The Hills Are Alive......

The hills of the Hollywood bowl were certainly alive....with the off pitch sounds of drunken rowdy men dressed as nuns. We spent last Sat night at the Hollywood Bowl for the Sound of Music sing along. The best part might have been the cute, bizarre and elaborate costume contest in the prior to the movie starting. Three little kids dressed as Tea, Jam and Bread (Tea with Jam and Bread. Get it?) won a cruise! The little boy's response to the news: "we've already been on lots of cruises." I think he was 5. Super cute. Oh, and Leisel was there! She looked almost indentical to herself in the movie, but....well, older.

We had been wanting to get back to the bowl after taking my mom there last summer to hear the orchestra play along to classic Warner Brother films. (see photo below...wow, my hair was short!) We hope to go again, but we definitely won't be going back for the Sing along. Obnoxious laser pointers dominated screen time and the crowd was less than desirable. Good thing we were in such good company!!! PS. I LOVE Rogers and Hammerstien!!! (And hearing Greg's impressions of Capt Von Trapp were priceless! He had our entire section chuckling:)

Rockridge! And the Wilsons :)

A couple weekends ago we got to visit Sarah and Steve in their new house(!) --- they are renting-- in the darling neighborhood of Rockridge. We flew up Friday night from Burbank and it is officially the easiest, most convenient flight ever. By the time you're up in the air it only seems to be a few minutes before you start your descent. Oh how we love that flight.

We arrived Friday night and drove to Rockridge. Sarah and Steve are living in a charming craftsman style home that feels like a mansion compared to their former one bedroom apartment and our current one bedroom apartment. We slept on a sofa bed in our own guest room!

On Saturday Benner made us a yummy soy chorizo breakfast (see pics) and the girls walked (walked! oh how I miss that in LA!) to a cute little salon around the corner....the big news is (drumroll please) I got bangs! Side sweepy bangs that is. And I really ike the cut! I will definitely go back.

From there the four us walked to the Bart station. We got to see more of the neighborhood. It's yuppy, its hippie...it remind me of Chestnut Hill. There is a palpable peace in the air. Very easy going. We dig it.

And we always enjoy a little romp around SF. The city shopping is fab. We were on a mission to find a few new peices for the Wilson pad. We also went bra shopping which I won't go into detail here but let's just say-- thank goodness for big sisters! Sarah is always teaching me new things.

That night we went to a fabu little sushi join that Sarah and Steve used to frequent during their pre-marital days. Super yummy. I really think I could eat sushi every day for the rest of my life and be happy.

The rest of the weekend we spent eating lots of snacks while the boys randomly performed songs from the 80s they found on you tube. Sadly I forgot my camera so these are only the few pictures we have. We'll make sure to snap more next time we venture up there. Thank you both for a fabulous weekend!

Our third anniversary....

We spent our third anniversary an ocean apart from each other this year with Benner in Madrid...so while he was away I got busy with a "welcome home" project. It's a culmination of many fond memories we have together. Oh my darling B, how you have brought such joy to my life! Here's to us!

Our friends, The Jongs

This is Greg and Dani Jong. They are our good friends, and they are also talented musicians. Here's Greg's website. Click it, you can hear music there. Just thought we'd let you know.

My trip to Madrid

As Rhianwen mentioned in the previous post, recently I took a trip to Madrid, Spain. Some of you might be wondering, "Why, Benner? Why did you go to Spain, particularly without your wife?"

Well nosy people, I was sent to Spain by a newspaper who wanted me to write a travel article on Madrid. And while my trip was paid for, Rhianwen would have had to either pay her way or hide in my suitcase if she wanted to come. She chose to stay home. But I wish she did come, because Madrid is an amazing city. I had always known in my heart of hearts that I would love Spain. I have felt some sort of connection with it since middle school, when my Spanish teacher would talk about growing up in Madrid. The culture, the lifestyle, the wonderful things to see, I've always known I had to go there, which makes it extra cool that God smiled upon me and handed me a free trip there.

Madrid is an experience. The architecture, the museums, the attitudes, everything about it is warm and welcoming. I've always had a soft spot in my stomach for Spanish food, and the seafood paella I had in Madrid was amazing. Bars and restaurants are--get this--well lit and quiet, all the better to focus on your company and food. (American bars and restaurants, please take note.) Everything is old. Everything. It's not like in LA, where something built in the '70's is considered an antique. I ate in a restaurant that has been in continual operation since 1723. 1723. That's crazy.

Maybe the coolest part is the city's attitude towards art. Everyone is a patron, everyone appreciates it. The city government fully supports the arts, not just in some half-hearted patronizing way that most American city's "support" the arts. There are so many works of fine art (Picasso's Guernica, Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delight, Velázquez's Las meninas), it's insane. Just wandering through the various museums, it's shocking to find these great works just hanging up with no fanfare.

There's plenty to say about my trip. But pictures are worth a thousand words. So here's about ten thousand words. Enjoy!