Snapshots from Christmas Town 2013

Visting Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Christmas Town for the first time marked a great way to celebrate the holiday season. The European-themed amusement park transforms into a yuletide world of sparkling lights, festive music, live performances, and dramatic decorations - all of which resulted in the following travelogue of photos and memories.

Christmas Town's shows including Gloria, with powerful vocal performances, and Miracles, a dance-themed musical. 

High-powered voices soar in Gloria!

Ballet and modern dance in Miracles

But the real stars of the park were the decorations, with each country sporting a distinctly different style. 

Ireland

Killarney boasted golden tinsel swags and green tinsel shamrocks, all interlaced with colored lights. Green and gold are not only Christmas colors but also colors in the Irish flag - clever. I made two stops at Annie's Pub for Christmas Town hot chocolate with whipped cream, delicious and warming.

Reminds me of Galway Bay Irish Pub in Annapolis,
with all the wood paneling and warm ambiance.

The leprechauns have been at work....

France

France's white, cerulean, and blush pink decor evoked the glitzy lives of bygone bourgeoisie and whimsical reflections of Parisian style. I even got a photo with some bizarre looking jesters. And they say American clowns are scary.

This gorgeous, gigantic Christmas tree sends forth thunderous carols from within... and in English, oddly. Fortunately, the rest of the music throughout France is in French, even a lovely rendition Jingle Bells - I mean Vive le Vent. The tree must be a welcoming committee for foreign tourists.

King, Queen, and Court Jesters do their best to frighten tourists in France.

Wine Tasting

The wine tasting at La Belle Maison left me feeling pretty educated. Turns out all of those fancy wine rituals aren't just for snobs, they actually have a purpose! Mind blown. For instance:

Tip a glass of red wine away from you a little and wiggling your fingers behind it. Whether or not you can see them shows how deep the color is. Color, like taste, makes each wine unique. 

When you swirl the wine around in your mouth, breathing in through your nose helps you taste even more flavors.

Check out Snooth and Vivino for advice on wine pairings, ratings, etc.

I especially had some things to learn about the temperatures that make wines happiest when served. "Americans," said the sommelier Nora, "serve white wine too cold and red wine too warm. You're supposed to serve red wine at room temperature, but room temperature means a cellar... in a medieval castle... in the dead of winter." So, all I need is a medieval castle and I'm all set.

I am now a fan of rosé, something I have never liked in the past. True French rosé "is neither cheap nor sweet," and is instead considered a delicacy in France. The wine tasting featured Rosé d'Anjou, which had a very elegant taste which, the sommelier explained, paired well with smoked turkey.

Beautiful statue in front of La Belle Maison. This statue disappeared
some time ago from France's town square, so I was happy to see it
had shown up again!

Rose d'Angou in my souvenir Christmas Town wine glass

Sadly, I had never done a wine tasting before, and I thought I would be rude unless I drank everything that was given to me. Ooopsie. Is it just me or is it hot in here?

Of course, no wine tasting is complete without a visit next door to... penguins? These penguins are real celebrities, residing in their own Ice Palace near La Belle Maison. I just wish I could have been on the flight to Williamsburg with them - pretty darn cute if you watch the video:

Germany

Dinner at Das Festhaus included a gluten-free pizza (baked in an oven-safe wrapper that prevented cross-contamination with gluten, unfortunately a must for anyone with life-threatening celiac disease like me - Busch Gardens is awesome). The always-festive Das Festhaus was even more bedecked than usual, with stunning chandeliers that reminded me of the Austrian chandelier in the Opera House in the Kennedy Center.

Later, we browsed shops boasting German-made wares ranging from beer steins and nutcrackers to carved hunting horns and cuckoo clocks. Since they were made in Germany rather than China, I could not afford them, but could afford to gawk!

French Canada

Passing through France again we meandered in French Canada, where the Yankee Candle Carver was hard at work as usual and Caribou Pottery was decked out for a woodsy Christmas. Most of the fauna were indoors, with the exception of a beautiful Cooper's Hawk whose keeper was rushing him inside before the afternoon chill set in.

Hand-dyed and handmade mushroom candles

A gentle, mellow Cooper's Hawk - gorgeous

I was dying to paint something at Caribou Pottery, but it takes a couple hours and the day was going by fast. We decided that next time we will have to take two days for Christmas Town.

Italy

Voyaging from French Canada into Italy unveils a vintage Christmas theme, replete with oversized mutli colored lights, giant clowing Santa heads (eeek!) and retro holiday-themed bill boards. Dean Martin replaces ancient Roma, and apparently his tradmark drinks abounded as well, as evident in the behavior of a gentleman who rushed up to me and enthused about how AWESOME!!! my outfit was. Attired in a curly brown scarf, my favorite winter hat (a huge furry ushanka), and a camel-colored winter coat, I thought I looked more like a terrifying squirrel, but to each his own.

Italy was one of my favorite sections in Christmas Town, being a vintage girl myself. My mother felt herself yanked back into her childhood memories of 1950s and 60s Christmases, but the panic in her eyes soon changed to enjoyment... I hope.

By now solidly nighttime, we boarded the train skirting around the perimeter of the park. I got yelled at by the conductor for leaning out of the train to get this shot. Whenever I see potential for a good photo all common sense goes out the window. Whoops.

By foot, the lights were spectacular as well, since you became immersed in the visual festivities on all sides. Such as:


...the smashed-up car at Verbolten, which joined in the holiday festivities...

...the clock tower in Banbury Cross...

...and Escape from Pompeii, now the Polar Pathway...

...and the O Tanenbaum light show in Oktoberfest...

Outdoor Concert Chronicles

Pink Martini at Wolf Trap

Oh, where to start... Pink Martini is one of my favorite bands ever. Wolf Trap is my favorite outdoor venue. So, Pink Martini + Wolf Trap = Yay!

Ridiculously talented, the group blends sultry world sounds with the nostalgic styles of the 1940s and 50s. Their lead singer, China Forbes, recently returned from successful vocal chord surgery, so it was a huge treat seeing her perform on July 1st.

I would have died for either of the dresses she wore for the concert. The first was a sweeping cherry-colored high-low gown which she wore with a sparkling bib-style necklace. The second, following intermission, was a black one-shoulder gown with embellishment at the shoulder and a side leg slit. I totally agree with my friend Maya, who turned to me and sobbed "I. Want. That. Dress!"

BSO at Oregon Ridge, Star Spangled Spectacular

This was both my first time visiting Oregon Ridge Park and my first time hearing the fabulous Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Our group wisely commandeered a picnic bench in the shade near the top of the hill, and covered it in a spread including chips, salsa-cream cheese chutney, avocado-yogurt dip, Chardonnay, pink lemonade, and gluten-free Trader Joe's cookies. A refreshing setup while we waited for the sun to set. By the time the fireflies came out, we were enjoying a cool, relaxing evening.

Emerging opera soprano Katie von Kooten presented patriotic songs from various eras, including selections from vaudeville & Broadway composer George M. Cohan (love him - he wrote "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandee" and "You're a Grand Ol' Flag"). She also performed modern Broadway favorites like "I Dreamed a Dream" from Le Miz and "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. Being a bit misty-eyed over the Le Miz rendition, I didn't have the presence of mind to film it, but did catch most of the Phantom pick. Lovely, rich voice:

The program ended with a nostalgic fireworks display. We endured a long wait leaving the parking lot - tons of cars (shudder)! But well worth it, honestly.


Scythian at the Annapolis Irish Festival

My favorite local (more or less) band, Scythian is a DC-based group with a celtic-gypsy-world-americana sound. It all makes sense when you hear their distinct, infectious sound. The Annapolis Irish Festival, now in its third year, was crowded to the point that people had arrived early and set up tents in front of the main stage. Great to see it's taking off, but a challenge to find a place to stand without getting in people's way. We ended up standing a bit off to the side and shading ourselves from the sun with my rainbow-colored umbrella, which at least has some green in it. I may want to invest in an old-fashioned parasol next time. Every girl needs one, just sayin'.

It was hot, about 85 degrees, and the humidity made it feel about ten degrees hotter. But I wouldn't have missed Scythian for the world, even for a cold, refreshing mimosa. Especially since I'd already had one this morning. Anyway....

Scythian drew from a variety of their repertoire, including some of my favorites like "Hey Mama Ya," a 'Nawlins style number; "Dance All Night," and - my favorite - "Jack Dempsey." They're always fun and always great at interacting with the crowd.

Sure, Maryland's summers are blistering and humid, but it's worth braving the energy-zapping heat for the outdoor concerts in the area. And now, I'm going to go drink three gallons of iced tea. And maybe pour some of it on my head.