Monday, July 17, 2017

Lots of Early Music and Boating


I hope my readers had a good weekend. Sorry that I have been so silent, but I have been pretty busy. Thursday evening Travalon and I took a long boat ride out to the (apparently) nameless bay between Governor’s Island and Maple Bluff, and yes I skipped a ukulele jam to be on the water. Music is a high priority for me, but apparently boating is a higher one. Friday I worked for a couple of hours in the morning, then Tiffy and I met for lunch on State Street, and we ran into Toque McToque! Blast from the past! We went to the Early Music Festival participants’ concert (or, as one guy called it, “Amateur Hour”), where all the classes show off what they have been working on. Afterwards we hung out on the Union Terrace, then we had dinner al fresco at Fresco, a rooftop restaurant with a magnificent view of my church. We returned to the Early Music Festival for a concert of viol music, including a relatively clear explanation of quarter comma mean tone tuning by the harpsichord player. He did state that equal temperament is the enemy of all music in that it makes everything a little bit out of tune, but my regular readers already know my feelings on the evils of equal temperament.

Saturday morning Travalon and I met a bunch of people for coffee, including Rich, Tiffy, and OK Cap, then Rich and Tiffy left to work out so OK Cap, Travalon, and I wandered the sales of Maxwell Street Days. I bought some new Hawaiian shirts and freeze-dried ice cream, something I have wanted to try since someone brought some to my third-grade class and shared it with some other kids… but not me. You know, it was pretty tasty, like a hard marshmallow but creamy and Neapolitan flavored. Travalon and I went for a boat ride back into the marsh, then I met Tiffy, Rich, and some other Slow Food people for dinner at a pop-up restaurant. Really, it is only in existence for a week. We had these amazing British-style peas, Peking duck, and berry shortbread for dessert. It was all food the cook had gotten from the farmers’ market that morning, and it was so good! Then Tiffy and I went to the final concert of the Early Music Festival, pieces that were relevant to the writings of Cervantes, since this year’s theme was Don Quixote. Next year is “Journey to Lubeck,” and they promised lots of Buxtehude. Excellent!

Yesterday Travalon and I wanted to go to a Beatles brunch at a bar on the Square, but they only do it on Saturdays, so we went back to Plaka and sat outside on their wonderful patio again. Then we met Tiffy and the Daughter of Denni at Fete de Marquette to listen to a French/Hawaiian group. We ate some junk there, and afterwards I thought maybe Travalon and I should canoe to work it off, but instead we took our longest boat ride yet, to the shanties in Middleton right by our health club. We saw lots of huge houses, and one looked just like a castle! Plus we saw Bishop’s Bay, which is the part of the lake that the Betty Lou Cruises never go back into. Now I feel like I have seen the entirety of Lake Mendota from the water. Another thing off my bucket list, besides freeze-dried ice cream. What a satisfying weekend!

Famous Hat

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