Idina Menzel in Concert

This past weekend Chelsey and I ventured to Atlanta to see Tony winner Idina Menzel. After some mishap with tickets (we ended up with 6 for the 2 of us), the concert was finally here. We spent the day shopping in Atlanta before meeting some friends for dinner at Hal's and then it was off the Chastain Amphitheatre for the concert! Not only did she sing all the great songs off her album, she did songs from "Wicked," "The Wild Party," and "RENT." Except at the Tonys, I had never seen Idina Menzel live in any shows. It was a spectacular concert and I can't wait to see her on stage again somewhere!

SC Heart Gallery

Today I had the most incredible experience. As part of an exhibit that works to get foster children in South Carolina adopted, I got to take pictures of three amazing teens. It was both exciting and sad at the same time to know that these kids didn't have families to go home to. It seems like such a small thing, such a little amount of time to give that could potentially change these children's lives.

For more information, check out http://www.scheartgallery.org/

And the Tony goes to...

So New York City was amazing. Getting to see the obc cast of RENT was unbelievable! I am sad to hear that Cry Baby is closing because it was on my list to see next visit and I can't wait to see Passing Strange. We sat next to the stupidest people. One women was wearing an entire bottom of smell and their Broadway knowledge was minuscule to say the least.

The trip came about because Chelsey was turning 21 and for her birthday, she wanted to see the Tonys. The parents agreed and so she and I were off to the Big Apple for the first time on our own.

While we were in New York, we saw Sunday in the Park with George where we meet Danial Evans and Jenna Russell, both Tony nominated for their roles. Mary Poppins had mind boggling sets and the cast was great. Spring Awakening is my favorite musical. The story is unlike anything I have every seen on Broadway or anywhere for that matter. The cast was extraordinary and the show made you remember why I feel in love with musicals to begin with. Peter Gallagher and Morgan Freeman starred in The Country Girl, the first play I had ever seen in the city.

In our many trips to the city, we had always passed the Jekyll and Hyde Club, but didn't know what it was. Come to find out, it is this really cool restaurant with characters who wonder around, sing, act weird, etc. Of course we ate at our favorite, The Boathouse, but with sun set it was really hot.

The trip was one to remember and I can't wait to visit again soon.

Back to Reality

It is hard to get back into the swing of things when you come back from a trip, especially such a long trip. I had a wonderful time, but I sure do love home. After two long days of working on our project, it was time to present to our class and the Dean. Our project went really well and I am very relieved. Now it is back to the beach and internship at Brandon Advertising.

The 8 hour work days bring you back down to earth real quick. But, this Thursday it is off to New York and the Tony Awards!!! Not only is it amazing in and of itself to see the awards, but the obc (original Broadway cast) of "RENT" is performing with Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs and Anthony Rapp. The cast of "Young Frankenstein" is performing along with "The Littler Mermaid," "Cry Baby" and so much more. And to top it off, Whoopi Goldburg is hosting.

Berlin or Bust!

To my astonishment, we are settled in the actual city of Berlin. We arrived into the city pretty early this morning and made our way to the first hotel of the day. Upon arrival, we found out that the hotel was an hour outside of Berlin, not a great location for sightseeing. A little tired, we made our way back to the airport and were working on getting flights changed to go back to Munich earlier. A little over everything and really over the unhelpful people. I hope that when people come to the US, that we are more helpful and friendly than some of the people here, who by no means go beyond their job or out of their way to help. Now, some people are really nice, so I hate to stereotype, but it gets frustrating after a while.

Once we were checked into hotel number two that was actually in Berlin, close enough to walk to a remaining section of the Berlin Wall, we began exploring city a little. Tomorrow if the weather is good we plan on taking a bike tour of the city.

Follow the Crowd

The weather is beautiful and sunny, wonderful for exploring the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral. The castle surrounded the cathedral and was like a small town in itself. The stained glass was so neat with all the light shinning through, giving the church a yellow glow. We found a small café for lunch and made a stop at our favorite chocolate shop before going on the bike tour. The “non-strenuous” tour took us through many parts of the city and over the river. Our guide re-vamped the tour to include a biergarten stop. Unlike Germany, the biergarten was uphill. I couldn’t ride up that steep, so I pushed my biked up the hill. Afterwards, we took a different path down, but that required going down flights of stairs to get down. I am now a pro at bike riding through cars, trains and up curbs! During the tour we saw lots of neat artwork, including a statue that was of two men peeing onto a waiting pool in the shape of the Czech Republic. If you so desire, you can text a message to 420 724370707 and the statue will pee whatever message you send to it.

Again by a recommendation we dined at the Café Slavia for traditional Czech food. A great meal for our last night here. Tomorrow is another early morning to get to Berlin.

We have learned from our wondering that following the crowd usually puts you in the right place. If you go and stop seeing people, then you went the wrong way. So far it hasn't lead us astray!

Prague

With an early flight out of Munich, it was off to Prague. By noonish we had dropped off our luggage and were ready to see the sights. A short ride on the subway and we were near Old Town Square. What a view from the Town Hall tower and the clock even has a sort of “show” on the hour. Unimaginable, it was worse than the Glockenspiel! Really not worth a trip to the square on its own. While we were in the square, the 10th Cultural Festival was taking place and we got to see some children doing local dances. The afternoon was just spent wondering the streets. The city is a great place just to wonder and explore. We ran across a bike tour that we decided to do on Sunday and this amazing Belgium chocolate shop, the Gold Pralines.

By recommendation, we headed to the U Prince hotel’s rooftop bar to view the evening sunset before going downstairs for dinner. Number 74 on the menu was chicken! This might not seem like a great feat, but chicken isn’t a big item over here to my dismay.

People here aren’t as friendly as Germany. The guy at the information desk at the subway doesn’t sell tickets, doesn’t give change and doesn’t help you figure out the ticket you need. Not sure what they are paying him for.