Open Rehearsal at NY Philharmonic (what a great place to be in the morning!)

     While most people might slumber through their days off, Lewis and I got an early start.  After breakfast, we attended the NY Philharmonic's "Open Rehearsal" at 10am.  

     Lewis got to sit in a Box Seat (at no extra charge, because $15 lets you sit anywhere), which are the seats he admires in certain theatres.

     Guest conductor, Lionel Bringuier (above), led our world-famous orchestra through "Scorcerer's Apprentice".  What better way to start a morning than with amazing music like that!?  (It seems to me that lots of great, bouncy, sweeping classical music involves the bassoon!)  The other great aspect of attending their full rehearsal is that you get a kind of "instant replay" option, when they replay certain parts of the song.  The mood is also more intimate between performers and audience--as if everyone just woke up and stretched and rendezvoused at Avery Fisher Hall.  All the musicians are dressed casually: polo shirts, capris, TOMS, t-shirts.  The violin soloist, Leonidas Kavakos--playing Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto--wore metallic silver high-top sneakers.  Short-sleeve shirts allowed us to admire the forearms and biceps of the young male string players!  
     I saw a quirky scenario among the bass cellos.  One had a mishap with his instrument, and his neighbor leaned over to help.  When done, another player held a bow against the sheet music to help them regain their places.  It was done so smoothly that most folks probably didn't notice, and it was a good sign of teamwork.  The 2 hour performance ended with "Firebird Suite"--all its booming/rumbling percussion and blaring brass.  A summer day couldn't've started better.
      Outside Lincoln Center, we ambled over to the Farmer's Market and got a summer strawberry/rhubarb pie and a mushroom/parmigiana stromboli.

     Then, we luncheoned at Cafeteria, which always has the most fashionista-ish host/hostess (although most of the hosts refer to each other as "girl" anyway).  It also has the most creatively accessorized waitstaff.  The "aspiring model/artist" waiters have the same white shirts, black trousers and brown apron, but their tattoos, piercings, finger jewelry, wristbands, handcuffs, socks, and mussed hairdos--added with charm and bright personalities--make the whole service experience so colorful.  
     For appetizers, we ordered dates stuffed with bacon and bleu cheese (to finish Lewis' hankering for breakfast fare).  Their AWESOME braised Italian meatballs in piquant tomato sauce "hit the spot".  While Lewis had Chicken Caesar Salad with "one-eyed Susan" egg on top, I savored their spicy Meatloaf (topped with a load of sautéed plum tomatoes and onions, alongside string beans and mashed potatoes).  Soooo good!

    Next--on a mission for a Canadian friend searching for a particular shade of 505 Levis jeans in a hard-to-find size--we went to a store in Chelsea and bought the last two pairs that he wanted!  (Credit to Lewis for finding the store that had the size)!  It was a hop-skip-and-a-jump to Trader Joe's for some quick food shopping: lots of berries, apricots, fresh veggies, BBQ pork chops, granola oat cereal, and a bar of dark chocolate.  The subway was still quiet at 2pm for the ride home, and we even had time for a nap!  Thus, I think it was better waking up early to get SO MUCH done/experienced in the day, and then get some sleep later!  

:-)