Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Mozart in Manhattan...





This evening The New York Philharmonic gave a free concert in Central Park. It was fantastic.

There must have been hundreds of thousands (well, nearly) of people who'd got their blankets an picnic baskets, bottles of wine and cheeseboards, balloons and flags, deck chairs and tables out, covering every square inch of the Great Lawn in the middle of the park.

The orchestra had a brilliant view of the skyscrapers as they played, and the sun set in the middle of their performance - it was beautiful.

The night started with Alec Baldwin comparing the evening, introducing the Mayor of New York (who got rapturous applause), who then introduced another important person, ex-senate or something like that... The three of them commented on it being 'The best weather, on the best evening, in the best park in the world, in the best city in the world, with the best orchestra in the world playing for us all - and that's why we love New York City!' It was pretty moving to hear so many people be so proud of the city they live in...

It also reminded me that WOW, I'm in New York. I'm sitting in the middle of Central Park, about to listen to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra play for FREE! and I live here! It's incredible.
There are some days (I blame it on work) that I think I forget how incredible this opportunity is, but today really reminded me how great and exciting New York really is. I love it.

The evening ended with a big firework display at the back of the lawn, it was a perfect back drop to have the buildings in the background, with all their lights flickering. It was such a clear night, and there was no wind so the fireworks were so clear.

I think tonight might have been the first night I saw stars in the sky - I was told there weren't any stars in New York... seeing the Saucepan (or the Big Dipper one) made me feel closer to home because that's the one I can see from my bedroom window.

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