Title describes the event pretty well.
We have a Christmas time traditions, started before Melen was even 1 year old, we go to Marshall Field's Walnut Room in downtown Chicago for breakfast, then see the real Santa at Marshall Fields, and then every few years we go to see the Nutcracker Suite ballet.
So Macy's destroyed our tradition by buying Marshall Field's and turning it into a junk department store with cut rate goods, tatted up surly help and lousy service. But they kept the Walnut Room open so we continue our annual pilgrimage and each year Macy's has made the grand Christmas tree in the center of the room worse, and more generic. Melen has been too grown up to see Santa for many years. Funny but a few other tables around us were making similar comments about how the grand old State Street store has gone so badly down hill under Macy's ownership. Apparently we are not the only family to think so.
Anyway, we have our Walnut Room breakfast, do a bit of shopping, about 12;45pm I wander down to the Starbucks cafe in the lower level of the store and get a triple espresso to fortify me for the 2pm matinee ballet.
Drink that down and go to the parking garage with the family, and a trunk load worth of shopping bags, and wisk them off to 50 E. Congress Pkwy and the very grand old gilt covered Auditorium Theatre for the ballet.
We find our seats, which were better than expected, main floor, just off the center, and just far enough back to see the whole stage but not so far back that we couldn't see the individual expressions on the faces of the performers.
Lights dim.
Orchestra starts playing.
My head starts dropping.
Off to sleep I went.
Apparently a triple espresso is not all its cracked up to be?
Most expensive nap I ever took
Thankfully the applause woke me for the intermission, and I was wide awake for 20 minutes while the lights were on. Took a photo of the two hot French ladies sitting in front of me and the usher scolded me for taking a photo when NO CAMERAS ARE ALLOWED . . . but it was their camera!
Lights dimmed again and the 2nd Act was to begin.
Orchestra started playing again.
Head started to sag.
Off to sleep again.
Well I can say that what parts of it I did see were very good. Don't ask for a full review. Or if you want a better review of the ballet, use Google to find one of those. On the other hand, the old Auditorium Theatre is spectacular.
We have a Christmas time traditions, started before Melen was even 1 year old, we go to Marshall Field's Walnut Room in downtown Chicago for breakfast, then see the real Santa at Marshall Fields, and then every few years we go to see the Nutcracker Suite ballet.
So Macy's destroyed our tradition by buying Marshall Field's and turning it into a junk department store with cut rate goods, tatted up surly help and lousy service. But they kept the Walnut Room open so we continue our annual pilgrimage and each year Macy's has made the grand Christmas tree in the center of the room worse, and more generic. Melen has been too grown up to see Santa for many years. Funny but a few other tables around us were making similar comments about how the grand old State Street store has gone so badly down hill under Macy's ownership. Apparently we are not the only family to think so.
Anyway, we have our Walnut Room breakfast, do a bit of shopping, about 12;45pm I wander down to the Starbucks cafe in the lower level of the store and get a triple espresso to fortify me for the 2pm matinee ballet.
Drink that down and go to the parking garage with the family, and a trunk load worth of shopping bags, and wisk them off to 50 E. Congress Pkwy and the very grand old gilt covered Auditorium Theatre for the ballet.
We find our seats, which were better than expected, main floor, just off the center, and just far enough back to see the whole stage but not so far back that we couldn't see the individual expressions on the faces of the performers.
Lights dim.
Orchestra starts playing.
My head starts dropping.
Off to sleep I went.
Apparently a triple espresso is not all its cracked up to be?
Most expensive nap I ever took
Thankfully the applause woke me for the intermission, and I was wide awake for 20 minutes while the lights were on. Took a photo of the two hot French ladies sitting in front of me and the usher scolded me for taking a photo when NO CAMERAS ARE ALLOWED . . . but it was their camera!
Lights dimmed again and the 2nd Act was to begin.
Orchestra started playing again.
Head started to sag.
Off to sleep again.
Well I can say that what parts of it I did see were very good. Don't ask for a full review. Or if you want a better review of the ballet, use Google to find one of those. On the other hand, the old Auditorium Theatre is spectacular.
