Sunday, December 13, 2009

Santa Lucia last night and the Mesijah (Messiah) on Wednesday

The senior missionaries in Riga got together last evening for dinner at a new (to us) restaurant. I had wok chicken and veggies which were quite good. Our embassy friend Mischa joined us and ordered a raspberry white chocolate pie. She took one bit and then passed it around (she was headed for a party at the Marine house where there would be lots of food and besides she's lost a total of 70 lbs in about the last year and is trying to be careful about what she eats (she ate a plate of steamed veggies). Anyway, the pie was soooo good, with fresh raspberries.

Mischa went her way and the rest of us walked over to Olde Towne and looked at their Christmas booths for an hour or so. We then went to the Domas Cathedral for Santa Lucia by the Swedish choir. A 2nd choir took part, also. They are bank workers (Nordea Banka) who got together about 6 months ago to form a choir. They were very good. The highlight for me, though, was the wonderful Latvian soprano Inessa Galante. She sang at the Santa Lucia performance last year, also. She has one of the most beautiful, rich voices. And, I just discovered that you can listen to her by googling Inessa Galante, which will lead you to some performances on YouTube.

After the concert, we all walked about 20 minutes to the apartment of the S&I (formerly CES) couple, Elder and Sister Carson, for dessert. They had a variety of things for us to sample. Fortunately for me, they were all chocolate except for a cherry torte. Then we walked about 5 minutes to the bus stop, and another 5 minutes from the bus stop to our apartment. We get lots of exercise here!

On Wednesday, we will be going to the Mesijah (Messiah) also in the Domas Cathedral. Last year I nearly froze in the Cathedral but last night it was warmer, plus I was probably dressed better for the cold, plus until yesterday it has been quite mild here so the Cathedral felt warmer when we went inside. It's supposed to be colder this week, so we'll see how cold it is for The Messiah.

Elder Gubler has been our social secretary, unofficially, and has kept us informed about the concerts. He and Sister Gubler leave for home on Friday, so we'll see how much more culture I enjoy before I leave in May.

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