Home Again

A wonderful three weeks in France has come and gone and we have so many great memories from this tour.  It’s hard to describe the experience of singing music written for churches of the medieval period when you sing them in the buildings they were designed for.

These buildings have amazing natural acoustics, something that is somehow forgotten in this age of technology and mechanical amplification.  One amazing experience I had was while seated behind the alter of the cathedral in Vaison.

During the concert it is our custom to try to sit off stage while a smaller group is performing.  In this case, the seating available to us was in a sunken area behind the alter in the cathedral.  This area is shaped in a U formation out of stone with stone benches all resembling a small amphitheater.  The sound was incredible.  Even though our colleagues were singing with their backs to us, it was as if they were being electronically amplified (I kept checking for speakers!).  This will definitely remain as one of my more remarkable memories.

Our bus ride to Paris was stunning.  The weather couldn’t have been better the week we were in Provence.  We headed out on a Saturday morning, August 2nd.  Typical of European schedules, this also begins the month of Holiday, where most companies close down for the summer and allow everyone to be on vacation.  That being the case, the freeway to Lyon was jammed and we were advised to follow the back roads until we could pass Lyon.  Poor us.  Subjected to the French countryside.  Like we could complain.

We traveling through small villages, rolling hills of grape vines, sunflowers, and lavender just past its prime and harvested for its fragrant purple blossoms.  I did manage to find two fields that had not yet been harvested and that gave me the impression of what this countryside looks like when in full bloom.  Wow.

I got a kick out of our bus stopping at lights and the townsfolk looking in the bus to see who we were (there was a sign on the front of our bus with The Rose Ensemble from Minnesota USA.)  One stop in particular awarded me a man raising his glass of beer while all I could do was raise my water bottle at the time.  Another stop a couple of friendly men waived to us while making Paella.  (why couldn’t we stop here for lunch??)

We stopped instead and had a picnic lunch (pique-nique in French) under the trees in a lovely park and said goodbye to our friends Anne-lise and Eric.   Kathy’s son was able to enjoy the pool while our bus driver Roland took his much needed rest.  We still had a ways to go.

The total trip was about 13 hours that day ending up at an International YMCA for a late night supper and sleep before heading to the airport the next morning.  Our 11 hour flight home was uneventful.

It is good to be back home and relive the stories of our journey with my friends and family.  Wonderful memories, new friends and lots of photos (over 800).

The Rose Ensemble will begin recording its 8th CD over the 3rd weekend in August, I have a wonderful photo show currently on display through September 17th (www.lisadrewphotos.com), and choir resumes on September 3rd.   Looking forward to sharing more tales of touring with The Rose in the upcoming months!

As always, I welcome your comments!  Thanks for your support! -Lisa