High brow, low brow, and everything in between

This weekend Nathan's parents came into to town to celebrate his birthday and to spend a little time in beautiful Durham.

On Friday evening, Nathan and his dad finished installing the light fixtures in our master bath. For dinner, Nathan's parents treated us to a delightful meal at Four Square. The food was excellent, however, the atmosphere was a little odd. The restaurant is located in a historical home, and we ate in one of the bedrooms. Thank goodness, there was no bed to speak of in any of the upstairs rooms because that would have been a little odd. The walls, though, were barren, which made for a very noisy dinner even though there were very few people in our room.


Saturday was a very ambitious day!

We started the day with a visit to the Nasher Museum of Art to see the exhibit, El Greco to Velazquez: Art during the reign of Philip III. This is the first exhibition to show both Spanish masters in context with other accomplished painters of their time. This exhibition is only being shown here in Durham and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Here is an excerpt from the website:

The exhibition features 53 paintings, including seven late works by El Greco, three early works by Velázquez and works by their contemporaries, lesser known but talented artists. One of the most important old master exhibitions ever presented in the Southeast, "El Greco to Velázquez" will feature monumental altar pieces, life-size portraits, some of the earliest still-life paintings in Europe, full-length carved and painted wooden sculptures of Spanish mystics and more than 50 pieces of Spanish glass and ceramics. Many works are traveling to this country for the first time, some from the churches for which they were originally commissioned.

The work of these overlooked painters - among them Juan Sánchez Cotán, Gregorio Fernández, Juan Bautista Maino and Luis Tristán - formed the foundation for the Spanish Golden Age. The show brings to life the little-known period of 23 years (1598-1621) when Philip III ruled Spain, and when Spain dominated the world with holdings greater than the Roman Empire. This period of Spanish history - with its pageantry, religious passion, art patronage, fashions, political intrigue and literary accomplishments - rivals the eras of Elizabethan England and France under King Louis XIV of France.

My favorite painting was the Adoration of the Magi (1612-1614) by Juan Bautista Maino. This piece of work towered above the viewer at more than ten feet high and the colors were magnificent. Maino used brilliant purples, blues, and reds to portray luxurious drapery and clothing. He also used lighting in such a way that the whole painting pops! The greatness of this painting cannot be captured through a picture seen on the web. You cannot see all the details and the splendor of the colors.

There were several portraits that were amazing! I cannot believe the detail that was put into portraying the garments. Also we saw some of the earliest and most sophisticated examples of still life paintings.



After a cultural morning of art, we went to Toast to have lunch. Dare I say, I may like the food here better than Guglhuphf? However, Guglhuphf's selection is much wider, and you can't beat their baked goods or the fact that they have coffee.

The afternoon was an adventure for all four of us, as we made our way to Orange County Speedway to watch some auto racing. Described at the America's fastest 3/8 track - we were not disappointed. We arrived at 2pm and watched 3 races. The Southern Ground Pounders 25, which in my opinion was the most exciting. These little cars were modified stock cars so they looked funny and the drivers couldn't seem to keep them on the track. There were several wrecks and they only went 25 laps which was quick and exciting. The wrecks were not only exciting when they happened, but the track had this little green car that would come out and circle the track making sure their was no scraps or oil on the track. This car may have been my favorite part. Who can resist a car that has a face painted on the front of it?
Next was the Grand Stock 35. This race also started off with a wreck and was full of excitement. Finally we watched the Limited 75. This race was too long for me. Once the cars were in a groove they stayed in the same positions until the finish. While there was still more racing to come, we left at 4pm.
The race was pretty exciting, and even Nathan's parents seemed to enjoy themselves. The whole event would have been 100 times better if it were 10-15 degrees warmer. It was cold! Maybe next year we might go back when it is a little warmer.

The end of our day was topped off with a birthday party for Nathan. But before everyone arrived (actually Nathan was still working when people got here), Nathan, Kevin, and I installed the mirrors in our bathroom. It is finally complete! Well, I still want to put up some art, and I've have had my eye on a few pieces at Etsy.

Graham and Camden interacting

Graham "singing" Nathan happy birthday before he went home

We had a really nice time with everyone. Michelle and Mark brought Camden. Elese and Christoph brought Graham. And Keith and Erin came with Keith's sister, Brooke and her 1 1/2 year old son Teagan. It was great that everyone could come!