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The Chapman University Choir is on a tour of Italy—a concert trek bringing them to Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome, including a performance before the Pope. Some students, administrators and members of the accompanying VIP tour are blogging the trip—here are their reports:
From Kristen Brown and Rebekah Munson: We walked into the upper part of the basilica, covering our shoulders out of respect, and soon found ourselves in a church that was more than 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. We looked at statues and frescos of the beautiful church and watched a mass being performed. We then walked into the second (lower) part of the basilica. It was peaceful and calm and had beautiful paintings all around. Our tour guide then sent us down into St. Francis’ tomb, which was a very moving experience for me. The dead quiet (no pun intended), along with those praying in front of the tomb, allowed me to reach a very serene place in my mind. We walked back up to the upper basilica and got a chance to sing a few songs. The acoustics were breathtaking and most of the choir walked out into the heat dazed from the beautiful sounds we had made.
We were then given free time and decided to have lunch. We stopped in the first place we found so we could get ourselves out of the insane heat and humidity. We had small pieces of pizza and mass quantities of water until we headed back out to find gelato and souvenirs. After buying a few things, we relaxed in the shade until our buses came to get us and take us to Rome.
We arrived in the late afternoon and got a bus tour looking at amazing ruins and monuments like the Colosseum, the Wedding Cake monument (actually the Garibaldi Memorial, with a statue that looked small from the bus -- but we were told the base would actually be able to sit more than 20 people for a nice dinner), the Hard Rock Café, U.S. Embassy, and a couple of palaces. We were told that all of Rome was like a big layer cake. Instead of tearing things down to be rebuilt, the previous architecture had been built over. It was amazing to me that all of the buildings we saw were built over old ruins from previous centuries. Old palaces and Pagan temples were transformed into Christian churches, and Rome actually had more than 2,000 churches in its city limits.
After our bus ride we got dropped off in a piazza near the Spanish Steps to find dinner. Looking down the long pathways, there were shops and restaurants as far as the eye could see. We found a small mom-and-pop diner along one of the smaller alley streets. We were greeted with kindness as we walked in and the owner of the restaurant turned on a Beatles CD for our listening enjoyment. We had amazing grilled artichokes with lemon and basil, grilled salmon, pizza and ravioli. It was probably one of the best meals we had had on the entire trip. After eating we walked back to our meeting point, and got accosted by many men trying to give us roses. One man was so desperate to give his rose away that he stuck it into one of the chaperone’s pockets and walked away. After having done so he then came back to her and told her she needed to pay him. She gave the rose back and walked away in frustration. The men continued to bother all of the ladies around to take a rose; however, we were finally able to make them go away by saying “basta, basta,” which meant “stop, stop”. We then ventured back to the buses that were waiting for us and made our way to our hotel.
The 5-star Princess Hotel was much less than extraordinary. With no restaurants or shops close by, no Internet access, and cramped rooms, we definitely understood the difference between 5 stars in America and in Italy. When we first got to our room and tried to charge our iPods we were unable to find a usable outlet. There was one standard Italian outlet by the window which, to our luck, didn’t work. We then looked in the bathroom to find another outlet and were successful; well, somewhat. This outlet looked like it could fit an American plug (as it was two-pronged and shaped like a standard American outlet) but did not fit any of our plugs or European adapter. After having gone downstairs to call a maintenance worker, we finally got our one standard adapter to work.
After being able to charge our iPods and take a shower we hit the sack for an early wakeup call.
From Kristen Brown (Edited by Jessica Hardy and Rebekah Munson): We arrived in Siena at around 10:30 and were immediately greeted by our tour guide, who walked us through the city. The town was so beautiful and quaint that I felt like it would be a great place to stay for longer than a few hours. We learned about the city and its Duomo, which was beautifully decorated with the she-wolf and the two legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. There was one section of the church where old books were opened to show music from the Renaissance period; however, the books were so large that the notes were the size of a hand. The ceiling in that room was beautifully frescoed with vibrant colors that one had to see to understand. The attention to detail found in every nook and cranny of that church was amazing. The floors were especially spectacular as they were inlaid with colored marble to show how Rome had prevailed over its enemies, and religious scenes of all kinds.
We then walked into the main piazza, the Campo, where our tour guide showed us a picture of how they took the road leading around the circular town center and set up railings and held horse races every year. It apparently has been happening for centuries, and it brings thousands of people to Siena just to witness the legendary parade and race, the Palio.
We walked around the main town circle and decided on a place for lunch. It took us six days to figure it out that every time we ask a waiter how big a pizza is, they tell us it’s just enough for one person, when in fact they just want you to order more food and the pizza is big enough to share. So we sat down and ordered two pizzas to split between the four people at the table. Our pizzas came shortly after our drinks did, and we received three pizzas. After commenting that we did not order the third, the waitress first stated we did and when we refuted she told us that it is impossible for two people to share a pizza and that if she’d known that was all we’d order she would have never let us sit down in the first place. We were very confused by all of this, but understanding that they make their money off of tourists and we desired to save money, we ate quickly, paid the bill, and went away from the glaring eyes to find gelato. The gelato we ate was actually some of the most amazing that we had yet experienced. After having a brief sit to finish our gelato we very happily used the remainder of our free time to browse and shop, deciding whether we should go back for more gelato.
We decided against it and walked back to our meeting point, where we then took the buses to San Gimignano. Petra told us the “best gelato in the galaxy” was located there. We drove further and further away from Siena until we came across a tiny town out in the middle of nowhere located on the top of a very large hill. Petra led us up the hill to the gelato store, where they proudly showed a sign that said “World Champions of Gelato 2007” on the front doorway. This truly was the best gelato I have ever tasted. Some of our group even went back to buy seconds and thirds, trying all kinds of interesting flavors like rose, raspberry with rosemary, even champagne. Petra then led us up to a park that looked like it was once a small fortress. The view from the top was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I had no idea that the sweeping landscape, fields and greenery depicted in Italian romance movies was actually real. The beautiful blue skies, warm climate and cool spring breeze made the day completely enjoyable as we took countless pictures from the viewpoint. Many stayed there meditating and taking in the gorgeous sights, while others walked along the beautiful path and courtyard on the opposite side of the landscape.
Afterward we took the buses back to the bottom of a hill covered in vineyards and walked up…and up… and up. We worked up an appetite walking this hill to arrive at the Collina Toscana Resort in Monsummano Terme. We had a traditional Tuscan feast with our VIP tour guests, which was lovely and mostly satisfying. The vegetarian meal was somewhat interesting, as our main course was made of two cheese slices. Still, it was enjoyable and our tables were very social throughout the meal. However due to the camaraderie, music, and of course wine, the dessert was cut short in order to accommodate a dance party and song fest. The party broke up late and we all walked back down to our buses in the glow of the fireflies. Back in Montecatini, we continued our fun and chatter by having some drinks out front of the hotel in the beautiful evening weather. We had a wonderful, fun and magical evening and everyone went to sleep with much happiness and contentment.
From Kristen Brown (Edited by Jessica Hardy and Rebekah Munson): After getting free time, we went to an outstanding lunch at Antico Barile, where the pasta was absolutely to die for. After having gotten more free time to shop and walk the streets we met in front of the Duomo for a brief rehearsal before our concert. We heard a group of Italian singers practicing songs (they were our “welcome singers” for our concert at 9:00pm) which gave us time to eat a quick snack.
We started our concert late and the welcome singers sang for about 45 minutes, so we did not get to perform until around 10:00 pm. However, once we started singing, the San Gaetano Church turned out to be a fantastic venue. Due to the late start and other choir singing first, we didn’t get the crowd we were expecting, but we did manage to get about 150-200 people, most coming in and out as time permitted.
Our concert went very well but by the time we finished at 11:00, we were absolutely exhausted. We got on the buses and drove the hour back to Montecatini to get some most-needed sleep. From Kristen Brown (Edited by Jessica Hardy and Rebekah Munson): I was still in a David daze as we left for the Duomo. As we entered the church we noticed a great difference in the intricacy of the inside, as it was much barer and more humble than the façade. Completely made of marble, the acoustics would have been incredible. Our tour guide explained tons of details about the Duomo and the Baptistry (which was across from the Duomo and had a great gold door that had been sculpted by Ghiberti.) and then we left for the Piazza Signoria. We walked into the square and saw statues everywhere. The copy of the David in its original place, along with tons of other original statues of gods and goddesses (including the famous fountain with Poseidon) were all over the place, and we said our goodbyes to the tour guide as we headed out to explore and find lunch. Everything in Florence was extremely overpriced. We made a bad choice when we picked our restaurant and were made fun of by the waiter when we ordered a hot chocolate in addition to a hot entree. The “Quattro Formaggio” pizza was in fact nacho cheese on rolled out dough (yes, it was still liquid), however the penne pasta was actually good (except for the fact that it was about the size of a fist). We then decided to get that taste out of our mouths and found an excellent gelato place by the open-air market. We bought scarves, clothing, ties, rings and other souvenirs for friends and family and then walked back to the buses. On our way, we saw the famous Ponte Vecchio. Half of the group started into a round of “O mio bambino caro” and told Patricia Lora (the one who sang that aria in Gianni Schicchi this past semester) to go jump off the bridge (if one feels this is a harsh comment, please read the libretto for the opera). We got on the buses and drove an hour to our hotel in a small but quaint town called Montecatini Terme. Some were so exhausted that they immediately fell asleep (7:00 pm) and everyone else went out and found food and fun. We found a great restaurant called “the New York Café” and sat down craving green leafy vegetables. They had great salads and other food and the service was excellent. We then walked back and sat on the balcony of the room and talked in the perfect evening temperature. While we were out there we met a nice couple from Sydney who were touring Italy and wished us well on our tour. We finally got to sleep, hearing the streets filled with partiers until late into the evening. Friday, May 23, 2008 From Kristen Brown (Edited by Jessica Hardy and Rebekah Munson): As we got our “whisper boxes”—personal headsets with a transmission from our tour guide—we headed inside the great palace from the back entrance (the front entrance was seen from the water because only the lowest class would dirty their feet by walking). It was enormous, with two wells for fresh water, stone and marble, and wooden decorations painted with gold. The grand staircase was being restored, but the 360-degree view from the courtyard was overwhelming. We went up to the second level and walked through large and impressive rooms for the Senate and other decision-makers for the city-state. One of our favorite rooms was the largest, with enormous religious paintings on all the walls. It had two large clocks: one for the time with Roman numerals 1-24 (the hands of the clock stayed fixed and the numbers rotated) and the other for the time of year, complete with every zodiac sign. After the tour of the Palace we walked to the Venetian conservatory, which was about a half-hour walk. We toured the building with the director of the conservatory and saw the music library (they had very impressive collection of old manuscripts), instrument museum and concert hall. One of the students played a Bach fugue so that we could hear their amazing organ in action. We then tried to avoid the incoming rain and found the closest place to eat lunch. Inside the restaurant, we asked our waiter, Andy, how large the pizzas were and he replied “as big as my head”. However, in fact the pizza had the diameter of a very large watermelon. When we asked him about that detail, he laughed and allowed us to take a picture with his head and our pizza. While we each proceeded to try and stuff down half a pizza, Anna Schubert played with the crawdad she found in her seafood linguini. After leaving a nice tip (really for Andy’s superb entertainment skills), we strolled through the streets, enjoying the again-sunny weather, looking for more souvenirs to bring home to family and friends. In the process of one purchase, Rebekah got her camera stolen. Disappointed at losing the camera and the picture of Andy’s head, we walked back to San Moise for a quick rehearsal before changing and getting ready for High Mass in St. Mark’s Basilica. The Lady of Lourdes statue was on tour there, so a special procession was performed and a rosary said before the Mass to a participating audience of more than 700. We sang in the beautiful church where so much history, both religious and musical, took place. Most of the Mass was hard to follow, even for the Catholics, because it was all done in Italian; however, the experience was no less extraordinary. After St. Mark’s, we walked to San Moise and sang our concert. Since it was not a huge church, it was standing room only, probably about 300 in attendance, most coming because of the awesome PR work done by Sandra of the Incantato group. Some people who were walking by even stopped by for a song or two and continued on to their original destination. Our concert went extremely well and ended around 10:00 pm. We all got back on the water taxi and headed back; however, because there was rain earlier in the day, the water level rose and our large boat could no longer fit underneath the bridge. So we went the long way around back to our hotels. After landing, some walked around the city, others went to find food, while yet others went to clubs around town. Everyone ended up having a fun evening winding down and exploring Venice after a very long day.
From choir students: We got off the bus and walked over bridge after bridge taking pictures by the old-style houses, gondolas and beautiful historic buildings. We gasped in awe at the beauty of the city as we walked about 15 minutes to our hotel. After checking in to our hotel, we walked about 45 minutes to Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark’s Square). Here we were given history about the churches and other historic buildings and warned about the bad luck walking between the two famous columns (all Italians and many tourists took the long way around to avoid the place where traitors of the city-state were once hanged). Our tour concluded with a demonstration of Murano glass blowing in action and walking through the shop, looking at huge colorful glass chandeliers, vases, jewelry boxes and trinkets of all kinds. For the remainder of the day we were given leisure time to shop, eat dinner, and explore the amazing city of Venice. All of the shops surrounding us had intricately decorated porcelain masks, parasols, clothing, and shoes. We found a very famous Ferrari store which had a race car inside, very expensive clothing and other accessories. This was a great reminder that the euro does not equal the dollar. We continued to walk around different shops, admiring artwork and trying on clothing. We found cheap “Murano” glass but had learned earlier from our tour that most sold in the shops around town are fakes (every piece of real Murano glass comes with a certificate). We were dying from a lack of our “oxygen tanks”— the Internet and cell phones!—so we found an Internet café off the beaten path. We purchased a half hour for 4.50 euro and split it between three of us. While we were there guys of all ages passed by, knocking on the windows, blowing kisses and asking to speak to us. We talked to a few guys who were on a gelato break from work and wanted to take us on a “tour of the city” …hmmm. We finished checking our email and promptly avoided the guys standing outside trying to talk to us. In the evening we decided to have dinner with Jessica Hardy, as her family was in the city to see us perform, and they had scouted out a great authentic restaurant. However, when her brother walked in wearing shorts, they refused to seat the whole group of eight. We found another restaurant near the Venice Opera House where the wait staff had been very nice to us as we were walking around. The food and wine were absolutely stunning. When we finished we went back to Piazza San Marco, watched the bands of restaurants battle across the square, and ate gelato. Instead of getting ourselves lost by walking back to the hotel, we decided to take the public boat system to the stop closest by for 6.50 euro. During our entire walk around the square, boat ride and walk from the stop to our hotel, we heard constant cat-calls, whistling and blown kisses. We got back to the hotel after a fantastic day in a beautiful city and slept very well. From Sheryl Bourgeois, vice president for university advancement:
From choir members Kristen Brown and Rebekah Munson: We took a short tour of the city, seeing a palace, historic buildings, Il Castello Sforzesco and modern artwork. Our first stop was the La Scala Museum and Theater. The inside was very antique and full of history. When walking up the stairs we saw that the walls were covered in opera advertisements, some dating back more than 50 years. As we walked into the theatre, our guide explained all the seating arrangements and materials and we were allowed four to a box room to look out over the seating of the opera house. Our breath was taken away by the antique decorations of deep reds and gold laced across the wooden balconies and statues as well as the magnificent chandelier placed in the center of the ceiling (all crystal - and definitely larger than most of the cars we saw on the street). We were told the acoustics, and the level of prestigious performers, were ranked highest in the world along with the Metropolitan Opera House and The Vienna Opera House. The stage and backstage area were open, exposing the 100 square meters which made the stage look even larger. The auditorium sat about 2,800 people at one time. We then proceeded to the theatre, where we learned about all the composers who wrote for La Scala, looked at the batons of some of the most famous conductors, paintings of the performers from the opening years of the opera house and even librettos from operas premiered in the early 1900s. We got back on the buses and went to Il Duomo, the gothic Cathedral located in the current business area of Milan. Our tour guide explained about the history of the church, the location of one of the nails from the cross of Jesus located in the ceiling from the time of Constantine (given to the church after he announced Christianity as the official religion) and stained-glass windows from the opening of the church, created to explain stories of the New Testament to the illiterate church members. We got a quick lunch and then had a brief recital consisting of Brahms, Shank, Shaw and others. There were about 35 Chapman trustees and administrators and 15 family members of choir singers in attendance, and as soon as we started "Tu Es Petrus" by Palestrina, others heard the music and followed the sound to watch the rest of our performance. When we finished our first piece, gasps were heard from the choir as the reverberations lasted over 5 seconds due to the high ceilings and marble walls. It was an incredible experience that, as a Catholic, was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Over 200 people stayed to watch and probably another 150 were walking through the church listening to us sing as they explored. We finished our concert and had people from all over the world ask us for cards, CDs and more information about our choir. After our recital, we were allowed 4 hours of free time to explore Milan, the shopping district, La Galleria (the walking street covered by glass connecting Teatro Alla Scala with Il Duomo). We shopped, ate gelato, drank wine, and talked with people from Australia, Southern Italy, Spain and Austria. We walked through a photo shoot of a fall season outfit for Prada and I got a chance to use my Italian skills (thank you, Chapman!) to order food, ask for directions and shop for clothing. After about 3 hours of exploring we found ourselves exhausted. We sat on the steps of Il Duomo and listened to street singers who sang opera arias and other art songs. By this point, we were all a bit delirious and ready for a shower (we hadn't showered for about two days, nor had most of us slept in three days), but spirits held high and we showed off our new purchases as we walked to our restaurant for dinner. We were served lasagna, chicken and potatoes (or penne pasta, cheese and potatoes for us vegetarians) with our choice of drinks, followed by tiramisu. At least half of our choir slept between courses and as we finished our dinner, we thanked our waiters and chefs by singing "Libbiamo" from La Traviata. It wasn't one of our best performances, but it was the thought that counts, right? We got back on the buses and drove to our hotel (we hadn't been able to check in yet) and we got our keys and headed off to our rooms. We took showers and passed out. not on an airplane chair but on REAL mattresses! It was the best 8 hours of sleep I could have imagined. Tuesday, May 20, 2008 From choir members Kristen Brown and Rebekah Munson: We waited for the Delta front desks to open, checked in our bags, went through security, and consumed mediocre but expensive airport food and mass quantities of caffeine. We then settled into the waiting room only to find out our flight was delayed by an hour due to the fact that "the Chapman University Choir has overslept." We finally boarded our first four-hour flight to Atlanta and upon arrival were greeted by a two-hour layover. After boarding our plane to Milan we were told we had another delay in our flight due to weather conditions, and ended up waiting for an extra two hours. Nineteen hours of traveling, two meals, countless crying children and a minute packet of peanuts later, we had arrived in Milan. |
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