I had a nice weekend with Melissa and J., her new boyfriend. Thursday night was curling, then Friday we went shopping in Georgetown. The emphasis was mostly soaps (Lush, L'Occitane) and a little clothes (Anthropologie). Friday night we went out for Ethiopian and then for drinks in Adams Morgan. Saturday was busy. We had brunch at Teaism, then several hours at the National Gallery of Art (D. left before this part), a quick detour into the Museum of Natural History to see their newish kick-ass hall of mammals, then a brief monument tour (Washington, WWII, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Einstein, VVM, Lincoln, and Korea, in that order). We got too tired to make it to FDR and Jefferson so they'll have to come back. We were going to make sushi, but it was late so we got premade. Then we headed off to the Kennedy Center to see a semi-staged performance of The Abduction from the Seraglio performed by the NSO in honor of Mozart's birthday. Semi-staged means the orchestra occupied half the stage, minimal sets and props, lovely costumes, a screen with some delightful animation to move the plot along (and summaries of the songs which were in German while the dialoge was in English), and Sam Donaldson. Donaldson was the Pasha and appeared mostly on the screen; he didn't sing. It was light-hearted and fun and I really enjoyed it. (Go half-price student tickets.) The sopranos and bass-baritone were particularly good.
J. was very nice and polite. He was quiet and I don't feel like I really got to know him very well. Melissa said he was nervous. He didn't leave Maine a lot as a kid so this was the first time he'd been at a large art museum, at an opera, nevermind the Ethiopian and curling, (and watching M. and I try on clothes for an hour). We were pleased when we found out he was a Firefly fan. He saw Serenity first and then discovered the tv show. He was excited when I showed him the comics. We also found out that my sister is culturally illiterate. She's never seen The Princess Bride. The Princess Bride. So we watched it Friday night. Well, J. and I watched it. D. turned around during the good parts, but Melissa feel asleep half-way through. Honestly.
J. was very nice and polite. He was quiet and I don't feel like I really got to know him very well. Melissa said he was nervous. He didn't leave Maine a lot as a kid so this was the first time he'd been at a large art museum, at an opera, nevermind the Ethiopian and curling, (and watching M. and I try on clothes for an hour). We were pleased when we found out he was a Firefly fan. He saw Serenity first and then discovered the tv show. He was excited when I showed him the comics. We also found out that my sister is culturally illiterate. She's never seen The Princess Bride. The Princess Bride. So we watched it Friday night. Well, J. and I watched it. D. turned around during the good parts, but Melissa feel asleep half-way through. Honestly.