Sunday, May 1, 2011
Photo library online
I've placed a lot of photos, from various chaperones here. There are about 1500 pictures, from every day of the trip. If you see something you like you should copy it, as I'll need to take the library down in a few weeks to make more space.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Beauty shot of the choir at St. Peter's
We were fortunate to have a few moments after the Sunday mass for a photo opportunity at St. Peter's in Rome - and doubly fortunate to have a parent on hand with the camera & time to take 3 pictures and stitch them together. Above is a small version of Hiro's picture.
A very large (7.7 MB, 6000 × 2200, suitable for large print) version can be found here:
Many thanks to Hiro Teranishi for the terrific picture, and possibly for some upcoming video (stay tuned)...
Monday, April 25, 2011
Another video from Rome
Bill has posted another video, this one a complete recording (on a Flip video camera, so a little shaky) of the concert at Santa Agnese in Agone church in Rome (at Piazza Navona). Here it is:
We've been back a week now and I'm about over my jet lag and back into the work routine - the trip is fading into memory already. Fortunately we've got lots of photos & videos to help remember!
We've been back a week now and I'm about over my jet lag and back into the work routine - the trip is fading into memory already. Fortunately we've got lots of photos & videos to help remember!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
New video from San Gimignano posted!
One of the choir parents has posted this video from the concert in San Gimignano. The choir is performing 'It Takes a Village', a favorite selection of our tour guides Edi & Cristina:
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Farewell to Italy
We're assembling in the lobby of the Gabrielle D'Annunzio right now, preparing to board our bus to the airport and embark on our lengthy trip home. About half the choir has already left, having gotten up at the ungodly hour of 5AM and traveled to the airport around dawn's early light. We remaining have a somewhat more relaxed schedule, but of course it means we get home later than the other crew. I know that I'm looking forward to my own bed and I think lots of the others feel the same.
It's been an awesome trip, with lots of highlights. The weather was almost perfect, the schedules went without a hitch, and apart from intermittent internet connectivity issues not much else has gone wrong. The kids were terrific the whole time (mostly) and the music was wonderful.
I don't have time to post much else right now, but once I get home I'll try to round up any stray photos or videos from other chaperones (feel free to contact me once you get over your jet lag). So check again occasionally, you may find some new stuff soon!
- Glen
It's been an awesome trip, with lots of highlights. The weather was almost perfect, the schedules went without a hitch, and apart from intermittent internet connectivity issues not much else has gone wrong. The kids were terrific the whole time (mostly) and the music was wonderful.
I don't have time to post much else right now, but once I get home I'll try to round up any stray photos or videos from other chaperones (feel free to contact me once you get over your jet lag). So check again occasionally, you may find some new stuff soon!
- Glen
Friday, April 15, 2011
Friday night wrap-up
Tonight was our final concert of the trip, a performance at Santo Stefano concert hall in Florence - just a few steps from Ponte Vecchio (the famous old bridge). It was a very easy day otherwise, we got up late (8:30 wake up) and spent most of the day in town shopping and sight-seeing. Rehearsal began at 7:00PM and wound up at 8:30, with a concert starting time of 9:00PM - pretty late, but we had a fair sized crowd of locals & tourists who came in to see the source of the beautiful music they heard on the street.
After the concert we walked to dinner & enjoyed our final meal in Italy: salad, lasagna, fish (hey, it's lent AND it's Italy) and gelato. Just one final bit...then we go back on our normal eating schedules when we get home.
After dinner (but before dessert) the kids sang 'It takes a village' for our tour guides (it wasn't in the program at Sto Stefano due to acoustical issues). It was popular with the restaurant staff as well. Here's photos from today, and I am off to bed!
After the concert we walked to dinner & enjoyed our final meal in Italy: salad, lasagna, fish (hey, it's lent AND it's Italy) and gelato. Just one final bit...then we go back on our normal eating schedules when we get home.
After dinner (but before dessert) the kids sang 'It takes a village' for our tour guides (it wasn't in the program at Sto Stefano due to acoustical issues). It was popular with the restaurant staff as well. Here's photos from today, and I am off to bed!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday night dinner
I tried to get pictures during the dessert course tonight, but the kids were up & moving around a little too much to guarantee all the faces. Here goes...
Thursday in Tuscany wrap-up
Our spell of perfect weather has finally broken - it's cold and rainy, with a forecast for more of the same tomorrow. But that hasn't dampened the kids' spirits or enthusiasm.
We started with an early wakeup today (6AM) and a 2 hour coach ride to Siena for a guided tour. We had originally been scheduled to sing for mass at the Siena Duomo, but logistical difficulties resulted in a change - we still had our guided tour of Siena, but instead of the mass we scheduled an afternoon concert in San Gimignano, about a half hour north of Siena (and about an hour southwest of Florence). This also resulted in a change to the dinner schedule, from Siena to San Gimignano.
Siena is an old city, home of the first bank in the world (or so they say, local guides always claim that their city is the first/best/biggest at something). It's charming and picturesque, like all the others, and is home to an impressive cathedral (again, like many other cities). We had time for a guided tour and lunch before boarding the coach.
By the time we reached San Gimignano it was gray and starting to drizzle - it had been overcast, but the rain was finally arriving. The temperature dropped too, into the 50's. If you remembered to send your kid with warm & water repellent clothing then good for you, it sure came in handy today.
Our stay in San Gimignano was pretty brief; we arrived about 3:15 and the kids rehearsed for an hour before performing at 4:30. As we had only set up the concert a few days before, there wasn't a very large crowd (not much publicity) but we did get some locals and passing tourists - including a few from the bay area, surprised to see a Palo Alto choir singing in San Gimignano. The church (chiesa di Santo Agostino) is a medieval building with old frescoes and smooth acoustics, and the concert was a wonderful combination of acoustics and performance.
It was about 6PM when we left the church for dinner, and the rain was gently falling on our heads as we walked across town in mild drizzle to Mandoragola (Mandrake) Restaurant, where we had a great meal - salad, rice, pork & apricot pie for dessert (vegetarians had roasted potatoes with cheese & vegetables).
We were still an hour or more out of Florence, so we boarded the coach & headed back. It is very cool now - probably about 50 or so - and we expect more of the same tomorrow. Everybody is headed for bed, tired but satisfied from a long day of beautiful Italian countryside and music.
UPDATE:
The wireless at hotel Gabrielle D'Annunzio has gone out (I'm thinking possibly due to a barrage of devices suddenly connecting when our buses arrived) and I was unable to post last night. So, this morning I've once again borrowed the internet desk from the hotel staff to post. Sorry for the delay...
We started with an early wakeup today (6AM) and a 2 hour coach ride to Siena for a guided tour. We had originally been scheduled to sing for mass at the Siena Duomo, but logistical difficulties resulted in a change - we still had our guided tour of Siena, but instead of the mass we scheduled an afternoon concert in San Gimignano, about a half hour north of Siena (and about an hour southwest of Florence). This also resulted in a change to the dinner schedule, from Siena to San Gimignano.
Siena is an old city, home of the first bank in the world (or so they say, local guides always claim that their city is the first/best/biggest at something). It's charming and picturesque, like all the others, and is home to an impressive cathedral (again, like many other cities). We had time for a guided tour and lunch before boarding the coach.
By the time we reached San Gimignano it was gray and starting to drizzle - it had been overcast, but the rain was finally arriving. The temperature dropped too, into the 50's. If you remembered to send your kid with warm & water repellent clothing then good for you, it sure came in handy today.
Our stay in San Gimignano was pretty brief; we arrived about 3:15 and the kids rehearsed for an hour before performing at 4:30. As we had only set up the concert a few days before, there wasn't a very large crowd (not much publicity) but we did get some locals and passing tourists - including a few from the bay area, surprised to see a Palo Alto choir singing in San Gimignano. The church (chiesa di Santo Agostino) is a medieval building with old frescoes and smooth acoustics, and the concert was a wonderful combination of acoustics and performance.
It was about 6PM when we left the church for dinner, and the rain was gently falling on our heads as we walked across town in mild drizzle to Mandoragola (Mandrake) Restaurant, where we had a great meal - salad, rice, pork & apricot pie for dessert (vegetarians had roasted potatoes with cheese & vegetables).
We were still an hour or more out of Florence, so we boarded the coach & headed back. It is very cool now - probably about 50 or so - and we expect more of the same tomorrow. Everybody is headed for bed, tired but satisfied from a long day of beautiful Italian countryside and music.
UPDATE:
The wireless at hotel Gabrielle D'Annunzio has gone out (I'm thinking possibly due to a barrage of devices suddenly connecting when our buses arrived) and I was unable to post last night. So, this morning I've once again borrowed the internet desk from the hotel staff to post. Sorry for the delay...
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