Hey, Whaddya Know? A New Post!

It seems my posts come in spurts. I don't do a post for a week, then I do five. Well, the trend will continue because next week is going to hold probably at least three posts, possibly four just on my four day trip to the Three Capitals (Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna) as I like to call them, and each capital will get a post. I seriously can't wait to go. I found a great website called 43 Places that has tons of tips and reviews of places all over the world, and I think they're up to over 100,000 different cities. It's pretty neat, and I've got my itinerary for Bratislava and some of Budapest from there at least, so I hope it works out!

As for tonight! Well! I had the night off from work so I decided to partake in some more Oxford culture by getting a ticket for the Oxford Millenium Orchestra's performance of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Nutcracker suites, as well as selections from Borodin's Prince Igor opera, which contained a very special song to my heart, the Polovtsian Dance. Oh, bans, that was great. The night began with a nap after work, and was SUPPOSED to start with a nice dinner, probably at The Mitre, but ended up with a couple cheese sandwiches from Marcs & Spencer (hey, it's only £2, so I'll live!), then a pint at a poorly chosen establishment. Here is why it was poorly chosen:

The location was good because I only had about 20 minutes before the performance started, so I picked The White Horse, which is right across from the Sheldonian Theatre, the venue of my evening's entertainment. I walked in, and didn't know what to get because I've been wanting a porter for about a month now, since it's porter season. I don't get to enjoy too many ales since I don't want to spend money in Oxford that I could spend in other countries, so a porter would have been a good way to start the night. Well, they didn't have any so I just stood there trying to pick one. The bartender decided to wash some glasses while I decided, and I didn't mind because he was just being efficient. When he "efficient"ly didn't come back to me for about three minutes, I wasn't thrilled, but I ordered anyway. Here's how the order went down.

"I'll have a go at the Smithy."
A blank stare from the tender, maybe he didn't hear me.
"Just a pint... Of the Smithy."
Continued blank stare. Does this guy speak English?
"Just a pint..."
"Please?? Can we have some manners?" said the tender.
"Oh, sorry, please?"

So yeah, my first encounter with a rude Englishman, and I decided to take the high road and just accept MY unnoticed rudeness and pay for the drink once he pulled it. I would have loved to let him pull it, then tell him to shove it and leave. But I didn't. I tried to get my revenge at the end by saying "Thanks!" and waiting for him to ignore me, but he said thanks and cheers and I just left. We'll leave it at a simple conclusion to not go there again and not recommend it to anybody.

My night wasn't ruined though because I then headed across the street to the performance. I found a seat, then a girl who was friends with the people I was sitting next to came in and I moved to another seat so we wouldn't all be squished during the two hours of music to come.

The first piece was the Overture to Prince Igor. I want to see the opera because it has the Polovtsian Dance in it, which was the first song after the interval, and I LOVE that piece. I enjoyed the Valse of the Swan Lake Suite, and it made me want to waltz, obviously! From there, the next songs were intriguing, but the Mazurka to finish off the Suite was a very energetic and festive piece. After the interval, the Nutcracker Suite took hardly any time at all because I enjoyed it so much. I've always loved the Nutcracker, saw it as a kid with an amateur ballet company, and I would LOVE to see it done properly in it's full glory. To a lot of Americans, and probably Russians too, I guess, The Nutcracker and many of its themes represent the heart of Christmas. And as Christmas is being rolled out all over the world, what better way to kick it all off then to hear some real Nutcracker!?

So that's my post for today, and until next Sunday when I will post about my GREAT trip to eastern Europe, Cheers!