BEDUS Day 31: Wine, Violas, and Pianos

Today was an absolutely amazing day. Not only did I get to visit Yale's musical instruments collection, I got to have a wonderful dinner while learning about food and wine pairings. So one at a time.

For this week's Treasures at Yale class, we went to the Yale Musical Instruments Collection, which is a little known collection that has it's own home. I've walked by this building many, many times and have always wanted to go in, but I've never had the time (it's only open from 1-4 PM on Tues-Fri and 1-5 PM on Sun). I've been very curious to know what's inside, especially because the Yale Concert Band played a concert with a hecklephone (basically a bass oboe), of which there are only 3 functioning ones in the United States. 

So, I was really excited to go see the instruments. And it was so worth it. Being a string player myself, I was super excited to see the strings. We saw a piccolo cello, so named because it played the higher registers of the cello that weren't accessible to musicians who didn't play higher than third position on the cello, that had a flat back and a lion's head scroll. We also saw (and got to hold) a Stradivarius that had never been revarnished (freaking awesome) and got to see a Viola D'Amore. This so-called "viola of love" had blind cupid inscribed on the scroll, flame holes, seven bowed strings, and seven sympathetic strings which vibrated below the fingerboard.  It was thought that the viola originated from the Middle East and what we call flame holes today were actually reminiscent of Islamic swords. Awesome. We also got to see and hear a piano, harpsichord, and clavichord, which never get removed from the upstairs of the collection.

Finally, at night, I was privileged to be a part of the Yale Reality Bites series, a food series that's dedicated to teaching seniors about food after college. I probably won't be able to afford the likes of the food and wine we ate until long after I graduate, but it was a really nice dinner that taught me a lot about the nuances of wine and the changing flavors that food brings out in wine. We had five wines...

...a Cabernet, a Pinot Noir, a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon Blanc (my favorite), and a Cava (a Spanish bubbly wine). We tried each on its own, then each with a four course dinner consisting of an arugula, pear, and walnut salad with gorgonzola cream on the side, striped bass on a bed of the most delicious white beans I have ever eaten, chicken in a tomato sauce with a crust of toasted and salted bread (so good!), and a spicy lamb stew. It was, in a word, delicious, and in another word, delectable. Also, there was a raffle and I won a bottle of the Cava! Saving it for Kelsey's birthday/Valentine's day!!

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow I go to Boston!