A Midsummer Night's Dream

The annual Shakespeare Festival in the Park festival just wrapped up, and this year's selection was A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I'm fairly certain that this was the same play I saw at my very first Shakespeare in the Park, or at least one of my very early ones.

In fairness, my memories of that first one are vague, but I believe I liked the more recent one better - a little easier to follow, better acting.

I find it an interesting choice for a repeat performance though. It is not among my favorite of the Bard's plays; perhaps I am in the minority.  It is the source of many turns of phrase we know today, although that's true of much of his work. Specifically, however, it is the source of one of my favorite sentences Mr. Shakespeare penned: "Though she be but little, she is fierce."

So for that line alone, I appreciate the do-over.

Vino Volo

I was headed to Boston recently for the bridal shower of my good friend L, and I had a bit of time to kill in the East Terminal before my flight. I stopped in at Vino Volo, recently opened in St. Louis, to try out the newest addition to the airport food scene.

The bartender told me that the flights were 1/3 of a glass of wine each, so my three samples would be the equivalent of about a glass.  When I got my flight of wines, I thought, "Hmm, I guess they serve small glasses of wine."  But when I finished it I picked the one I liked the best and ordered a full glass of that.  Turns out the bartender was wrong -- the single glass is way bigger than the flight.  So, that's a friendly tip from me to you.

My snack was delicious.  I got the Burrata, which is a cheese very similar to fresh mozzarella, but a little bit softer.  It came with bread, shredded greens, roasted red peppers, and a balsamic reduction.  It was magnifico!

I learned a bit about Vino Volo as well. They are all in airports, except for one in Bethesda, Maryland.  Apparently the Bethesda location isn't doing too well, so maybe the airport concept is the way to go.

In sum, there are lots of better restaurants in the world, where you can get more for less, but as far as airport eateries go, it was a definite win.

What I Watched -- The Holiday

S and I watched The Holiday a while back.  It was a lazy evening and we felt like relaxing, and this movie is pretty cute.  It was right around the time we watched Man Up.  Apparently we were (and still are) on a rom-com kick!

In case you haven't heard, this is a "trading spaces" kind of story.  Cameron Diaz's character lives in LA and is extremely unhappy with life.  Kate Winslet's character lives outside London and is extremely unhappy with life.  They meet on a VRBO-type site and decide to swap houses.  Both fall madly in love with the other location, and one particular person there.

Bottom line: exactly what you'd expect.

Tip: Keep a weather eye out for Cameron Diaz's adorable white cable-knit sweater.  But don't hope to get one -- they're about $1,000.

Happy Father's Day!

What I Watched -- Martin's Boat

I recently returned from an amazing trip through the Grand Canyon.  More about that later.

While there, though, I learned must about Martin Litton.  He was an interesting guy, and revered in the Canyon as a champion for the preservation of natural places.

Among his other achievements, which were many, he pioneered the running of dories down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.  He passed away in 2014, and OARS/Grand Canyon Dories dedicated one of their hand-build dories in his honor.

She's named the Marble Canyon, which is a former proposed dam site on the river between Glen Canyon and the Hoover.  Litton fought hard against the building of the dam, and succeeded for the time being.  Surely, though, the issue will come up again.

Martin's Boat is a brief history of Martin's life and river running through the Canyon.  It's about 25 minutes long, and well worth the time if you have any interest in Canyon or boating  or natural history.

Bottom line: see prior sentence.

What I Watched -- Inspired to Ride

A lot of people have heard about the Race Across America, or RAAM.  It's a bike race from the west coast to the east.

Fewer people have heard of the Trans Am Bike Race.  It's an unsupported coast-to-coast ride, and Inspired to Ride is a documentary about the riders in its inaugural year.  They traveled 4,233 miles through 10 states.  The winner completed the race in fewer than 18 days, an average of 235 miles per day.

Bottom line: it's a pretty crazy story, and if you're into cycling, or sports, or people with bizarre amounts of drive to do even more bizarre things, this movie is for you.

What I Watched -- Today's Special

After watching a couple of food documentaries on Netflix, that seems to be all it suggests.  It worked out well with Today's Special, because it also continued my current trend of watching silly rom-coms.

There is nothing of substance to this movie.  But if you like NYC street scenes, if you like food (and Indian food in particular), and if you have a couple of hours to kill, it's a pretty cute way to do it.

The star is a too-good-for-his-roots son of Indian restaurant owners.  When he gets fired from his fancy Manhattan restaurant, he plans to leave for Paris where he can really hone his craft.  But he discovers the plight of his parents restaurant and opts instead to take it over.  The rest is history.

Bottom line: cute, and delightfully keen on the wonder of the perfect flavor.

Happy Birthday, K!

La Boheme

It's opera season again, and my first show of the season was La Boheme.  It's a Puccini classic, and Grandpa went as my date.

It was a solid show.  The music was beautiful, as always, the vocalists were right on, and I didn't even mind the staging.  There was some complaint about the "modern" set, which is to say, the electric lights over the bar, which extended out into the theater over the seats.  The lights in the theater were dim, though, and I didn't even notice them at first.

All in all, a good show.

A God in Ruins

I don't often give up on books, although it's something I think I should do with more regularity.  It's not that I like the idea of giving up on books, but rather that there are so many books I want to read, and I have so little time in which to do so.

I gave up on A God in Ruins.  I was listening to it on audio, and just couldn't get into it - neither the characters nor the plot.  In fact, I can't even tell you what the plot was.  Perhaps therein lies the problem.  Anyway, it is no longer on my iPod or my reading list.

Microbreweries: Trailhead Brewing

After a bike ride out in St. Charles, a very hungry S and I went to Trailhead Brewing Company for some lunch.  Lunch was an appetizer of ale-battered asparagus, which were both an amazing idea and delicious.  I don't even remember anymore what my main course was -- a burger of some kind.  It was passable, but not memorable (obviously).

My beer of choice was the Riverboat Raspberry, which was every bit as refreshing as I needed it to be after a ride.  Light and flavorful and perfect for a spring afternoon.