Ravinia...

Sonny asked me if I had any interest in going to a park outside the city to listen to string quartet perform while enjoying a picnic on the grass. I answered with a resounding ABSOLUTELY! The concert was on a Monday evening, so Sonny had to work during the day. I spent Monday afternoon packing an amazing, if I do say so myself, picnic for us to enjoy. Goat cheese. Check. Brie. Check. Prosciutto. Check. Almonds, hummus & cherries. Check, check, check. Oh, and how could I forget about the wine?! I packed 2 bottles for good measure.

With the picnic all ready to go I headed down to meet Sonny at the train station. The string quartet was due to start at 8 PM in Ravinia which is about a 45 minute train ride outside the city. We wanted to arrive early so we could set up our picnic and relax in the park. At Ravinia you can watch the performance from the Theatre (or the Hall or Pavillion depending on the concert) or you can purchase lawn tickets and picnic out on Ravinia's expansive lawn. The concert is broadcast out onto the lawn audience from their state-of-the-art sound system so we didn't have to worry about not being able to hear the concert.

The Martin Theatre

The Lawn

The Julliard String Quartet commenced promptly at 8. They performed beautifully. As the sun went down everyone began to light candles which created an amazing ambiance. Earlier in the evening the sky was slightly overcast, but as the evening went on the curtain of clouds dissipated to reveal the star encrusted sky. It was a magical evening.