I’m not dead

(Driving into Cleveland.)

Last Sunday M and I went up to Cleveland to see Spamalot at the Palace Theater.  We left home early so I could get a few photos before the show, but it turned out that it wasn’t early enough.  We thought parking would be easy on a Sunday morning, but hadn’t done our research well enough to know there was a Cavs game that must have started fairly early in the day as there was quite a bit of car and foot traffic near the Q.

It was a beautiful morning for taking pictures but, alas, we were unable to find a parking spot near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where I wanted to take some shots.  We didn’t have time to park a good distance away and walk so we went right to the theater district to find a parking spot near there before the show.

M and I have been fans of  Monty Python’s Flying Circus for a long time.  One of the first movies we saw together while we were dating was And Now For Something Completely Different.  We have Monty Python and the Holy Grail on video tape and DVD, having bought them as they became available.

Did you know Monty Python and the Holy Grail was voted the most popular “Scottish” film at IMDB?  The film was shot almost entirely in Scotland.  During our first trip to Scotland, M and I made a point of putting Doune Castle on our itinerary (Doune Castle was featured in the film as several of the castles).  We weren’t able to do more than a drive-by due to time constraints, but at least we came home with several photos of the castle.

Richard Chamberlain played King Arthur in the production of Spamalot that we saw.  I thought he was quite good in the part, especially since it seemed to me he looked a lot like the current version of the Burger King which added more weirdness and wackiness to the production (something you’d hardly think was possible when it comes to anything associated with Monty Python).

The show was fabulous.  Brilliant.  Wacky.  Hilariously funny.  M and I laughed a lot.  We were both laughing so hard at times that tears were streaming from our eyes.  As far as I could see, the same was true for most of the audience members around us.  I think it was one of the best laughs and times I’ve ever had at a musical or any theater production.

If Spamalot is coming to your area — and you like Monty Python — go see it.  You’ll love it.  (I’m aware that the humour of Monty Python doesn’t appeal to everyone.  They seem to fall into that “you either love it or you hate it” category.)

(Building near Cleveland’s theater district.)

Because we had gone to a matinee performance of Spamalot, I did have the time and light to take a few photographs after the show.  The sky wasn’t as clear and blue as it had been earlier, and clouds had begun to move in.  Not the most perfect conditions for picture taking, but not bad either.

(Entrance to the Hanna building, also in the Theater District.)

We walked around the Theater District for a little while so I could get a few shots from there.  Some of the buildings are very interesting.  With my camera limitations I was only able to get parts and pieces of them.

(Building on Euclid Avenue.)

I suppose it would have been helpful if I’d written down the names of some of the buildings.  I can’t seem to locate them (the names) in my memory bank.

(Corner of Euclid and East 14th Street, I think.)

There were ponies on Euclid Avenue, something you don’t expect to see in the city.  A horse and carriage, yes.  Ponies and hay, not so much.

They were there as part of something called Designerosa, a temporary event that uses vacant buildings and land in Cleveland.  You can read about it here.

It’s too bad we didn’t have time to go in and look around.  Or make the time to go in and look around.

(Part of Playhouse Square.)

This post is getting long and I have things to do today.  M could use some help outside moving bushes, the house could use a good sweep-through, and there’s laundry to be done.

See ya tomorrow with the rest of this adventure.