May 28th

A word of advice if you´re going to Vienna: Beware of men in frock coats. At every major cultural site there are men in 18th century costumes (with surprisingly nice wigs) who want you to come see a Mozart concert and they will NOT LEAVE YOU ALONE. Stop giving the 18th century a bad name!

After picking up my opera ticket and getting harassed by men in frock coats, I went inside my first Gothic cathedral. They had some sort of colored light display up which was really cool- all the bright modern colors projected onto the gothic architecture. After that I went to the Sisi Museum and imperial apartments at the HOfburg Palace. I liked the way the Sisi museum was set up, but there was barely any text, so the only way to know what was going on was to rent an audioguide, which I hate. All I got was that she was an Empress, seemed to have bad depression, tried to escape from court life, and was assassinated.

The only problem with the cathedral and the museums was that they were total zoos and the walking lanes were so narrow you couldn´t move through and people were just standing in the middle, listening to their audio guides and you couldn´t get through. It made me claustrophobic and grumpy and made it difficult to enjoy the museums. This does not bode well for Versailles which will be ten times worse. I´m really nervous because I don´t do well in squished crowded places and I´ve been looking forward to Versailles for like a million years and it´s the top thing I wanted to do on this trip and what if I can´t enjoy it?

Then I was going to treat myself to a nice dinner before the opera but I was running behind schedule so I ended up at McDonalds. European McDonalds' are so fancy. And they ahve little electronic kiosks where you can place your order.

Then I rushed over to Staatsoper to see Manon. I had a great view and the opera was amazing. The singer playing Des Grieux in particular was AMAZING, and I really liked what they did with the set. I do wish it had been set in it´s original setting, the 18th century, as much as I enjoyed the costumes and the sets, 18th century stuff is always better. It was just so cool, there I was in Vienna at the big opera house listening to opera. So amazing!! Sometimes I really can´t believe my life.

Last night I went to a concert at the orangerie at Schonbrunn, which is where Mozart gave his first concert. There was an orchestra and opera singers and (mediocre) ballet. They played Mozart and Strauss, and I really loved the Strauss half. I have yet to meet a Strauss piece I don´t like. After all this music I´m so ready to start singing again.