"...and boy, are my arms tired..."
Seriously, though, just got back to Oregon from an 11-day Choir Tour through France, starting with Paris, south to Amboise, NW to Coastal towns (forget the names at the moment), singing at Chartres Cathedral, then a performance at Mont Saint-Michel (forgive me if I've fractured the spelling), on to sing at Omaha Beach on the 4th of July, finally back to Paris for dinner in the Eiffel Tower on the 5th.
Good, sometimes great food, much cooler than last year, with wind and light drizzle in Paris and blustery winds and occasional downpours on Omaha Beach. Kids (ages 10-14) sounded great at nearly all venues, and well-behaved with the exception of getting a tie stuck on the Paris hotel's main down escalator on a Sunday. About 40 kids and an equal number of parents/relatives/others on the Tour. Dismayed by the quantity of graffiti in Paris; what are these people thinking? Why do they tolerate it?
Pickpockets tried me out on the Metro subway (I grabbed the hand and stepped on his foot by reflex), all 24 HDV tapes and matching surround-sound Minidiscs survived intact, 2-camera shoot for all performances. Fantastic chant performance acapella at Mass by 5 nuns and 5 monks at Mont Saint-Michel. A real hike to get up to the cathedral, and narrow streets crowded with tourists and tacky souvenir shops, but still a stunning locale. The mountain islet is surrounded by quicksand, and the kids were warned to stay with the group, which they thankfully did.
Uneventful flights home marred only by a 1-hour hike at Frankfurt from one gate to another via tunnels, elevators, stairs, buses, and several security checks. I carried both cameras and all used media with me. Baggage claim at the Paris airport was a joke, and 22 bags arrived the next day, with 3 the day after. Those big tour buses have an AMAZING turning radius; I'd swear the inner front wheel can almost pivot 90 degrees.
A little bit of R&R and bill-paying and then I start loading the video and audio on my new 500GB drive.
Seriously, though, just got back to Oregon from an 11-day Choir Tour through France, starting with Paris, south to Amboise, NW to Coastal towns (forget the names at the moment), singing at Chartres Cathedral, then a performance at Mont Saint-Michel (forgive me if I've fractured the spelling), on to sing at Omaha Beach on the 4th of July, finally back to Paris for dinner in the Eiffel Tower on the 5th.
Good, sometimes great food, much cooler than last year, with wind and light drizzle in Paris and blustery winds and occasional downpours on Omaha Beach. Kids (ages 10-14) sounded great at nearly all venues, and well-behaved with the exception of getting a tie stuck on the Paris hotel's main down escalator on a Sunday. About 40 kids and an equal number of parents/relatives/others on the Tour. Dismayed by the quantity of graffiti in Paris; what are these people thinking? Why do they tolerate it?
Pickpockets tried me out on the Metro subway (I grabbed the hand and stepped on his foot by reflex), all 24 HDV tapes and matching surround-sound Minidiscs survived intact, 2-camera shoot for all performances. Fantastic chant performance acapella at Mass by 5 nuns and 5 monks at Mont Saint-Michel. A real hike to get up to the cathedral, and narrow streets crowded with tourists and tacky souvenir shops, but still a stunning locale. The mountain islet is surrounded by quicksand, and the kids were warned to stay with the group, which they thankfully did.
Uneventful flights home marred only by a 1-hour hike at Frankfurt from one gate to another via tunnels, elevators, stairs, buses, and several security checks. I carried both cameras and all used media with me. Baggage claim at the Paris airport was a joke, and 22 bags arrived the next day, with 3 the day after. Those big tour buses have an AMAZING turning radius; I'd swear the inner front wheel can almost pivot 90 degrees.
A little bit of R&R and bill-paying and then I start loading the video and audio on my new 500GB drive.