Chapter Four: Harry Potter Live at The Phoenix Symphony

The rest of the first week went by lazily. Nine-hours of jet lag definitely was taking its toll on Virginie. Even though we spent most of the first week cooped up on the sofa binge-watching Netflix, it still felt like heaven.

Having the ability to hold hands and look into each other’s eyes while having a conversation felt so much better than speaking through our computers. It is hard for me to put this particular aspect of her stay into descriptive words because it just felt natural. Being in the presence of someone you truly love for the first time is nothing less than divine. This is something that can only be felt and not described.

Harry Potter at The Phoenix Symphony:

It is now Saturday and Virginie’s jetlag was finally starting to wear off. This was a huge day for both of us because it was time for her first birthday gift of the trip, Harry Potter at the Phoenix Symphony. Not only that, it was also both of our first official dates, ever! Both of us have never been on a date which made this night extra magical.

Virginie and I made sure to dress stylishly with a focus on comfort. We did not feel the need to have to impress each other with fancy clothes because no matter what, I thought she was beautiful.

This was the first time Virginie got a dose of Parker luck. Prior to Virginie’s arrival, I tried to make sure my vehicle was in perfect working condition. I am not going to lie, I stressed this quite a lot!

Parker Luck:

Two hours before we were set to leave for the Symphony, my mother got in the car to go get gas so we did not have to make an extra stop during rush-hour. Guess what? My stupid van WOULD NOT START! At this point in my life, I cannot even get upset about these types of situations because they seem to be a common occurrence for me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad bit irked this time around. I had been planning this night for months and I wasn’t going to let my car fuck it up.

Thank goodness my neighbor was around to jump my van. I want you to remember this little debacle because it comes back around to make our night a little more interesting. Trust me!

We arrived at Symphony Hall with a little over 30 minutes to burn. The car fiasco killed any plans of us getting a bite to eat before the show like we originally planned. Given that we were not that hungry, we were more than fine with it.

Arriving at Phoenix Symphony Hall:

I had not ever been to Phoenix Symphony hall before this, so I had no idea of what to expect. Virginie and I were going into this both as noobies which was quite fun. As we were walking up to the entrance, Virginie looked at me and said: “I think we might be a little underdressed.” I started to look around after she said that, I realized that nearly everyone was elegantly dressed. In my mind, I thought that because this was some Harry Potter performance, people would dress a little more casual. Boy, was I wrong! The elegance that filled the air, you would’ve thought this was a Bach or Mozart show. It definitely made my favorite hobby of people watching a little more interesting.

After being greeted by the nicely dressed ticket checker, we walked through the beautiful doorway into an even more beautiful lobby. Sky-high ceilings with gold and red colors littered everywhere and a giant hanging chandelier. It almost felt like going back in time to the 17th century. Not only were the people elegantly dressed but the entire venue was shrouded in elegance.

Once the sheer beauty of Phoenix Symphony Hall settled into our minds, it was now time for us to burn about 15 minutes. We could not find our seats because they were not letting people into where the performance was to take place. Virginie and I both scouted out a Harry Potter kiosk, without saying a word to one another we immediately rushed to look at the souvenirs. This was one of the last showings of this particular performance resulting in most of the souvenirs being pretty well picked over. Luckily for Virginie, there were a couple Ravenclaw scarves left. Watching her get all nerdy over a scarf that represented “her house” was quite cute (I don’t have much room to talk, considering I can name nearly every Pokemon. Yes, I am a huge nerd.) In my opinion, the scarf was the ultimate souvenir to remember this wizardly night.

With Virginie ready to represent “her house”, it was time for us to find a snack to hold us over for the next two hours. We walked over to the nearest bar while still looking at our surroundings with awe.

“Gourmet” Cookie in The Hufflepuff House:

Now, I have a huge gripe with food and drinks at events like this. These places literally rob you of money! We ended up spending $15 on a “gourmet” cookie, one small coffee, and one small Coke. This supposedly “gourmet” cookie tasted like an oversized Chips-Ahoy. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chips-Ahoy cookies but I can get a box of 23 at the store for like $2. This damned “gourmet” cookie was EIGHT DOLLARS! Let me tell you, it did not taste like $8. The coffee was pretty good so I can’t complain too much about that. Coke is Coke and it is always overpriced. Okay, enough about this stupid little detail but I thought the world should know about this $8 “gourmet” cookie.

It was finally time for us to find our seats. We walked through a set of doors and a kind lady walked us to our seats. We were on the highest row right in the middle, best seats for highest quality sound. Sometimes it pays off to be handicapped.

As we were waiting for the show to start, Virginie was giving me a quick summary of what each house represented. All of this was quite new to me because I never was into Harry Potter when I was younger. She kept playfully making fun of me because she thought I would definitely be a part of Hufflepuff. I wanted to be in Ravenclaw with her but apparently, I am too nice to be in Ravenclaw.

After our continuous back and forth about which house I belong to, it was time for the show to start. When I originally bought these tickets, I was under the impression that it was just going to be a concert. The Symphony was just going to play the tracks from the movies with little to no visuals. This was not the case, they played the first movie on a huge projector screen while the symphony played the background music live. It added such an awesome element to the viewing experience. Never in my life have I felt more immersed in a film than I did that night. I was actually getting into a Harry Potter which is something I never thought would happen.

Hearing Virginie to my left resight nearly every line of the movie definitely put a smile on my face. I could tell that she was genuinely enjoying this experience more than I ever would have thought. It was quite the rewarding feeling to see someone you love be so happy.

Once the magnificent show ended, we both looked at each other with smiles from ear to ear. I entered the show being a Harry Potter skeptic and ended up leaving as a fan. I was ready to enter house Hufflepuff ( I still want to be in Ravenclaw with Virginie but she insist that I am Hufflepuff… she’s always right.) and no longer be a filthy Muggle.

The Search For Food in Downtown Phoenix:

By this time our bellies were starting to growl at us. I am not very familiar with Downtown Phoenix so we decided to wander the streets in search of food. After going up and down a couple of streets and past a few extremely loud clubs, we found a little hole-in-the-wall bar that seemed more our style. It was close to closing time but the manager was generous enough to let us come in. Throughout the entirety of Virginie’s trip, she was always surprised about how generous Americans are.

Virginie ordered Green Chili Mac & Cheese which she had never eaten before (Crazy, huh). I ordered chicken tenders with a side of Ranch and Buffalo sauce. I chose those dipping sauces specifically because I wanted Virginie to give them a try.

Let’s start with Ranch. I am fairly certain that I created a monster by introducing Virginie to this dipping sauce. Ever since she left to go back to France, she’s been begging me to ship her some Ranch dressing. It is safe to say that introducing her to Ranch was a success.

Buffalo sauce, on the other hand, was a much different story though. Knowing that Virginie was not a fan of spicy things, I was somewhat eager to see her reaction to it. I guess I can be a bit of a satanist at times. As soon as Virginie healthily dunked the chicken tender into the Buffalo sauce I knew her reaction was going to be priceless. You could instantly see the heat engulf her mouth. Quickly chewing her food and swallowing. Without a second to spare, she started to pant while scrambling for her water. I thought it was hilarious but Virginie was definitely not too pleased, to say the least.

The rest of the meal went pleasantly. Virginie loved her Green Chili Mac & Cheese and my Chicken Tenders were delicious too. I let Virginie finish my last tender so she could enjoy her newfound love of Ranch.

The Van Strikes again:

It was nearing midnight and the restaurant was starting to close up. By this time Virginie and I were pretty damn tired and our energy was spent. I grab my phone to call my mother to let her know that we’re ready to be picked up but I noticed my phone had 1% battery left. I call my mother praying that my phone can last through this one call. The minute my mother picked up, my phone went black. At this point, I start to freak out because this was our only means of communication. In an act of desperation, I ask the manager if they have a phone charger. To my luck, they had a quick charge station and the manager was nice enough to let us stay 15 minutes after-hours to get some juice in my phone.

With a little over 40% battery power in my phone, it was time for us to leave. I hastily call my mother, hoping that she was already on her way. She answered the phone with the worst possible news I could hear at that moment. The van won’t start and our neighbor’s car has a dead battery. We were now stranded in Downtown Phoenix while also being exhausted. I am thoroughly stressed by this point. Thank goodness Virginie was with me to calm me down. She has an extremely good ability at making me relaxed.

I gather my marbles and try to figure out what to do next. Uber now provides accessible transportation vehicles so we decided to give that a try. We open the app and call the number they provided. By this time, my phone was already down to sub 10% life. I was begging my phone to survive this one call. Luckily it did and Uber gave us an ETA of one hour. The lady told us they would call once they were near… great.

Now I am back into a full blown panic because I know my stupid phone will not survive that long. We start to look around for anywhere that might have a charging station. I noticed that there was a wedding party inside the Hilton and I figured that we might be able to blend in to ask room service for a charger. To my surprise, it actually worked! Virginie and I got to end our date night inside the Hilton with some random wedding party.

By the time we got home it was nearly 2 am. We ended the night much like the previous nights, with our hearts full of love and smiles on our faces.