Sabato, il 19 Febbraio: Arrive Rome
Arrival 12:05 pm at Rome airport where we meet our C-tours escort who will transfer us to our hotel, with an orientation tour of Rome en route. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
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3:30 pm - After a smooth flight, we arrived in Rome safe and sound. Everyone's luggage arrived with one exception - mine (KW)!!!! Actually, I'm glad mine was the lost bag; I won't panic. I'm hoping the airline will get it here soon, but if not my ladies tell me they'll dress me for tomorrow's concert. Hmmm - THAT could be interesting.
We met our Italian guide, Siriki, and our bus driver, Agostin. They'll be with us for our entire tour. We had a short orientation to the city on the bus and now we have a little time to settle into our hotel rooms before we meet for a rehearsal. Tomorrow's a big performance for us at Santa Maria Maggiore, and we want to be ready!
More to share soon, but I wanted to let everyone know we arrived.
Hey, this is Evan. We all just finished rehearsing some of our music for tomorrow and have about an hour to explore the city a little bit before dinner. The hotel is beautiful and the scenery outside is breathtaking. We are all extremely tired and trying our best to stay awake until after dinner. I love you Mom, Dad, Rachel, and Nicholas.
It was quite a relief to touch ground again after our time in the skies. We anticipated a long, torturous voyage through customs, but we walked right through without even a second glance! Our bus tour through Roma had us excited for more exploring, so I cannot wait to see more of the city on foot over the next several days. Weather here is probably better than what you are experiencing, but the best part thus far is the absence of snow. Shout out to my fam
Ciao for now, Erin P
The real relief today was debarking the plane and breathing Italian air. We were impressed with the bountiful sun, the luscious green grass and palm trees that littered the side of the road. It was startling, the contrast of landscape between Longmeadow and Rome. We all loaded upon a bus, and got our first sight of the impressive city and the surrounding area. Many students snapped photos of ruins, buildings, and other things that caught our attention; for me, the colorful graffiti was especially interesting. We all love the hotel, (after figuring out the tricky way to activate the electricity in the rooms) and look forward to spending time in this beautiful country.
Hope all is well, don't miss tucker and I too much, mom and dad!
Max
Lyrics Singing in the Rome airport waiting for our luggage:
The hotel was kind enough to give us a room for a rehearsal. Even in a small space, there was something sublime about actually singing our tour repertoire here in Rome, after so many months of preparation. I was moved by the focus and effort of our students: after about 20 hours on the road, they brought 100% intensity to our music-making. Parents, you would be SO proud of your sons and daughters! We had a special guest appearance by LHS alum Danny George. Danny's in her first year at VIllanova and is studying this semester in England. She and several friends flew over for a short visit to Rome, and she was able to spend her evening with us. A treat for all, especially her sister Becca.
Our day ended with dinner at a small local restaurant, Schiavi d'Abbruzzo, featuring - what else? - pasta!