foxy

Tunisia, Italy and France. 3 very difficult and important places I’ve visited.

So far from what I’ve gathered is that if you buy an expensive German car you get a better radio and it feels solid when you shut the door. Now I know what I’ve been missing driving a 10 year old Honda.

So aside from shopping at Target, what exactly does a $300,000 car do that my 10 year old Honda can’t do? One friend said that’s it’s a “better car”. But what does that mean? Since it doesn’t seem to impress people I’m lost as to why people spend that much money just to get from point A to B? Of course I don’t understand expensive wrist watches either. Obviously I’m not the target (ha ha) audience.

The other day I went to Target. I parked next to this nice looking car and out of curiosity I looked to see what it was. It was a 2 door Bentley convertible. I’m not much of a car guy. I drive a 2013 Honda Accord that I paid $29,000 for. It drives fine. So I looked up this Bentley when I got home and the price seems to run between $281,535 and $411,205. It struck me funny that it was in a Target parking lot for some reason. But I thought even if someone is really rich can a car be worth that much money? And would you be shopping in Target lol.

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A very powerful production today. I wasn’t prepared for how graphic the execution was going to be. Joyce DiDonato and Ryan McKinny plus the rest of the cast deserved the standing ovation. IMG_5044.mov

Which I thought was hysterical. He takes chances, you have to give him credit for that. Like his Singing Round the Mountain in drag.

Today I got a ticket for Merrily We Roll Along, row Q, center orchestra for a Wednesday matinee. It was $209. Not too bad. Looking forward to seeing it. I’ve seen Jonathan Groff in a number of plays, most recently in Little Shop of Horrors. But I’ve also seen Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, How To Succeed In Busuness, The Cripple of Iriishmaan and The Lifespan of a Fact. Considering he’s worth a staggering fortune thanks to the Harry Potter movies he could certainly live a life of luxury never having to work again. Yet he picks challenging projects and has been really, really good in all of them.

I love Sister Wendy. I have the entire series on dvd.

Impressive new show at the Met bringing together two friends and sometimes rivals. Especially nice having just come from Paris and the d’Orsay where a number of works were missing. Nice to catch up with them on home turf.

My ticket is for the Saturday matinee, the final performance. Hope the performers aren’t too exhausted by then. I got my ticket on TDF for $63.50 and will pick it up before the performance. I have no idea where I’ll be sitting. But often the best seats acoustically can be up in the rafters. I may bring binoculars. https://youtu.be/ezRnSGugwNc?si=X5yDhkOTtd6_qnJW Ryan McKinny looks pretty hot. Opera singers have certainly become more attractive.

I am familiar with the piece which is why I bought a ticket. I haven’t seen this production and was wondering if anyone else has? I guess not. I’ll report back.

I just bought a ticket for a matinée performance October 21. It’s received good reviews. Just wondering if anyone here has seen it and what they thought?

I’ve seen Jonathan Groff in several Broadway shows. He’s always terrific. A few years ago I saw Once On This Island and he was sitting next to me. We talked a bit during intermission and later I saw him talking to some fans in the lobby. He’ a very nice guy in person. He’s received the best reviews for this show. I’m going to the box office in a few days to see if I can get a decent ticket that doesn’t cost a huge fortune.

I have tremendous stamina for art museums if I say so myself. Last year I did two back to back days of 6 hours each at the Prado. A few years before that I did all of Museum Island in Berlin in 3 days from opening to closing hours. I just switch into something like a drug induced state and detach from my sore feet. Slow museum walking is harder than jogging especially on marble floors. I wish this stamina carried over into other areas. I do like the Art Nouveau at the D’Orsay.

This was my 3rd visit to the museum and today I spent 7 hours there. Still not enough time. The Impressionist section is swoon inducing.

The artist and his relationship with his dealer Paul Guillaume. Over 100 paintings, 50 drawings and a dozen sculptures makes for an impressive show.

Monet’s water lilies are beyond beautiful. Having recently been to Giverny, his garden that inspired them, made the experience even more wonderful. IMG_4914.mov IMG_4922.mov IMG_4918.mov IMG_4904.mov

Paris has been crazy crowded. Today was the Paris Marathon and there were 31,000 runners plus at least that amount of spectators. So I needed to go someplace without too many people and enjoy the beautiful weather. Pere-Lachaise is the largest green space in Paris with 70,000 graves. More famous names than you can imagine. So I stopped off to see Chopin, Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Bizet, Maria Callas, Marcel Proust and many others. IMG_4824.mov

The new Frank Gehry building is pretty spectacular. Unfortunately I will miss the big Mark Rothko retrospective opening in a few days. I especially liked the cascade fountain thinking how much fun it would be to play in on a hot day. IMG_4760.mov

The military cemetery, Omaha Beach and the museum. A difficult and important day.

Despite its name it’s not actually a tapestry but an embroidered piece of cloth 230 feet long and dates back to the 11th century. It tells the story of William, Duke of Normandy who became King of England after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It contains 58 scenes, 626 characters and 202 horses. It is, in one word, magnificent. You see it in one piece, dimly lit with a recording that explains it scene by scene, the original can not be photographed as the light would damage it. These photos are of a reproduction and from a 16 minute film. The town of Bayeux is worth a visit. It was not bombed during the war so many of its old buildings are intact.

Today I visited Monet’s garden. To see the water lilies is almost a religious experience.

So I guess some might consider this too much jewelry

I live fairly close to the Cloisters, go often and have been a member of the Met for many years. I go to the Cloisters when I want the feeling of being in Europe but don’t want to get on a plane. I love the Cloisters. In a few weeks I’ll be in Angers and look forward to seeing the Apocalypse Tapestries again. They are spectacular.