If you are imagining me out in the wilderness camping in a tent—get the thought outta your head! That isn’t me idea of a magical evening.
I’m not that kind of camping girl. I’m afraid of fire and bugs.
I’m talking about real enchanting magic. We went to Cirque du Soleil Tuesday night and it was beyond any spectacle I could ever imagine.
This is the tent I was talking about!
Let me tell you about our evening….
Bonaparte thought it would be a nice night out if we saw Cirque due Soleil. Neither of us had ever seen it and have heard great things about the many different performances and themes. Of the two of us, I was the one who was ambivalent about going but the Frenchman insisted. And he thought it would be a fun outing for us to take his granddaughter.
I think the Frenchman just wanted to see Cirque du Soleil because of the french roots!!
So, we made a true evening out of it.
The three of us sat down to a meal of my home-made mac & cheese—of which Miss Sophie had two healthy servings. For dessert she also had two helpings of the frozen nougatine that I made. It’s such a pleasure for me to see a child enjoying a meal!
This was a pound of macaroni, three cheeses and a thick bechamel sauce. Bonaparte who claims this is peasant food ate 3/4 of this….glad he left some for Sophie and me!
Here’s dessert. Nougatine drizzled with Chocolate sauce–because Sophie loves chocolate sauce!
We headed off for the four-minute drive. Cirque du Soleil was supposed to be held in Philly—right in center city but there was some sort of issue with the space; and so, it was moved to Oaks, which is up the road.
This really exceeded any expectations that I had!
I pass this tent on the way to work every day. And it doesn’t look as large from the road as it is IRL. The tent was huge and thank God, air conditioned. Our seats were incredible. Third row from the stage so we had a great view.
Here’s where the magic happens!
Sophie with Bon-papa! Ever the Parisien, he was upset that she wore sneakers. She’s eight years old. Was she supposed to wear heels?
As luck would have it, Sophie was seated behind a woman with a Marge Simpson updo; and as soon as Bonaparte was ready to switch seats with her, an usher showed up with a booster seat. Talk about a child-friendly venue! They thought of everything.
We had fantastic seats but this is like watching a ball game at Fenway–there ARE no bad seats!! I wanna go again!
The show itself ran a total of around 2 ½ hours with a 25-minute intermission. On a Tuesday night, it was mobbed, it was almost a sell-out. We were lucky to get the tickets that we did!
And during the intermission, my gurl Basimah found the last blue slushie for Sophie. If you go to see Volta in Oaks, you HAVE to go to the concession stand where Basimah works. Her smile is infectious and she’s the best!!
Now—I really had no expectations other than thinking I would fall asleep because I’ve been working so hard at work. That wasn’t the case. I can’t even begin to tell you how spell-binding this Volta themed story of Cirque du Soeil was. Since I don’t believe in spoilers, there is a theme to the story about freeing yourself. And the way it was done was with such vibrant energy and entertainment.
Sophie told Bonaparte that she and I were “two peas in a pod”. I think that ranks me as the cool granny! I’m hip!1
Sadly, I wasn’t able to take photos once the show started but I did manage to copy some for you from the website.
The freespirits! The costumes were so hippie-bright. I must admit though, I wanted to run up on stage and put the long-haired guys hair in a man bun!
This was nothing compared to the four people that ended up doing all sorts of fun double-dutching with the ropes!
I thought this was cool until it was outdone when she stood on his head while he unicycled!
A central part of the story this cutie on wheels was…
This guy ended up suspended in air..
There was a lot of air time..
As I used to be a baton twirler, the baton twirling dancer was crazy good–she worked four at a time!!
(John Mahoney / MONTREAL GAZETTE) ORG XMIT: 58504 – 3135
Bonaparte and I considered this the showstopper. Although this photo is from the Montreal show, the woman who did this ariel dance suspended by her HAIR in the air was mesmerizing. I could have watched this for two hours!
Another showstopper was the BMX portion of the show. These guys were nuts–I can’t even with what these guys did! Totally fearless!!!
The costumes. The talent. The excitement. The entertainment. I would love to see this again and again. But seating is very hard to come by during this stop of the tour.
I want to be a member of the Cirque Club!
Overall, it was an A+ evening. I’m not even going to ask my stepdaughter, Claire, what time Sophie went to sleep from all the sugar I let her have. But that’s part of the fun of being a grandparent!!!!
Cotton Candy and…
A blue Slushie (shhh..my husband was not pleased to see this. Oops! My bad!)
All good things must come to an end…
Leaving the scene..
Well, perhaps there were no stars but it WAS the tent under the moon!
I got Sophie and me matching Volta bags!!
Here’s a video I found of our favorite part of the show! She’s just so beautifully graceful. Enjoy!
That looks like a fun night :O) x
OMG. It was! I am still smiling over the fun we had!!! I’m now a Cirque du Soleil fan!!!! XOXOXOXO
I can see why 😉😊
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Fantastic!!! I’ve seen two Cirque productions and want to see more!!! Top notch! Sounds as if you all had a glorious evening together – starting at home with the perfect dinner!!
Hi Vava! Oh. I’ve already told the Frenchman that moving forward we need to make taking his granddaughter to see Cirque whenever they are in town. He agreed!!!! XOXOXOXO
Such an incredible show…but how is the hair routine done(?)…wow…we saw a Cirque show with horses in Denver…it was unbelievable…I have to tell you, Catherine, I did laugh at your mention of the baton twirler…we are most definitely “soul sisters”…in so many funny ways. What a wonderful evening…thanks for taking us with you. 🙂
Jeanne. She was suspended by a topknot to a bungee. I’m guessing it was some sort of hairpiece but OMG–it was the most beautiful thing! LOL! I wanted to run out on the stage and twirl those batons with her. She did the most amazing toss turnarounds!!! You and the girls would LOVE this!!!!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO
I’d say Sophie’s comment about the two of you being two peas in a pod is the very definition of a cool granny! Rock on with your bad self!
xo,
Kellyann
LOL. Thanks Kellyann. Yeah. I definitely am not the strict granny–I was strict with my kids–now it time to be the fun and naughty granny!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Awesome! And I agree with you on tents and camping. My idea of camping is staying at a 1-star motel!
Jackie–Right??? Ewww. I just don’t have it in me!!!! XOXOXOXOXO
What a fun evening! – Amy
http://stylingrannymama.com/
Hi Ames!!!! It was a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXOXOXOX
Oh my. You have such a wonderfully active life! I’m almost jealous. But I really enjoy your blog. You don’t know it but you have brought me back around to make up and it’s making me feel better. I’m older than you but your suggestions and instructions are on point.
Keep posting! It’s so fun experiencing your life vicariously.
Hi Linda. Thank you very much for your very kind compliments. You have no idea how happy it makes me that I’ve helped to get you back into the swing of makeup. Seriously. Thank you so much–and I’ll keep on posting!!! XOXOXOXOXO
That looks fantastic – as for the blue slushy thing, kids have to be kids. I used to tie myself in knots over the local food until a health visitor said to me during a work meeting her precious and only child ate absolute junk at times and she rationalised it by the kid needs to fit in and a little now and then will highlight all the good food they eat with their families 🙂 I was thinking about you last night when I was making clafoutis – I had hidden my precious cherries but we had some plums and apricots and blackcurrants that did the job, it was delicious (Rachel Khoo recipe for the batter). Oh and I finally remembered – I was going to ask you what you are reading at the moment, I have seen the glorious https://middle-agedwarrior.com/ had a post on her blog about Lisa Jewell, so I thought hmmmm find out what other people are reading as well, Im on a reading splurge at the mo as you can tell from my blog, but yeah – what are people reading and does it change with the seasons?
Hey JuIliet!! I’m reading…………………….PERFUME!!!!!!!!!!! Finally and it is GREAT!!!!!!! Thank you! I have a Rachel Khoo book and I’ll check it out for her batter! My pediatrician back in NYC told me that there is no such thing as junk food–but there is a junk food diet. He basically said to allow the kids to have sweets in moderation or else they will go crazy and survive on junk. He was so correct. I never banned a level of junk when they were growing up because they ate three very strong and healthy meals and now as adults, they are total foodies!! Moderation is key! XOXOXOXO
I am so glad you like that book – I recommended to a friend and she hated it – she seriously thought I was ill or deranged, that made me wonder why she didnt get it and if she was the person I thought she was (she has recommended some absolute clangers back), one day I will get to Grasse 🙂 probably with a copy in my bag
Perfume is such a brilliant book. Great film too
Glorious! 😳☺️😃