The Pantzers in Aspen

July 5-6: Aspen days

Well things have progressed admirably in the Pantzer household. Warren applied his “dog with a bone” approach and we now have wifi! We also have a car that works. And there’s a new television coming on Thursday after Warren discovered that the Aspen TV is not only not smart, it’s also very old.

Yesterday, we took a drive to Basalt (driven by Warren’s friend, Mike) and had a delicious paella at a restaurant called Tempranella.

In the afternoon, I went to a lovely concert in the Klein music tent. The chamber orchestra played pieces by Ades, Bruch and Mendelssohn. For the updated Ades piece (called The Origin of the Harp) which had its US premiere at this concert, one of the percussionists played the strings of a piano (to mimic an African instrument which was not available in Aspen). Sammy, have you ever played your piano like this?

Today I took a long walk along the Rio Grande trail, while listening to the music of John Denver!! ( there’s a John Denver sanctuary along the trail so thought I’d better soak up the atmosphere). The trail runs along the Roaring Fork river and it was perfect walking weather. Cool, sunny, no wind! Even saw a deer!

When I passed through the music tent area, I could see that Mike had already reserved our spots on the lawn for this afternoon’s concert

At this time of year, the air is filled with white cotton from cotton bush shrubs which looks like falling snow, and gathers in bunches along the pathways. Not great for people with allergies.

After a late brunch, took a stroll through town. Love this sign…

The flowers in the town are absolutely gorgeous.

Today’s concert featured composers Wagner, Ades and Brahms. It’s quite magical sitting on the lawn with the sun on your back and listening to great music.

And there were plenty of concert going dogs, with not a bark out of them for the two hours of the concert.

The scenery and the music here are really hard to take (not)!