Awesome Night on Temple Square

Saturday my man and I had a nice evening out at Temple Square.  The grounds are gorgeous right now, the roses are in bloom, the peonies are in bloom and everything was green and alive.  This however wasn't just a trip downtown for fun, it was even more than that.  My AMAZINGLY talented sister in law Michelle had a solo performance in the Assembly Hall.

When I met my husband, Michelle was in high school, and at the time taking voice lessons from a Professor at the University of Utah.  Over the years I have had the privilege to listen to her sing on several formal occasions, and even more informal family type gatherings. (Christmastime is usually kicked off with a sing-a-long at my in-laws house) She never fails to amaze me.  She has a fabulous soprano voice, the kind that can shatter crystal.  

On Saturday she sang a large and varied repertoire, many operatic and classic Broadway songs, with a smattering of unique pieces such as one by Deanna Durbin (who happens to be one of her mom's favorite actresses).   Once again I sat in awe in the audience as she performed her songs in a range so high I could only dream of.  It was fun to hear the gasps and awe when she would belt out the high notes, or sing some impossibly rich song in a foreign language.  

One of my favorite performances from the evening was a song in which she sang/laughed.  It might not make sense on the page, so I'm going to try to elaborate.  She had specific notes on which she "sang" a "chuckle-like" laugh.  I'm still not sure how she kept her composure while performing such a funny piece, or how she managed to sing a laugh. The song was entertaining and amazing to say the least, and her performance of it was such an enjoyable thing to watch.  We enjoyed her performance thoroughly.  She did say that she may attempt another Temple Square Performance in the future.  I'll be sure to let my readers know and you can come and hear the notes reverberate around the Assembly Hall and get chills with me :)

After the performance we wandered the grounds some more, took pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple and the fountains on the grounds.  Then we wandered our way over to the newly designed City Creek Center.  Can you believe it opened last summer and this is the first time I've been there.  Me neither!!  All I can say is WOW!  It's a fantastic place to hang out.  

I think the creek and the fountain were my favorite.  The fountains do this little show, and the kids around were absolutely entranced.  It was quite entertaining.

We went to City Creek for some after-performance dessert.  Thinking we could get into The Cheesecake Factory on short notice we went there first.  Sadly the wait was over an hour, so we climbed in the elevator and went up a floor to Kneaders Bakery & Cafe.  I can't complain, I think Kneaders has some of the best sandwiches, soups and pastries around.  We shared a bowl of Loaded Baked Potato Soup, a Chicken Pesto Panini, and then my in-laws were kind enough to treat us to a few pastries.  MMMMMMMM!  He picked the fruit tart, I picked the Cannolli, one of my all time favorites.  Can anyone resist deep fried pastry with cream and chocolate??  I think not!

Last but not least I cannot, and I mean CANNOT go anywhere that might contain delectable Belgian chocolate and not buy some for myself.  So we ran over to the Godiva store and purchased two golden tins stuffed full of various Godiva truffles.  One for myself and my hubby, and one for Michelle as a thank you for her beautiful performance that night.  All in all I loved the night.  Haven't had a cultural date night out in a long time, it was MUCH needed and MUCH appreciated.

What is your favorite thing to do downtown??  And, if you've been to City Creek Center, what is your favorite place to eat??  I'm definitely going back soon and would love some ideas!!