Concert Shmoncert

Let's just say that we went to a lot of concerts. There were the aptly named Marathon Concerts (I and II) where, for 10 or more hours, spectators and performers would do things like knit (I think Liz finished her entire winter collection of scarves), catch up on a month's worth of sewing, read books, or even listen to music on MP3 players. And then there were the pre-marathon preparatory concerts, faculty concerts and lunch-time concerts. Some concerts required 3-hour bus rides (each way), some were mis-labled in maps provided by the program so that finding them in the twisted cobblestone streets of Prague felt like a scavenger hunt. But whatever. The important thing is that I was that I was able to share all of it with my friends. Yuri, my Russian music teacher who defies description, much like a rare emerald which is so valuable that no one can actually valuate it, manged to get 18 New Yorkers to Prague. I knew almost everyone from the chamber music program here in New York, so it was like hanging out with my friends for 2 weeks, which is something I never have time to do.


- This is Arun (violin), wearing his turban as a shawl (or was he wearing his shawl as a turban?)



- Lizzy (cello) and Sharon (viola) outside the Botanical Garden in Nove Mestro. We thought it was closed, so took this photo for posterity, then realized that the opening to the garden was 10 feet down on the sidewalk.



- Damon (piano) & Valerie (cello), our philosophers, with obviously different philosophies



- Heather (cello) and Larry (piano), who have enough sophistication and refinment for all of us



- Me and Yuri, We're refined too, really.



- Sharon eating lemon sorbet out of a frozen lemon



- Nancy (piano faculty) and Irene (cello) and along with part of the gang eating and drinking at our favorite restaurant, Mon Ami



- Heather and Lizzy, sophisticated to the hilt, eating at a posh restaurant in Prague that didn't have anything over New York



- Lizzy and Suzanna (violin, viola, cello, xylophone....), The three of us spend some great time together; way too much laughling!



- Liz and Me with our friend Jonathan, the 11-year old violinst in our Mozart flute quartet, from Hong Kong. He and Liz were special friends. I couldn't say hi to him without hugging and kissing him. I think he viewed me as one of those aunts who slobber all over you who you can never get away from.



- Lizzy and Damon, two extremely ridiculous people when you put them in the same room.



- Jonathan trying to teach a pianist to play the violin (always a bad idea)....



...you can see the fear in his eyes



- Me and Lizzy, my best bud



- Mes Amis from Mon Ami



- See, I told you we're refined. We clean up nicely.

The Wedding

Alleigh was so beautiful I was crying before the ceremony started.

Alleigh & Uncle Ricky:


The wedding took place in a tiny little chapel that must have been 150 degrees farenheit inside. Everyone lost a good 10 pounds just sitting there.



Deborah's mascara melted into her eyes and she couldn't see anything.


Justinne and Holden recovering from the religious sauna experience:




Aunt Sue & Mom cooling down:


Me, Alleigh, Ed, Mom, Dan:


The Chickletts:


Alleigh & Ed:





The Kiss:




The After Party

Elvis was in the Building

So was Elvisita

And his cousin Ricky-Elvis

Holdenista

Mi Familia

So the rest of my family got a ride down to Tulum and met us at the hotel. Alleigh was getting married the next day at an all-inclusive resort called DREAMS Tulum. For $55 we could hang out for the day - included all activities, drinks and food. We got there in the morning and hung out all day - in the ocean, in the pool bar, in the other pool...if a family member will email me photos of this I'll be happy to post them.

The missing daughter reunited with her long lost mother (drinking breakfast, of course):


Dreams:





Dan sporting the latest in Yucatan haute couture:


The Love Birds (I'm such a yenta!)


Mom was so impressed by this Mayan death-defying dance...


...that she paid one to go home with her:


Our New Dog:


Dad doing the Snorkel Dance (seriously, we can't take him anywhere)

Viva Mexico

MEHICO HAAS BEEEN VERRY VERRY GOUD TO MEE

My cousin Alleigh decided to get married in Tulum, on the Yucatan peninsula. At first, I thought it was kind of crazy to be going to Mexico in July, but it ended up being fabulous. The weather was temperate - just a little hotter and a little more humid than NYC, and the beaches were deserted. My friend Deborah, who we learned is the long lost daughter of my parents (we were switched at birth) and I flew to Cancun, rented a minivan, and drove 1.5 hours to the tropical paradise of Tulum beach.

View From Our Hotel Room:




The Great Pick Up Line
Deb and I arrived late in the afternoon and b-lined for the ocean. There was another couple lounging around that we didn't pay any attention to. After 20 minutes or so we decided to go up to the restaurant for a drink. We got a window seat. A few minutes later this guy hacks his way thru the jungle garden outside our window and says to us; "Did you see my flipflop?" Deb and I looked at each other. "We were sitting right next to you guys down by the water" he continued, "and my flipflop is missing". I looked at Deb, agast; "Did you take his flipflop?" She shook her head no. "Maybe a dog took it" I said. "Yeah, maybe" he said. He waited for more, but we honestly had no idea what happened to it, so he disappeared back into the jungle. We just couldn't figure out how he knew that we were in the restaurant, sitting in that exact spot that he had to hack his way to.

Tranquility



We arrived in Cancun around 10PM so we spent the night before heading down south.

Deborah's Mexican low carb breakfast:


And then we decided to explore a Mexican Walmart and discovered a mystery fruit:


Tried to figure out exactly what you're supposed to do with them:


We did a little souvenir shopping before we left, but we were highly suspicious of the prices. Cancun is extremely overpriced and a far cry from the economical Mexico we all know and love.


We had a day to ourselves before my family came down to meet us, so we drove a little bit into the interior of the Yucatan to the colonial town of Valladolid, where prices were supposed to be a little more reasonable. They weren't.

Lost in the Yucatan:


The church of Valladolid:




The shopping hustle - EVERYONE needs one of these for their living room:




Mayan culture is alive and well in the Yucatan.