Last Night of the Proms

Sophie requested to watch the Last Night of the Proms rather than the children's channel this morning (Saturday morning). She was enthralled with the gorgeous looking Scottish violinist. By the time Rule Britannia was sung, she had gathered all of the appropriate supplies (the mess around her is mostly her's) and even the correct flag. It was so cute to watch her enjoy the concert.

Notice how she mouthed the last few words. ;-)

First Orchestra

The Duesseldorf Symphony had a family day open house today. A perfect opportunity for Sophie to see her first orchestra in action. We watched school orchestras perform in the foyer for a bit, among other pieces they played Grieg's Peer Gynt.

 Then we went upstairs into the symphony hall for a shortened performance of Bizet's Carmen. 

 I have never been to the Duesseldorf Symphony, called Tonhalle, myself. It is in the old planetarium and thus a beautiful hall. This picture is a bit blurred, but it gives you an idea of what the ceiling looks like. Very atmospheric.

 Sophie was quite fascinated to see a whole orchestra for the first time. Now she realizes how many musicians it takes to play her favorite princess music. Her favorite instrument at the moment is the violin by the way. She is on the waiting list for the Clara-Schumann School of Music in Duesseldorf (such a fancy name, I love it) for an early music education program. Fingers crossed that she will get a spot for the fall.

Outside there was more play for the kids. There was also a huge balancing ball which you could stand on and which Sophie actually did stand on. Unfortunately I had my hands full spotting her on the ball so that I was not able to take a picture. They were really cool. 

Looking for Neverland in London

On the itinerary today: 

Sightseeing (above all show Sophie where Kate and Wills got married), find a pirate ship in the middle of London for Sophie, then a night off for Mama and Daddy.

 First stop: Westminster

 Somebody is pulling faces and it's not Big Ben.

 Open Sesame!

(at Palace of Westminster)

 The Horse Guards in Whitehall

We checked out the Mall being prepared for tonight's concert, Trafalgar Square and had lunch in the Crypt Café under St Martin in-the-Fields.

Then we had to go find that pirate ship playground.

 And here it is: at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens (near Kate's future home). It was the most impressive playground I have ever seen. All fenced in and only people with children were allowed in. It was built based on the Peter Pan story with the ship being the absolute highlight of the park. 

 Sophie went wild!

 She found the music court

 Here she is brewing a magic potion in the fairy tale section

 Then it was back to the pirate ship and up the crow's nest. Can you spot her near the top?

 "I am Peter Pan and you are Captain Hook!"

Then she jumped off the ship so many times trying to fly until she banged her chin on her knee and came crying.

 As I mentioned before, tonight was a night off for Andrew and I. - Thank you Sandra! - While Sophie and Auntie Sandra were painting their nails and watching the big concert for the Queen at the hotel, we went back to Saint Martin-in-the-Fields for this concert.

 Andrew found another person's blog on the internet about this concert with some very good pictures:

http://blog.londonconnection.com/2012/06/04/st-martin-in-the-fields-for-mozarts-coronation-mass/

Can you see me on picture 8? That is how good our seats were - we looked the sopranos in the eyes.

 This is us enjoying an intermission drink back in the Crypt.

Our concert was fantastic; the most enjoyable one I have been to.

After singing out loud to Rule Britannia, Andrew felt ready to conquer the world as we stepped out onto Trafalgar Square. Instead we "invaded" the Mall to see the last hour of the big concert there. 

It was a breathtaking atmosphere - so many people and everyone was just enjoying themselves. 

We "saw" Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney, watched the Queen light the beacon and were amazed by the fireworks display. Truly a once in a lifetime event.