Day Six: Assisi and a Little of Rome

We got on the bus this morning and started a three-hour drive to Assisi. Once we got to Assisi, we visited the Basilica of St. Francis. The Basilica had wonderful frescos (ii?) of the life of Saint Francis painted by artists such as Giotto. It was a beautiful church and the town being high up in the hills, the views were spectacular.

After another three-hour drive, we finally arrived in Rome and got settled into our hotel and had dinner. Tomorrow we get to see the Coliseum and we have our last concert of the tour. It should be a great day.

Day Five: Return to Firenze and a Concert in a Spa

Today we were turned loose for six hours Florence. Many chose to go on a tour of a gold and leather factory early in the morning. The gold portion of the factory was basically a large jewelry store, and we got to see a lot of beautiful necklaces and earrings. As we moved onto the leather portion of the tour, we were shuffled into a room full of leather jackets, and the company threw their very best salesperson at us. Being the very best salesperson in the company, he was extremely competent. I don’t know if there was anyone who didn’t want a leather jacket by the end of his presentation. And almost every person bought at least one thing made of leather after he was finished. It is also important to note that Florence is very famous for its leather, and the leather is of very high quality, so maybe the salesperson didn’t have a very hard job selling us on the material.

After our leather/jewelry-buying extravaganza, the group split into smaller groups. Many went to see Uffizi Museum, which has one of the finest collections of art in the entire world. Others just got lost and explored Florence. No matter what people did, it was a rewarding experience for all.

After dinner, the group went to the Terme Tettuccio in Montecantini. The Terme Tettuccio is a spa resort that was very popular in the 60s. The layout of the Spa was amazing and was by far the coolest venue we played so far. We played our concert outside, and the audience was packed with people. We were very well received and the whole experience was a lot of fun. Tomorrow we head off to Rome!

Day Four: Pisa, Lucca and Surprises

In the morning we departed our hotel and travelled to Pisa. We went to the Square of Miracles, and viewed the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was very impressive to be able to view the tower from such a close distance. I still don’t really understand how the tower hasn’t toppled over yet.

After some free time and dinner, the group went to the Maria Nera church in Lucca for a performance. We met the musical director of the church, Elio Antichi, and he led us to the performance venue. At the church, the Brass Choir set up the stage and began to warm up by playing Nessun Dorma. As we start the song, Elio Antichi starts to sing along, as a joke. However, the sound that Elio was producing was so absolutely beautiful, it became apparent that we HAD to have him sing this song in the concert. As we continue through the song, many people in the group started to cry because of the beauty of the music and the beauty of the situation. We begged Elio to sing it in the concert, and he reluctantly agreed. Concert time came around, and Mr. Allison introduced Elio as the guest vocalist. It didn’t seem possible, but Elio sang the song more beautifully than he did the first time. The audience loved it, and again, many cried because of the pure beauty. As the concert ended, we called Elio on one more time for an encore of Nessun Dorma, with another equally beautiful performance. To try and describe how I felt during and after the concert is extremely difficult. The combination of Elio’s singing ability and the fact that we were actually and finally here in Italy made for an extremely potent emotional moment. I know one thing for sure about this concert, however. It is an experience that I will never forget.

Day Three: Firenze

First off, let me apologize for the lack of posting over the last couple of days. The Internet connection where we were was not the best. Actually it was terrible and I was not about to connect at all for anything. So, let’s start where I left off…

We left Venice via private bus and departed for Florence. In Florence (Firenze in Italian), we met our local tour guide and were treated to a tour of the Academia Museum. We studied paintings by famous artists, most notably Michelangelo. After that, we were treated to Michelangelo’s prize masterpiece. I think that it’s safe to say that once we turned the corner and our eyes finally locked on David’s marble body, almost everyone in the group dropped their jaw in amazement. Of course we have all seen pictures of it, but to see it in person was something else. I was able to understand why this sculpture is regarded so highly, and why so many people come to see it every day.

After David and Academia, our tour continued on to the Duomo, the famous cathedral of Florence. The architecture of the building was absolutely spectacular. It was over three stories high and the outside was made of mostly marble. But however impressive the outside may have looked, the inside of the cathedral was three times as impressive. There were stain glass windows, paintings, frescos (ii?), busts and statues adorning the glorious insides of the building. It was amazing and extremely humbling to be in the Duomo. It feels like you are sharing and being a part of the history that has taken place in this area. Very cool experience.

Day Two: Venice, Murano, San Michele and Lido

Our day started off with a trip to one of Venice's islands, Murano. Murano is famous for it's glass blowing factories, and the SOGO group got a tour of one factories facilities. Our tour began with a demonstration of how these artists create the amazing work they do. The artist dips a rod into a vat of molten glass and then shapes the glass by rolling the glass on a table, blowing into the glass and using tongs to stretch and mold the glass. Our artist was able to create a glass horse in less than a minute. It was very cool to see and amazing that he was able to do that in such a short amount of time. I feel it important to note that the temperature in the factory the artist was working was very high. Well over one hundred degrees. Our next part of the tour was air conditioned, luck for us, and was a display of the wonderful glass work the artists on the island do. We saw everything from glass chandeliers to miniature cats. Every single item that was displayed was extraordinary and it's mind boggling to think that someone can make something like that out of glass. Here's a picture of a glass blown horse made in Murano.

After our glass blowing adventure, we were taken to the island of San Michele. This island houses a monastery turned cemetery and is home the tombs of famous composer Igor Stravinsky and poet Ezra Pound. It was interesting to compare the graves of Catholics to Protestant graves to Greek Orthodox graves.

After the cemetery, the group split and everyone followed their own paths of interest. Some went to Venice and explored the museums, some went to the beach and swam in the Adriatic Sea, and some just napped. Everyone is looking forward to day three when we leave Venice and travel through Florence to spend the night in Montecatini.

Favorite Quote of the Day: Italian Waitress says to Andrew Stutzman: "You need a nice Italian girl to get yourself a bigger appetite."

Day One: We Open In Venice

To start the day we took a boat into the city from the island of Lido. We then were taken on a tour of Dogge's Palace. The tour was spectacular and breathtaking. There was amazing art and architecture and we learned a lot about the city of Venice. Then we took a boat tour of the main channel of Venice. After lunch we picked up our instruments and got ready for the concert. We performed at the San Moise and the acoustics were absolutely amazing. Whenever we finished playing a note the resonance lasted for about four to five seconds. It was a wonderful performance and it was very well attended. We all had a wonderful day and we are all very excited for day two. The only thing I'd change would be the weather. It was 104 degrees today with a humidity factor of 85+ percent. Needless to say, we sweat away about half of our total body mass.

Favorite Quote of the Day: Group Member: "My headset isn't working." Tour Guide: "...is it on?"

Day of Travel

Well, traveling to Italy didn't go as smoothly as we all would have hoped...

We got onto our first flight okay, and after a nine hour flight we finally arrived in London. Then we all started going through the border security. To get through the security you have to present your passport and the traveling card you fill out during your flight. Things went smoothly for everyone. Well, almost everyone. As Michael Snodgrass was attempting to enter the U.K. the customs official exclaimed "Blimey!" and called over another official. Apparently Michael's picture form two years ago his extremely large Afro didn't look enough like the Michael we all know and love today. However, after about five minutes and a thorough assessment of Michael's passport he was finally allowed to proceed through customs.

At the same time, Andrew Stutzman, standing in line to approach border security, realized that he left his passport in the airplane that we were all just on. He raced to customer service and appraised them of the situation. It took them forty minutes, but they finally found the passport. So he raced border security and customs just in time to see the bus that the rest of the group was on drive away. Not to worry though, he grabbed a taxi.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, for the most part. The hotel is nice and we are all looking forward to a fun day in Venice tomorrow.

Favorite quote of the day: Security Agent as he inspects Brian Rascone's trumpet straight mute: "You know they make funnels out of plastic now, right?"