a perfect day!
Well yesterday was pretty spectacular, a magical totally fun day:
I left home early yesterday to drive up to the 'big (bigger anyway) city'... I made good time to Coralville (just North of Iowa City) so my first stop was to the Hobby Lobby where I found a hot glue gun.
Then I went for an early lunch at my favorite restaurant in Iowa: 3 Samurai (great bento box of which I eat every bite).
I left with plenty of time to drive up to Cedar Rapids to see Midnight in Paris (a movie that is only showing in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines in Iowa so it takes some seriously planning to get to go see it), but there again I made great time so first I stopped at TJ Maxx to buy some sheets.
I loved Midnight in Paris which is Woody Allen's latest film and it is (I think) one of his all time best. It reminded me slightly of Purple Rose of Cairo with it's romantic fantasy.... but it also reminded me a lot of his films in NYC which were all gorgeous shots of the city with the Gershwin soundtrack....
Here Woody Allen is making love to Paris with a Cole Porter sound track which captures the humor and romance of this film.
Interestingly a friend and I had been discussing how when we go to Europe we always feel as though we've stepped into novel, in fact the places I chose to visit in England were all directly related to books I had loved....
There is something just magical about being in a beautiful city that is rich with history and filled with the echos of great writers and artists who lived there... and it is that magic that Woody Allen is bringing out in this wonderful film.
I was never a big fan of Owen Wilson, but he is wonderful in this... he really seems completely comfortable with Woody Allen's writing style (I've felt, in other films, that the actors were struggling with his cadence and conversation). But the bestest thing ever was seeing Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein and Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali (he was hilarious)!
The movie is very funny, and beautifully filmed, and I recommend it to everyone (unless of course they seriously hate everything about Paris, but in that case they have no soul).
After the movie was over I drove back to Coralville to check into my hotel to unpack and meditate...
and then I grabbed a sandwich on my way to the Iowa City theater with the special showing (on Neil Patrick Harris' birthday!) of Sondheim's Company.
I seriously loved Company! I remember hearing the music back in the 1970s and thinking it seemed to have captured something of Laugh In, Love American Style, and even a little bit of the feeling of Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (not that it was really about sex, but that it talked about marriage problems that people really didn't talk about back then). I thought it was funny and clever and interesting.... But I never had a chance to see it on stage until now (when I really just saw a film of the stage show).
The cast was brilliant and hilarious, they really brought out the humor and everyone did an amazing job (I have no complaints about anyone's singing, dancing or acting... it was all good). Neil Patrick Harris was amazing, of course Patti LaPone was ever MORE amazing (the audience couldn't resist applauding even though it was a film. Of course it was dated, but they were going with that, keeping it firmly set in the late 1960s point of view.
So it was a little after 10 pm when the show ended and I was happy not to drive 2 hours home... instead I went back to my hotel to relax, read, watch TV, shower, and generally waste time because I knew I could sleep late before the drive home again today.
It was a perfect day... And should I confess how much I love doing this stuff alone? I know it is terrible, but you always have to compromise on where to eat, where to shop, and when & how you can waste time.... I really like just doing what I want when I want! LOL
I left home early yesterday to drive up to the 'big (bigger anyway) city'... I made good time to Coralville (just North of Iowa City) so my first stop was to the Hobby Lobby where I found a hot glue gun.
Then I went for an early lunch at my favorite restaurant in Iowa: 3 Samurai (great bento box of which I eat every bite).
I left with plenty of time to drive up to Cedar Rapids to see Midnight in Paris (a movie that is only showing in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines in Iowa so it takes some seriously planning to get to go see it), but there again I made great time so first I stopped at TJ Maxx to buy some sheets.
Click to viewI loved Midnight in Paris which is Woody Allen's latest film and it is (I think) one of his all time best. It reminded me slightly of Purple Rose of Cairo with it's romantic fantasy.... but it also reminded me a lot of his films in NYC which were all gorgeous shots of the city with the Gershwin soundtrack....
Here Woody Allen is making love to Paris with a Cole Porter sound track which captures the humor and romance of this film.
Interestingly a friend and I had been discussing how when we go to Europe we always feel as though we've stepped into novel, in fact the places I chose to visit in England were all directly related to books I had loved....
There is something just magical about being in a beautiful city that is rich with history and filled with the echos of great writers and artists who lived there... and it is that magic that Woody Allen is bringing out in this wonderful film.
I was never a big fan of Owen Wilson, but he is wonderful in this... he really seems completely comfortable with Woody Allen's writing style (I've felt, in other films, that the actors were struggling with his cadence and conversation). But the bestest thing ever was seeing Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein and Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali (he was hilarious)!
The movie is very funny, and beautifully filmed, and I recommend it to everyone (unless of course they seriously hate everything about Paris, but in that case they have no soul).
After the movie was over I drove back to Coralville to check into my hotel to unpack and meditate...
and then I grabbed a sandwich on my way to the Iowa City theater with the special showing (on Neil Patrick Harris' birthday!) of Sondheim's Company.
I seriously loved Company! I remember hearing the music back in the 1970s and thinking it seemed to have captured something of Laugh In, Love American Style, and even a little bit of the feeling of Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (not that it was really about sex, but that it talked about marriage problems that people really didn't talk about back then). I thought it was funny and clever and interesting.... But I never had a chance to see it on stage until now (when I really just saw a film of the stage show).
The cast was brilliant and hilarious, they really brought out the humor and everyone did an amazing job (I have no complaints about anyone's singing, dancing or acting... it was all good). Neil Patrick Harris was amazing, of course Patti LaPone was ever MORE amazing (the audience couldn't resist applauding even though it was a film. Of course it was dated, but they were going with that, keeping it firmly set in the late 1960s point of view.
So it was a little after 10 pm when the show ended and I was happy not to drive 2 hours home... instead I went back to my hotel to relax, read, watch TV, shower, and generally waste time because I knew I could sleep late before the drive home again today.
It was a perfect day... And should I confess how much I love doing this stuff alone? I know it is terrible, but you always have to compromise on where to eat, where to shop, and when & how you can waste time.... I really like just doing what I want when I want! LOL