The Carbonaro Effect

I recently stumbled upon the magic hidden camera TV show called 'The Carbonaro Effect' on Youtube and loved it. Shortly after, I found out he was performing in San Jose. I showed a few clips to my BIL and SIL and they were interested in going as well. I quickly bought tickets for the show.

It was held in City National Civic (the same place where we saw SPB perform previously). The hall was packed and the show started on time. The opening act was by another comedian-I forget his name-but he was pretty entertaining.

Once Michael came on stage, it truly was magic. He has such a great personality and he is an amazing performer. Every sentence and voice modulation was well prepared and delivered. The magic tricks were outstanding which was expected. What was impressive was the comic element to each of those acts that left us laughing. Every trick was mind blowing and there never was a dull moment in the show. Definitely worth watching.  There was no photography or videos allowed inside the hall so don't have any pictures of Michael.

San Francisco Opera-La Traviata

Vishnu has been keen on watching an opera for a while now. We didn't get a chance to see one in Prague or Budapest. So when I saw a Facebook ad for La Traviata playing in San Francisco, we decided to go see it before we head back to India.

We booked an airbnb in SF for the night as we also planned to go on a Hitchcock walking tour the next day. We took the Caltrain to the city, checked in to the hotel and then headed to the nearest wine bar. Sipping wine and munching on some yummy empanadas, we read up on the story of La Traviata. It was pretty straightforward.

This was Vishnu's chance of wearing a suit and he made the most of it. All dressed up, we went to the SF Opera house. It was buzzing with people, most of who were dressed very fancy in their ball gowns and tux. I think this may be one of the fanciest events I have been to in the five years I have lived in the US.

We had the cheapest tickets in the balcony so we had to go all the way up. There were a lot of people waiting for the elevator so we decided to walk it. Big mistake! The stairs were steep and I think we had to walk at least 5 floors. Not a good idea when you're in heels. Huffing and puffing, I reached my seat.

The hall was packed. When the curtain was lifted, I was taken aback by the grandeur of the set, costume and lighting. It was so perfect and well done. There were super titles without which there was no way of understanding the Italian songs. There were 3 acts in the show with 2 intervals of 20-25 minutes each. We managed to grab something to eat during the first break.

I loved the music by the live orchestra and the entire presentation. I had prepared myself to get bored and I was proven wrong. I definitely plan to listen to more opera music but without the lyrics and the singing.

After the show we went to an Irish bar and chilled out. The walking tour next day didn't happen due to the fact that we woke up late and also the poor air quality because of the recent forest fires. We returned home the next afternoon. 

Beer Tasting at Hermitage Brewery

As we get closer to our R2I plan, our friends Anne & Nush have been so particular about ensuring we do as many fun things before we leave. Beer tasting at Hermitage Brewery was one such.

We went there around 6p so that we could go for dinner after the tasting. I am not a beer drinker but I liked the idea of visiting the brewery and just hanging out. There was a giant brewing tank right near the entrance. The area where the brewing takes place can be viewed from outside. I hear there are tours offered with a walk-thru of the facility. We did not take the tour.

The place has a fun and relaxed vibe to it. There was indoor and outdoor seating available. They had a big board which listed the beers available with a brief description. They specialize in barrel aged sours. We decided to buy one tasting and share. A flight of 4 beers costs $10 with $3 extra for the sours. I was intrigued by the Cherry Almond Beer. The others we ordered were Maltopia, Ryetopia and another IPA whose name I forget. As expected I did not like any of the non-sour beers. I loved the Cheery Almond because it did not taste like beer at all-no bitterness whatsoever. It was super sour and had a slight sweetness. It reminded me of some of the fruity ciders/ales I have tried before only this was much more sour. It was very strong though with 7% ABV. I was buzzed after having just one. They were out of pretzels to much on and there is no food available for purchase either.

After a relaxed beer drinking session, we headed to a Chinese restaurant (Sweet Mango) for dinner followed by ice cream at Baskin Robbins. What a fun evening filled with great conversation, exploring new things and of course food!

The Cruicible-Play

A promotional email from Goldstar informed me of a play being performed at Bus Barn Theater in Los Altos. The play was called The Crucible based on a book of the same name by Arthur Miller. The blurb about the play caught my eye and piqued my interest. When I asked Anne and Nush if they'd like to go with us, they agreed.

Before the play, we had some delicious dinner at Opa Greek Restaurant in downtown Los Altos. The theater was within walking distance of the restaurant.

We picked up our tickets from the box office and were surprised to see that we got excellent tickets (2nd row from the front). Once a school bus-barn, the place is now a cosy theater with 99-odd seats.

The play was very entertaining as well as eye opening. It made me shudder to think that the events portrayed in the play were based on true inc

idents (the Salem witch trials). The actors were terrific, the sound and lighting were impressive. I was completely engrossed in the story and felt the lead characters' pain. There was a brief ten minute intermission and the play ended in about 3 hours.

I really enjoyed the experience and I look forward to watching a few more documentaries/films based on the topic.

Shakespeare in the Park: Hamlet

Watching Shakespeare In The Park each year has become a tradition for us. So far, we've watched Taming of the Shrew, Romeo & Juliet, Winter's Tale and now Hamlet.

Based on all the experience from the previous years, we managed to be fully prepared to have a good time. We carried lawn chairs, a tarp to sit on, a picnic dinner, snacks, drinks and lots of warm clothing. In addition, we reached there well ahead of time to score parking as well as good seats. We reached there almost an hour and a half before the show began. This time we had company. SIL, BIL and Ritwik joined us.

 

Sandhya and Gaurav were supposed to come too but that was a comedy of errors in itself.

They ended up going to Saratoga where another theater group was putting on a production of Hamlet. What are the chances of that!

Like every year, the show was fabulous, great actors, costume and direction. The only problem was the sound and could have been resolved if we had picked a spot near the loudspeakers. Luckily, the weather was good too so had a fantastic evening.  

Curious Incident Of the Dog In the Nighttime

I had read this book a while ago. So when I saw tickets for the play on Goldstar, I was interested. Sandhya and Gaurav were also keen so we booked tickets.

We saw the play at the SHN Golden Gate theater in San Francisco. We quickly grabbed dinner at a restaurant across the street. Since we had discount tickets, we got the balcony seats which weren't all that bad.

The story of the play was quite simple and straightforward. What stood out the most was the special effects and the use of technology to powerfully convey emotions, setting and move the story forward. The effects were brilliant and nothing that we ever seen on stage. The acting was decent but the production, lighting and effects over powered everything including the performance, dialogue and sometimes the story.

We had recently returned from our trip to Europe so both Vishnu and I were very jet lagged. It was an effort to keep our eyes open. Vishnu slept through a good part of the first half. Post the interval coffee, he was much better.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend the play for its mind blowing effects. I only wish we weren't this jet lagged and could have enjoyed it more.

Gilroy Wine Tasting

One Friday evening, Anne called me to ask if I was up for wine tasting in Gilroy the next day and I agreed.

It was a hot day and after an hour's drive reached our first winery 'Satori.' It was very brightly colored and well decorated. It had live music playing and was buzzing with people. I especially loved the colorful umbrellas. They offer Sangrias on Saturday and we were so thankful for the chilled drink on the hot afternoon. The Sangria tasted delicious with pieces of mangoes and raspberries. We hung out for a while and left when there were too many dogs surrounding our table.

Next, we hit Solis winery which was quite opposite to Satori. It was very quite and peaceful. Vishnu did a tasting. There was a perfect breeze blowing which instantly put us in a very relaxed state. We abandoned the idea of going to any other winery and hung out there chatting until we felt hungry.

We headed to Morgan Hills downtown and ate some tasty Mediterranean food and headed back home. This was a very fun impromptu outing.

Bollywood Dance: Part 2

After my last Bollywood dance show I continued practicing with Mona Khan Dance company for the non performance as well as the next performance quarter. I managed to drag Vishnu for the non performance class and I'd like to think he enjoyed himself.

 

The most recent session, I switched from the Cupertino class to the one in Santa Clara. Dhanashri was the instructor and Divya was coleading the class. The studio in Santa Clara is much smaller and the  number of people per class is way higher. We had almost 15 people in all which made the studio very crammed. Unlike last time, there were no weekend practices and general hangout which I missed badly.  In addition, there was some issue with my costume which was a little stressful. But it was fixed by the rehearsals. All these factors took away some of the fun from the class.

On the brighter side, I found the choreography much more easy to pick up than the previous sessions. Also, most of the others in class were decent dancers so our final performance looks in synch.

  

Here's the video of the performance. Since there were so many people on stage, it is quite zoomed out and difficult to see anyone's face.

 

Belly Dancing

I've been taking belly dancing classes for a while now. These classes are offered by the Sunnyvale Adult Education program. Beginner classes happen in Fremont High School.

 
Tracy was our instructor and for 8 weeks we learnt choreography for 2 songs-Perhaps Perhaps by Doris Day and Habibi Tal Aleya by Madonna. We learnt a lot of basic belly dance and Arabian dance moves which were quite fun. At the end of the 8 week session, Tracy had organized a student night where dancers from the beginner, intermediate and advanced classes perform and put on a show. Friends and family are welcome to watch. Potluck style dinner was served.

We were given colorful skirts and veils by Tracy who was kind enough to let us borrow them. Sandhya and I decided to do a duet Bollywood performance too. We met up a few days before the show and choreographed a dance sequence to 'Mauja Mauja.'


Our group was the first to perform. Since the audience was small (~40 people) and the fact that Tracy was dancing with us, I had no stage fear. The first dance went quite well. The Bollywood dance as I had anticipated lacked coordination as we barely practiced it and ended up looking messy. The audience still applauded and at the end of the show several dancers asked us to teach them the Bollywood moves and they seemed to have really enjoyed the dance.

 

For one of the songs, audience members and kids were called on to dance. It was a lot of fun. The best performance of the day was a solo dance with sword. The dancer balanced a sword on her head while belly dancing. She was so confident and her moves were perfect. The show ended with everyone coming to the floor and dancing away to the music.

Here are the performances:

Perhaps

Habibi

Mauja:

It was a wonderful experience to be a part of the show.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

After a long gap, I went to see a play. It was based on the book 'A thousand splendid suns' by Khalid Hosseini. I haven't read the book but decided to go for it as a bunch of girls (15 to be precise!) were planning to go.

The show was in American conservatory theater in San Francisco. I have never been to this theater before. We carpooled from the South Bay and reached the theatre around noon. We stopped by a nearby cafe to grab some lunch and meet the others in the group. The play started at 2.30 and went on until 4p with a ten minute interval.

The theater was impressive in its decor. Too bad pictures weren't allowed inside. The play was so well done. Everything from the set, acting, writing, music and lighting was perfect. I was absorbed in the story and could really connect with the characters. It is a very sad story that gave me a new perspective on life and the world we live in. By the end of the play, we stepped out awed by the performance with a tinge of sadness in our hearts.

I highly recommend watching the play and the theater.

Muir Woods

Muir Woods National Monument is located about 12 miles north of San Francisco. It is a beautiful park with giant redwood trees.

 It took us over an hour to drive from Sunnyvale. As we saw signs along the way that the parking lot was full, we went to the shuttle stop and waited another hour for the shuttle to arrive. It was freezing and as usual I didn't have enough layers. 

When we finally reached the park, we grabbed a map and decided to do the easiest trail that would take us 30 mins round trip. It was pretty flat, shaded and beautiful path. It was a bit crowded and there were some people who were talking loudly which took away from the serenity of the place.

We covered in the loop and got back to the entrance just in time for the shuttle back. I wish we had planned better and started early. We barely got an hour to spend inside the park after all the driving and waiting.

The park is scenic but I don't think it is much different from any of the other parks with giant redwoods. The state park in Santa Cruz is just as beautiful. So I'm not sure I would go through the trouble of driving all the far and wait for the shuttle when I can go to other parks. It may be that the other trails in the park lead to much more dramatic scenery but from what I saw, I won't be paying a second visit.