Monday, June 30, 2008

On the road again

Sorry for the delay! First and foremost, I must tell you we had a stunning concert in a wonderful location (Terme Tettucio) - see the picture of the outdoor concert in the Roman ruins (scroll down). About 200 people and the kids put on a show. The artistic director of the International Festival was ecstatic and kept saying how fantastic the Camerata played. I was sooo happy. After the concert, we all walked into the main square for well earned gelato.
Today we had a very big day without music. We left at 9AM for a day in southern Tuscany and Umbria. We spent 3 hours in Cortona - a small very high hillside town with beautiful shops, trattorias, and a fortress at the top. The kids all found unique places to sample Tuscan food. We then drove even further south to Assisi where we all visited the Basilica - the home of St. Francis, shopped, tried more gelato and walked up many hills. It was a three hour drive back to Montecatini to shower, eat dinner and now venture into town again. The town is so vibrant. Young and old strolling all around, shops open even now at 10:30PM, a big colorful merry-go-round in the square and so much life everywhere.
Tomorrow morning we have our rehearsal with the Dutch orchestra and another long day travelling - this time ending with a joint concert in San Gimignano. In the middle of the day we will spend 3 hours in Sienna - possibly the most beautiful town in all of Italy. It will be the day before the Palio race - so the town will be bursting with festivities - costumes, marching bands, banners and so much color.
We are very lucky to have such a wonderful guide in Sara. She is just fantastic. Very friendly, always willing to help, flexible and happy. The kids adore her.
No pictures tonight as the internet cafe has no card reader. We will figure out a way and post them ASAP.
Ciao!

4 comments:

CHS said...

There's a title today but no blog. What's the story, mornin' glory? (It's an old expressione di Southern Italia!)

Maestro Camerata said...

I was attepting to update the blog via my iPhone on the bus driving from Cortona in a thunder storm. All I could get out was the header before the service went down or got out of range.
CC

Vita said...

Hurrah! No rotten fruit. I am eager to hear more about the joint concert and rehearsal.

Unknown said...

I've got to get an iPhone...
Charles, your trip sounds fantastico!!
I'm with Vita, no rotten fruit is a good thing : )
See you later, Italian fried tater (northern wine region saying...)Adio