Manon

Saturday night, my friend Lisa treated me to a fabulous birthday dinner followed by the ballet, "Manon", performed by the Royal Ballet - London's famous ballet company. Both the dinner and the ballet were at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. We ate dinner at the Kennedy Center Terrace Restaurant which is not only convenient, but has a wonderful menu. The ballet was performed in the "Opera House" theater within the center. (Inside the Kennedy Center, there are a number of theaters and stages, so there are many concurrent performances.)

I had potato leek soup with smoked scallops as an appetizer. I'd never had smoke scallops - they were quite good! That was followed by an absolutely fabulous entree of sea scallops with saffron Israeli couscous. The sauce for the scallops and flavoring of the couscous was wonderful! I finished off my meal with Rhubarb/Raspberry Creme Brulee. The fruit flavoring was very subtle, and the custard was fantastic!

After dinner, we wandered out on the terrace where I took some photos of the Potomac River and some Washington, DC landmarks.

The domed building on the left (in the distance) is the Jefferson Memorial. The rectangular building is the Lincoln Memorial. The photo on the right is a closer view of the Lincoln Memorial. I love the detail on the outside of the memorials.









In the distance, at the top of the hill, you can see the National Cathedral. It was a bit hazy...especially over the water and facing west. The second photo has a view of the Washington Monument.

The photo on the left has a view looking down the terrace of the Kennedy Center toward the Watergate...the scene of the infamous Nixon era Watergate break-in. The second photo is a river view...I love the arches on the 2nd bridge - the architecture is lovely!








The ballet was wonderful. The costuming was incredible - from the very simplistic to the exceedingly elaborate. And the dancing....oh, the dancing! I could not believe some of the routines! The elegance coupled with the sheer athleticism was awe inspiring! If you've never experienced a ballet in person, it's definitely a "must do".

Many thanks to Lisa for such a wonderful evening!