(no subject)
And thusly shall this entry be titled: Joshua Bell is a Dirty Old Man who Can't Hold his Liquor.
SO since today is one of the earliest nights I've gotten so far, what with it being only about 10:00 when I got back. So I figure it's high time for an Internship Update.
The flight out here wasn't too bad. I sat next to this guy who was travelling back to San Fran with his gf (who sat elsewhere) and we basically talked the whole time. It made the flight go very quickly. Mrs. Asmuth met me at the airport. She's such a sweetheart. She drove me around San Francisco showing me things and just being amazing that afternoon. She was so excited when she found out that I liked to cook. She drove me past all the amazing restaurants in Yountville on the way home, like Bouchon and the French Laundry (places I've read about EVERYWHERE). She's actually friends with Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, because she used to work as a buyer for a wine company. She and her husband, who runs the Meadowood winery, which is part vineyard and part country club, live right up the hill from the vineyard in a wooded area. Their house is beautiful, and their pool is amazing. Paul actually called down to the gym at Meadowood and told them I'd be coming, so I have gym access while I'm here (which is good, because I've been eating AMAZING food).
So the first few days went smoothly, if unevenfully. I spent the majority of my life at Kinkos slowly losing faith in mankind. They're just so disorganized and rude and expensive. But everyone working for IMG and the Napa Valley Symphony is great. The second day Matt Zelle, one of the real employees, and I ran around to all the hotels dropping off complimentary wine for the artists, so I got to see the Calistoga Ranch, which is one of the premiere hotels in the world. Only the really important artists are staying there, like Measha Bruggergrosman (this soprano who is a wonderful diva) and Joshua Bell (more on him later).
Then yesterday I did a lot of errand running before the concert. Then Laura and I (Laura's the other intern for IMG. She's growing on me quite a bit. She's really flighty and very stereotypically rich-girl, but I like her a lot more now than I did before) went to Dominus Winery to help with the after party for the super rich VIPs for the festival. We really weren't needed, so we stood there looking ornamental and pretty until we were told we could go. Then the whole staff went out for mexican.
TODAY was the best day yet. I did absolutely nothing this morning except deliver music stands to the Marriott. But this afternoon was a concert where they paired photographs by Frans Lanting with a soundtrack by Philip Glass, and it was spectacular. Absolutely amazing. Then Laura and I went over to Far Niete, another exclusive winery, to help with the dinner. The lady from Far Niete promptly told us we weren't needed, but Charles, our boss, told us to stick around to help Matt with Josh Bell when they showed up. So we did, and then one of the coordinators of the dinner was like um we have extra seats, which looks really bad, so why don't you stay for dinner? And we were like HELL YES. So Josh did a private concert for the VIPs (and us) then promptly got trashed from all the great, expensive as fuck wine that they served at the dinner. It was good wine. But still. Thennn Josh totally started to hit on Laura, who is 18, (Josh is 40. Yes. 40.) Until Laura was like ALEX I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM COME WITH ME NOW and we went and compared notes on how Josh Bell is a dirty old man. I got to talk to Rachele, Charles' assistant, at the dinner, and she's super cool and nice and she does lots of crafts, which I love. The dinner was absolutely delicious. We started out with a bunch of appetizers, llike little pizzas and blini with french caviar, and my favorite which were wild rice and foie gras croquettes. Then the dinner was an appetizer of raw tuna and potatoes with olives and red pepper sauce (which was underwhelming, cause it needed more acid to cut through the fattiness), an entree of lamb shanks with summer squash and corn succotash and thyme sauce, a cheese course, which the lady next to me explained how to test each cheese with a matching wine, and then dessert of ricotta cheesecake with chestnut caramel sauce and poached figs. All the courses had matching wines. And on the way out they gave us goody bags with a bottle of wine (worth $80!) and a Joshua Bell cd. There was some confusion about who was driving Josh home, cause Matt was like no way in hell is Laura driving Josh. But Josh wanted to go back to the marriott to party with the UBS Verbier orchestra, which is a young people's orchestra that he's playing with on Tuesday. Apparently they're having a rager.
Ok. I need to sleep. But before I go, I've been keeping in touch with Sammy, and if things work out like I hope they will, it is proof that there is indeed a god. And that Sarah is a saint.
SO since today is one of the earliest nights I've gotten so far, what with it being only about 10:00 when I got back. So I figure it's high time for an Internship Update.
The flight out here wasn't too bad. I sat next to this guy who was travelling back to San Fran with his gf (who sat elsewhere) and we basically talked the whole time. It made the flight go very quickly. Mrs. Asmuth met me at the airport. She's such a sweetheart. She drove me around San Francisco showing me things and just being amazing that afternoon. She was so excited when she found out that I liked to cook. She drove me past all the amazing restaurants in Yountville on the way home, like Bouchon and the French Laundry (places I've read about EVERYWHERE). She's actually friends with Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, because she used to work as a buyer for a wine company. She and her husband, who runs the Meadowood winery, which is part vineyard and part country club, live right up the hill from the vineyard in a wooded area. Their house is beautiful, and their pool is amazing. Paul actually called down to the gym at Meadowood and told them I'd be coming, so I have gym access while I'm here (which is good, because I've been eating AMAZING food).
So the first few days went smoothly, if unevenfully. I spent the majority of my life at Kinkos slowly losing faith in mankind. They're just so disorganized and rude and expensive. But everyone working for IMG and the Napa Valley Symphony is great. The second day Matt Zelle, one of the real employees, and I ran around to all the hotels dropping off complimentary wine for the artists, so I got to see the Calistoga Ranch, which is one of the premiere hotels in the world. Only the really important artists are staying there, like Measha Bruggergrosman (this soprano who is a wonderful diva) and Joshua Bell (more on him later).
Then yesterday I did a lot of errand running before the concert. Then Laura and I (Laura's the other intern for IMG. She's growing on me quite a bit. She's really flighty and very stereotypically rich-girl, but I like her a lot more now than I did before) went to Dominus Winery to help with the after party for the super rich VIPs for the festival. We really weren't needed, so we stood there looking ornamental and pretty until we were told we could go. Then the whole staff went out for mexican.
TODAY was the best day yet. I did absolutely nothing this morning except deliver music stands to the Marriott. But this afternoon was a concert where they paired photographs by Frans Lanting with a soundtrack by Philip Glass, and it was spectacular. Absolutely amazing. Then Laura and I went over to Far Niete, another exclusive winery, to help with the dinner. The lady from Far Niete promptly told us we weren't needed, but Charles, our boss, told us to stick around to help Matt with Josh Bell when they showed up. So we did, and then one of the coordinators of the dinner was like um we have extra seats, which looks really bad, so why don't you stay for dinner? And we were like HELL YES. So Josh did a private concert for the VIPs (and us) then promptly got trashed from all the great, expensive as fuck wine that they served at the dinner. It was good wine. But still. Thennn Josh totally started to hit on Laura, who is 18, (Josh is 40. Yes. 40.) Until Laura was like ALEX I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM COME WITH ME NOW and we went and compared notes on how Josh Bell is a dirty old man. I got to talk to Rachele, Charles' assistant, at the dinner, and she's super cool and nice and she does lots of crafts, which I love. The dinner was absolutely delicious. We started out with a bunch of appetizers, llike little pizzas and blini with french caviar, and my favorite which were wild rice and foie gras croquettes. Then the dinner was an appetizer of raw tuna and potatoes with olives and red pepper sauce (which was underwhelming, cause it needed more acid to cut through the fattiness), an entree of lamb shanks with summer squash and corn succotash and thyme sauce, a cheese course, which the lady next to me explained how to test each cheese with a matching wine, and then dessert of ricotta cheesecake with chestnut caramel sauce and poached figs. All the courses had matching wines. And on the way out they gave us goody bags with a bottle of wine (worth $80!) and a Joshua Bell cd. There was some confusion about who was driving Josh home, cause Matt was like no way in hell is Laura driving Josh. But Josh wanted to go back to the marriott to party with the UBS Verbier orchestra, which is a young people's orchestra that he's playing with on Tuesday. Apparently they're having a rager.
Ok. I need to sleep. But before I go, I've been keeping in touch with Sammy, and if things work out like I hope they will, it is proof that there is indeed a god. And that Sarah is a saint.