The other day we went to the Emirates Palace and Hotel to watch the orchestra practice. When we got there, it was cool. The emirates palace is very large and beautiful, it is full of decorations that are simply amazing. Stuff that looks almost gold, amazing tile floors with great designs, and more, and the ceiling in the main lobby is wonderful. After getting down stairs we went into one of the auditoriums and sat down to watch. Mostly they were tuning and doing other things, occasionally they would do part of a piece but nothing more than that. It wasn't that fun after the first ten minutes. Actually, my friends and I spent most of it playing games on our phones, chatting, and counting down the minutes until it was over. It was OK, once they we were done we exited. Then the adults debated whether to stay for the questions we could ask or to bring us to the park, like we usually do on Mondays. Thank goodness we went to the park. I got to hang with my friends.

We had gone to the Palace months before for a children's concert. When we went the first time it was good, the orchestra had interacted with the crowd to make it more fun for children. For example, the conductor would turn around and have the kids clap and talk to the crowd. They played very good music and it was fun. I liked it more than the practice because I actually got to hear good, whole movements of music. I liked it much more than the practice.

The concert we saw was The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra , founded in 1888. We listened to Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner. Named after their son, it was written for his wife on her birthday and played by 15 musicians on the stairs of thier swiss country villa. It was a wonderful piece and was enjoyed. I liked it as well as many others that were there. It was a good trip.