A Weekend with My Daughter, Part 2

Next we left for the concert at Kennedy Center. We made good use of my handicapped parking pass in the parking deck, which was full of cars   - even with the parking fee of $23. I thought $7 for parking was bad (in Raleigh).

I had never been there before, but I had seen it often from the car. I had no idea that there were several different theaters inside.

Also playing there was "The Book of Mormon" and a comedy performance, so the crowds were thick.

We found our seats, which I referred to as the crow's nest level. But that didn't matter to me; just seeing the concert was terrific, no matter where we sat. We were four rows from the top, on the second tier,  but we had unlimited sight lines.

Tony Bennett was born in 1926, and he turns 89 on August 3rd. Lady Gaga posted today on Facebook that they got a cake for his birthday, and for the last performance in their concert tour, which was tonight. I would love to know where he gets all his energy. He was on stage for the better part of two hours, and never sat down. He and Lady Gaga alternated songs and also sang many duets. All the old favorite standards were sung and he ended with his signature song, I Left My Heart in San Francisco. During the performance, Lady Gaga mentioned that it might seem odd for her to be on stage singing with a legend like Tony, and that she would be forever grateful for his faith in her singing abilities. It really was a wonderful concert; both of them were sooooo good and her clothing, while less dramatic and revealing than her usual performance costumes, were beautiful to see. One in particular; a red feather, floor-length cape and dress caught my eye, as did a silver lame sheath with see through skirting. I tried to get photos of them, but the distance proved too far for my cell-phone camera.

Another great thing about the concert was the musicians. Both Tony and Gaga had their own set of musicians, and they were backed by a 13 piece orchestra as well. I kept remarking about his piano player - who was really terrific, as were both saxophone players and Gaga's trumpeteer. I told my daughter that I'd love to see a concert where Tony's pianist played he piano for hours. He was fabulous. I'm a real fan of the piano and this guy did it justice. All ages, all colors and all nationalities attended this performance. I was surprised at the number of younger people; who seemed to enjoy the music as much as I did. Quite a few standing ovations were given.

After the concert, we returned to the hotel, and I ordered a beer - my usual bedtime fare. It was Pale Ale - remind me to never order that again. Ick.

The bed was especially welcome after a day of sight-seeing, walking and "concerting." This morning, before leaving to return to Raleigh, we went into D.C. to tour the Smithsonian Castle; a place I had seen years ago when our children were small. We found a great parking place and daughter secured parking for $3, and then we discovered that the museum was closed for renovations. It didn't say that on their web-site! Then we discovered that a museum I have been wanting to see (Hirshorn Sculpture gardens and Museum was just across the street, so we left the car and walked across the street and toured the Sculpture gardens and the building too. What a treat it was!  I had wanted to see it ever since I found out that my blog friend Naomi's father had collected all the sculpture and donated it to the Smithsonian for the museum.  I was not disappointed at all. The gardens are full of pretty flowers and shrubbery, as well as sculptures.

The building opened at 10 am, so after a short wait, we toured that too. Most of the art is beyond my comprehension, but there were some interesting photographs and smaller sculptures.  Naomi, I don't know how long it has been since you were there, but I took lots of pics for you! I hope you enjoy them. I will post all the photos from there tomorrow.