A Hollywood Classic

One of the highlights of our Summer was our evening at the classic Hollywood Bowl. Numerous A-list artists ranging from the Beatles to Journey to Carrie Underwood to Luciano Pavarotti have performed at the outdoor amphitheater over the decades. But the most notable group to see at the Hollywood Bowl has been showcasing their music there every summer since 1921: the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Matt and I purchased tickets for the final performance of their summer concert series and prepared for a delightful evening of Tchaikovsky and fireworks under the stars.

A Hollywood Bowl tradition is to arrive early and picnic before the show. These picnics are typically of the high-class variety, including gourmet sandwiches and expensive cheeses and wine. Matt and I went with PB&J for convenience but classed it up with sparkling cider since we don't drink alcohol.

When we were standing in the grocery aisle purchasing said sparkling cider, I suggested we go with Welch's since it's easier to open. Matt, however, insisted on Martinelli's and promised he'd be able to open it. That proved to be easier said than done:

Eventually we just went to a concession stand and asked to borrow a bottle opener. It worked like a charm and we were able to have a nice little picnic there at the Bowl.

Then it was time to find our seats. Someday, we'll spring for a box seat below but for now our budget requires the nosebleeds. The view is more impressive from the top anyhow. See the Hollywood sign under the lights on the hills?

As we sat there all cuddled up under the stars mesmerized by the beautiful music, I wistfully remembered the concert in the park in Vienna on our honeymoon. Matt and I have officially decided to make attending an outdoor symphony an annual Summer tradition.

It was such a lovely evening and we thoroughly enjoyed each piece. My favorite was the famous Waltz from Swan Lake--such a beautiful classic. I uploaded a video that has clips of the conductor's funny intro as well as the second half of the waltz. Ignore my horrible video recording skills and just listen to it as background music for the next five minutes or so. It is absolutely mesmerizing.

Swan Lake by LA Philharmonic from Ashley D on Vimeo.

Matt's favorite was probably the also-famous 1812 Overture. (What can I say? Tchaikovsky's a famous guy.) It was the final piece of the concert and was performed complete with the USC marching band and fireworks shooting out of the shell. It was an amazing finale to an incredible night!

Many thanks to whoever uploaded this to YouTube that night.

Our story doesn't end there, though. Remember when Matt was having a hard time opening the sparkling cider? And was trying to bang it against the lamp post to loosen the cap? Well, here's a little excerpt of our conversation at that point:

Me: "Why don't you try using the keys?"

Matt: Feels his pockets. "You have the keys."

Me: "I never had the keys." Pause as the realization hits.

"I think the car has the keys."

Sure enough, we were a solid hour-and-a-half away from our home and had locked ourselves out of the car. No worries, of course, since I made sure to include roadside assistance on our car insurance. In fact, I was--dare I say it?--secretly super excited that Matt had locked us out of the car. See, once upon a time in my college days, I was really, really bad at that game. In the span of about three months, I think I locked myself out of my car approximately six times. Then I gave my best friend Liz (who I was with 29/7) a spare key and that magically cured my problem. What it didn't cure was Matt's occasional teasing for my follies, so it was only natural to be excited that I wasn't the only one in our marriage with a history of lock-outs.

We decided to just enjoy the symphony and wait until after the concert to deal with it. As soon as the last note was played, I dialed roadside assistance. Within 20 minutes, we were being picked up by our own personal escort and driven to our car which was parked a mile away. It was like a free cab ride but cooler.

I was sort of concerned that we would get to our car and find that our keys were lost, not locked inside. But sure enough, they were happily waiting in the ignition. Such good little keys for not running away on us. One of my doors is permanently damaged from all of my lockouts and I was a little bummed when the nice tow truck man pried the other door open but oh well. He got us into our car and out on the road in no time.

And thus ended our eventful evening at the Hollywood Bowl.