Arrived Safely, Buddy System Fully Functional

Singing in Vancouver Airport

We started the day in Vancouver by singing a couple of songs in the area of the Bill Reid statue. Bemused people wandered by and some stopped to listen. One fellow even expressed his appreciation for the music and a regret that he was not able to hear more.





Gathering at the Rome Airport







It was a long trip - a 9 hour flight to Amsterdam, a 4 hour layover and another 2 hour flight to Rome. Not terrible but we were bagged at the end.







Cristina and today's stevedores

After a very long walk at the Rome airport we found our double decker bus. Loading the suitcases was difficult - the space is small and the cases are large, cumbersome and numerous. Ramona reminded us that every day we need to improve our loading efficiency by 5 minutes and share the loading workload. We are thankful that we didn't arrive a couple of days ago. Cristina, our tour guide said at that time the airport was closed down because of a fire and a power blackout.

Oleander bushes

We are staying in Rome for three nights at the Church Hotel. 










We were met on our arrival there by a chorus of cicadas chirping in the pine trees. The park-like grounds feature more of the pink and white oleanders that we saw along the verge of the highway on our drive in


The temperature during the day was 30 degrees and the humidity was high but it cooled off nicely for a stroll after our first communal dinner. They say it may rain on the weekend.

Nails Left Neglected

The day of departure is finally here! Of course not everything got done, predictably the toenails remain unpainted in my sandalled feet.  I was procrastinating, doing things like cleaning my jewellery for the trip instead of buckling down with the smelly pink pot. I have brought it with me though. That, and hundreds of other unnecessary items. You would think I would learn from my past travels how to be a prudent packer. Instead genetics prevails every time - I am my grandmother's girl.  I just need a porter to manage my trunks. Unfortunately they are not full of Krugerrand, as hers were reputed to be.

Our dress rehearsal on Monday night was  low energy and under pitched. We are putting our trust in the old adage: poor dress rehearsal means a great performance. Ramona, veteran of many choir tours, reminds us that with all the travel, heat, and upheaval, we won't feel any better singing over in Italy. But at least we'll be in Italy!

All day rehearsal

It was cool in Shaughnessy Heights United at our all-day rehearsal today for the Amabilis Singers Italy tour. We hope that we can find such cool refuge in the churches we visit while we are away. We are a double decker bus full of fun - 48 singers, assorted spouse/partner roadies/groupies, our intrepid accompanist Ingrid on an electric piano and our enthusiastic music director/conductor, Ramona.

Are we prepped? Today most  of us knew most of the music, most of the time. We have one last dress rehearsal on Monday; many may be doing last minute review. Ever prepared and hedging her bets, Ramona provided each of us with a St Christopher and a Padre Pio medallion inscribed with "Pray for us". Probably and good idea. Grazie!