From cheese to the Philharmonic!

The week started out with a visit to Murray’s Cheese, a well know cheese shop in NYC, for a cheese tasting class Monday night!!   I can definitely say I will be a regular patron of Murray’s as long as I’m in NYC.  It was great fun, very informative and we tasted cheeses I would have never tried otherwise.  The class was 1 1/2 hours long and the lady teaching the class was very, very knowledgeable.

We learned many interesting facts and factoids about cheese.  One of the more interesting was the fact that of the four major animals whose milk is used to make cheese – goats, sheep, cows and water buffalo!!! – the water buffalo milk is the highest in fat content. (And the hardest to milk domestically!!)  We did try some cheese made from water buffalo milk and it was delicious.   In addition, most water buffalo cheese for sale comes from – Lombardia, Italy – go figure.   They apparently have figured out better than others, how to milk the water buffalo more efficiently.  How the water buffalo got to Lombardia – who knows.  But the cheese was delicious.

This morning, I changed gears a little and got another kind of culture.  I had tickets to an open rehearsal of the New York Philharmonic at the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.   Needless to say, the venue is beautiful, and it was quite enjoyable.

And I got to wear my jeans instead of a suit or a tux.  The orchestra personnel and even the conductor were mostly wearing very casual clothes (the conductor, Antonio Pappano, was in a black T-shirt and black

jeans!)  The rehearsal was for the ‘official’ program that starts tonight and runs 3 nights at Lincoln Center.

The program was: “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis”, Vaughan Williams; “Piano Concerto, Op. 13”, Britten; “Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78”, Saint-Saens.  I really liked the first number, wasn’t too crazy about the second and enjoyed the last.  For the most part, the orchestra ran through the entire program, although, there were some times when the conductor would stop everything

and talk to them about how he wanted something done and then they’d crank up again.  It was kind of fun to watch the process.  The whole thing lasted about 2 1/2 hours.  I’m already checking the website to see when the next open rehearsal is – great fun!

I haven’t lost sight of the fact that I have two major bike rides coming up later this year  (Glacier Park, including up Going to the Sun Highway (July); and Australia/NZ (fall)) so I’ve been a regular at the gym next door when I’m not out exploring the city.   Jordan comes over and hangs out whenever she can, which usually gives me a chance to brush up on my calculus and chemistry!!  In any case, I’m still enjoying my stay here in NYC.  (But, truth be told, I do spend time on line looking at property in Montana!!  :0)  )  More to come.