Music Week and some more

This week had a definite concert theme. We started out by seeing the Roots on Tuesday at a theater/club downtown. It was excellent hip-hop from the States and with a very crowded, mostly foreign audience.

Wednesday was Malte's birthday. He is one of our 6 USC students, so naturally we offered up a mid-week birthday party at our house. We decided to have a dinner with homemade sushi for 10-12 people. A few hours later it was 15-20 and then when it came down to it, I was told to expect 30. 30!..and on a Wednesday. We made a ton of sushi and had a great time. There was salmon and eel sushi, many unexpected wasabi surprises, good music, some dancing, and three small Häagen-Dazs ice cream cakes to top it all! Once again, the guards from downstairs came-a-knockin...but we don't let that trample the fun too much!

A few of the peeps at the party with Malte in his black silk Chinese birthday attire:

Following the craziness on Wednesday was a trip to the London Symphony Orchestra on Thursday. I really wanted to go, mainly because I knew they were playing a great Beethoven violin concerto and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, so I got Sarah and Baptiste to go with me. Yes..between the orchestra and the hip-hop, the music part of our brains was a little confused this week. The best part of this concert was the encore: Star Wars! This was the orchestra that originally recorded the music for the movie 30 years ago AND this was one of the last times that the original trumpet soloist would be playing it in the orchestra. Amazing! We are talking 8 tympanies and 4 harps. I'm just sayin.

It is now Friday night, and needless to say, we are too exhausted to leave the house. ..even if it is the weekend. So we are having two Frenchies and a Mexican over for cheese, sausage and wine instead! (Midterms are next week...so we should start studying...tomorrow)