We're leaving for the airport in about ten minutes. Around 7:00-7:30, we'll roll into good ol' Poultney, all tired out from our amazing trip to Wales and England.
Traveling madness!
go go go go go
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Winding down.
We left Wales today. We're all currently in Manchester, England. There was a change in the itinerary, so I'm not entirely sure what hotel this is. All I know is...it's nice. REALLY nice. The beds are huge, the rooms are huge, the tubs have jets, and it looks more like a home than a hotel room.
Oh, and the ends of the toilet paper are folded into little triangles.
Oh, and the ends of the toilet paper are folded into little triangles.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tonight.
There are pretty much no words to describe the awesomeness of tonight. But first, we'll start with the day.
We went to the National Slate Museum at Llanberis today. To be honest, it didn't sound very interesting to any of us at first, but once we got there it was actually quite fun. We saw a short demonstration of how to split and cut slate, which was great, due in large part to how hilarious the slate guys were. We then sang a few songs for the employees of the museum and the people who attended that day. They seemed to enjoy it. :)
We performed tonight at a church in Llanfairfechan with Cor Penryn. The concert went very well. It was our best yet, we think. However, the real fun lies in what happened after...
Cor Penryn invited us to a country club for "some conversations." Take from that what you will.
We spent about an hour in a little bar in a country club, drinks in hand for those who had them, singing loud Welsh drinking songs with one of the best male choirs in Wales. Doesn't get much better than that! I wish I got pictures of all this today, but we were in a rush to leave this morning and I forgot to take my memory card out of the computer. Sad sad. But it really was a great way to round off the week.
We're leaving for Manchester tomorrow, and we're stopping in a town called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on the way. There's a famous gift shop there called Pringles. But anyway, we're staying in Manchester for the night and then flying out at 10:30 on Sunday. Siiiiigh.
We went to the National Slate Museum at Llanberis today. To be honest, it didn't sound very interesting to any of us at first, but once we got there it was actually quite fun. We saw a short demonstration of how to split and cut slate, which was great, due in large part to how hilarious the slate guys were. We then sang a few songs for the employees of the museum and the people who attended that day. They seemed to enjoy it. :)
We performed tonight at a church in Llanfairfechan with Cor Penryn. The concert went very well. It was our best yet, we think. However, the real fun lies in what happened after...
Cor Penryn invited us to a country club for "some conversations." Take from that what you will.
We spent about an hour in a little bar in a country club, drinks in hand for those who had them, singing loud Welsh drinking songs with one of the best male choirs in Wales. Doesn't get much better than that! I wish I got pictures of all this today, but we were in a rush to leave this morning and I forgot to take my memory card out of the computer. Sad sad. But it really was a great way to round off the week.
We're leaving for Manchester tomorrow, and we're stopping in a town called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on the way. There's a famous gift shop there called Pringles. But anyway, we're staying in Manchester for the night and then flying out at 10:30 on Sunday. Siiiiigh.
Ruthin.
Hello! Sorry this post is a bit late, I was so exhausted after having such a long day yesterday. I just fell asleep once I got in.
Yesterday, we went to Ruthin. It's about an hour and a half away from where we're staying, so it was definitely a lot of driving. Ruthin's pretty small, but they have a few interesting things...like a really ancient jail. I'll post pictures of that once I pick out the good ones from the blurry ones, which will probably happen this afternoon.
The Cantorion held a small concert at Ruthin's craft centre, which turned out beautifully. Here's the Cantorion, hard at work:
We held a concert with Cor Ruthun (Ruthin Choir) at 7:30 in Ruthin's church. It was a fundraiser for Haiti. A lot of people showed up, so I think we all ended up raising a good bit of money to donate. As usual, this choir was fantastic. Two people from Cor Ruthun performed as soloists and they were really really good. We also got some very positive responses, so I think we're doing well. :)
Today, we're going to The National Slate Museum at Llanberis. The people who run the place have kindly offered to give us a personal tour and provide lunch for us. We'll probably sing a few songs for them as a small thank-you.
Then, at 7:30, we have a concert with Cor Penryn in Llanfairfelchan. This is going to be the most formal concert we've had. It's also our last one. Jim keeps emphasizing how great this choir is. We definitely believe him and look forward to finding out for ourselves. Of course, this probably will make us a little nervous, but I'm sure we'll be fine.
Yesterday, we went to Ruthin. It's about an hour and a half away from where we're staying, so it was definitely a lot of driving. Ruthin's pretty small, but they have a few interesting things...like a really ancient jail. I'll post pictures of that once I pick out the good ones from the blurry ones, which will probably happen this afternoon.
The Cantorion held a small concert at Ruthin's craft centre, which turned out beautifully. Here's the Cantorion, hard at work:
We held a concert with Cor Ruthun (Ruthin Choir) at 7:30 in Ruthin's church. It was a fundraiser for Haiti. A lot of people showed up, so I think we all ended up raising a good bit of money to donate. As usual, this choir was fantastic. Two people from Cor Ruthun performed as soloists and they were really really good. We also got some very positive responses, so I think we're doing well. :)
Today, we're going to The National Slate Museum at Llanberis. The people who run the place have kindly offered to give us a personal tour and provide lunch for us. We'll probably sing a few songs for them as a small thank-you.
Then, at 7:30, we have a concert with Cor Penryn in Llanfairfelchan. This is going to be the most formal concert we've had. It's also our last one. Jim keeps emphasizing how great this choir is. We definitely believe him and look forward to finding out for ourselves. Of course, this probably will make us a little nervous, but I'm sure we'll be fine.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Bangor and Cor Meibion.
We went into Bangor today for our last free day of wandering around. It's larger than all the other towns we visited; I'm sure Bangor actually qualifies as a city. Many students (myself included) took advantage of the several bakeries located in Bangor. This is one thing I'm sure we're all going to miss when we get back to America -- bakeries are extremely common over here.
Bangor also has a very nice museum. Sadly, I did not make it there -- I couldn't find it. :(
However, most of the other students seemed to be able to locate it. I heard a lot of positive stuff about it and if I can get pictures I will put them here!
We played a concert tonight with Cor Meibion y Foel and a girl named Lucy Kelly. Cor Meibion y Foel is a men's choir and Lucy Kelly is a thirteen or fourteen year old girl who has won many vocal competitions. These people are extremely talented. We all felt very honoured to be able to sing alongside them. The members of Cor Meibion y Foel are extremely friendly -- one of them even came into our bus after the show and gave us tote bags as souvenirs. There was also a buffet set up after the show, which made us all extremely happy, because college students are bottomless pits as you all know.
We're going to Ruthin tomorrow. It's about an hour and a half drive. The Cantorion (small chamber choir made up of select members) is playing a small show there tomorrow, and then we have a show after that. It'll be quite a long day. I'll post pictures tomorrow, since I didn't get very many of Bangor. I'll just lump them together.
So, friends and families -- rest easy! We are all having a fantastic time. This is a beautiful country with very friendly people and we're enjoying our stay!
Bangor also has a very nice museum. Sadly, I did not make it there -- I couldn't find it. :(
However, most of the other students seemed to be able to locate it. I heard a lot of positive stuff about it and if I can get pictures I will put them here!
We played a concert tonight with Cor Meibion y Foel and a girl named Lucy Kelly. Cor Meibion y Foel is a men's choir and Lucy Kelly is a thirteen or fourteen year old girl who has won many vocal competitions. These people are extremely talented. We all felt very honoured to be able to sing alongside them. The members of Cor Meibion y Foel are extremely friendly -- one of them even came into our bus after the show and gave us tote bags as souvenirs. There was also a buffet set up after the show, which made us all extremely happy, because college students are bottomless pits as you all know.
We're going to Ruthin tomorrow. It's about an hour and a half drive. The Cantorion (small chamber choir made up of select members) is playing a small show there tomorrow, and then we have a show after that. It'll be quite a long day. I'll post pictures tomorrow, since I didn't get very many of Bangor. I'll just lump them together.
So, friends and families -- rest easy! We are all having a fantastic time. This is a beautiful country with very friendly people and we're enjoying our stay!
Finally!
I have a converter that works now. I can finally post about our adventures :)
So last night, we played a concert with the Adlais Choir and a youth choir (forgotten the name, sorry). And let me tell you...those choirs were very very good. We were pretty tired, so we got off to kind of a rocky start, but we definitely improved after the first few songs. We seemed very well-received. :) We have another concert tonight, after a nice long day walking around Bangor. We're leaving for Bangor at 10:30. It's 9:55 right now. I think it's our last "free" day while we're here. We're going to Ruthin tomorrow, but I don't know that we're really doing much while we're there -- I was informed by a Plas Menai employee that Ruthin has "six houses and a farm."
I didn't get any pictures of Caernarfon. My camera battery died...and well, like I said, I had converter issues. I will be getting pictures of Caernarfon from other people, though, so stay tuned. Hopefully I'll get them sometime tonight or maybe tomorrow.
In the meantime, I'd like to post some pictures of Chester and Conwy, which I never got to do when we went there. This is a beautiful interesting place.
Tonight: Expect a post about Bangor and our concert, and also expect some pictures.
Also, coming tomorrow or the day after...a post entirely about all the quirky British food that I've bought and tried. They've got interesting stuff.
PS: When I checked my passport in at the Manchester Airport, the English man behind the desk told me to "have a lovely stay, mate." :D :D :D
So last night, we played a concert with the Adlais Choir and a youth choir (forgotten the name, sorry). And let me tell you...those choirs were very very good. We were pretty tired, so we got off to kind of a rocky start, but we definitely improved after the first few songs. We seemed very well-received. :) We have another concert tonight, after a nice long day walking around Bangor. We're leaving for Bangor at 10:30. It's 9:55 right now. I think it's our last "free" day while we're here. We're going to Ruthin tomorrow, but I don't know that we're really doing much while we're there -- I was informed by a Plas Menai employee that Ruthin has "six houses and a farm."
I didn't get any pictures of Caernarfon. My camera battery died...and well, like I said, I had converter issues. I will be getting pictures of Caernarfon from other people, though, so stay tuned. Hopefully I'll get them sometime tonight or maybe tomorrow.
In the meantime, I'd like to post some pictures of Chester and Conwy, which I never got to do when we went there. This is a beautiful interesting place.
Tonight: Expect a post about Bangor and our concert, and also expect some pictures.
Also, coming tomorrow or the day after...a post entirely about all the quirky British food that I've bought and tried. They've got interesting stuff.
PS: When I checked my passport in at the Manchester Airport, the English man behind the desk told me to "have a lovely stay, mate." :D :D :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
