One Day in Dallas

[Tick-Tock]

One of my DH's and my favorite alternative rock bands (Guster) was scheduled to play with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, January 5. We saw them play with the Denver Symphony Orchestra last March, and it was one of the best concerts that we have ever been to, ever. Really. So after checking airfare and hotel rates, we decided to make our Christmas presents to each other a quick trip to Dallas to catch this concert.

We left early on Saturday morning so that we would have only one hotel night. Southwest had a good fare going down, but strangely, they have no non-stop flights between Denver and Dallas! So after a quick stop in Oklahoma City, we arrived in Dallas around 12:30. Luckily for us, it was a sunny day with mild weather.

We checked into our hotel, which was only a couple of blocks from the symphony center, then walked over to the Dallas Museum of Art to catch a special exhibit on Paris posters of the late 19th century (Toulouse-Lautrec and contemporaries). We were able to get into the museum for free thanks to our membership in the Denver Art Museum, and paid only a small surcharge for the special exhibit. It was interesting, and had some well-known posters, including the Chat Noir (the glaring black cat that looks just like one of our kitties).

We started eating a late lunch in the museum cafe, but the food was not very appealing. As it turns out, there is a park across the street (that is built right over the freeway!), and there were several food trucks parked there. Yummy--especially the choose-your-combination ice cream sandwich (our choice was a hard-to-beat coffee Oreo ice cream on chocolate-chocolate chip cookies). The park is very appealing, and was full of people enjoying the weather.

After ducking back into the art museum for a bit, we decided to head over to The Sixth Floor Museum, which is in the old Texas Book Depository at Dealey Plaza, site of the JFK assassination. It was very easy to get there using the light rail/tram system. I can't believe how crowded this museum was, but well worth the visit. Then we walked out into Dealey Plaza and looked around a bit before heading back to the hotel.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Samara, by well-known Dallas chef Stephen Pyles. It was a combination of Spanish, Eastern Med, and Indian dishes, with small plates and larger entrees. Everything we tried was very good. In our first celebrity chef encounter, Stephen Pyles himself circulated around the room and checked with all the tables.

Then, finally, on to the main reason for the trip, the concert! The band was very good as usual, but overall, I was a bit disappointed. In my mind, the acoustics and staging were not as favorable to this type of performance as our symphony hall here (we couldn't even see half the symphony while they were playing). And the way the instruments were mixed through the speakers, I felt that the symphony instruments were shortchanged. Of course, I love Guster (and we had a great view of the band members!), but the point was to hear their songs with the symphonic additions. Oh well, it was still worth going (especially given all the other wonderful experiences we had through the day!).

Back to the hotel for a few hours' sleep, then up early to catch a plane home. For the way home, Spirit had an irresistible fare for a non-stop, since we didn't have any bags for this quick trip. We've never flown Spirit, and next time I think I will resist, no matter what the fare. I have never been in a plane with such tight conditions, and that is saying something. I'm only 5 foot 4 and my knees were touching the seat in front of me! My poor DH (6 foot 2) had no room for his legs and had to angle sideways. But I shouldn't complain too much, since Spirit got us to Denver pretty much on time, which I guess is all we paid for.

At first we debated staying into Sunday to see more of Dallas, but the low fare for the early flight, plus the attraction of having the rest of the day to do errands, etc. and get ready for the work week, eventually won out. So a quick trip, but action-packed! We left with a favorable impression of Dallas, which neither of us had ever visited before.

[NJGIRL]

It sounds like you had an enjoyable trip. I have never been to Texas before it sounds fun.