The hills are alive

The last week has been a whirlwind. After the Munich audition we traveled to Milan for another. Luckily we made a stop in Salzburg - now a favorite of mine...I know I keep saying that. I felt like I was going to run into the Von Trapp family at any moment. We also went to the house where Mozart grew up in. There's too much to say and not enough internet access, especially in Italy. Milan was a nightmare - driving there makes NYC look like a piece of cake. As soon as left Milan we took off to the Tuscany region. The change of pace and scenery was exactly what we needed. Siena was wonderful as was a tiny village called San Gimignano where we witnessed fire breathing dancers right there on the piazza. Pisa was next in order and was surprised to see how short it was but really a great site for the kids. We spent yesterday at Vernazza part of the Cinque Terre, a really wonderful picturesque fishing village right on the Italian coast. We are now in Como on Lake Como right at the Swiss border. We are excited that Grandpa hey-hey (or in Italian "Nonno hey hey") who will be arriving in Zurich tomorrow. That's all for now. Ciao!

PARIS!

Bon jour!

It's amazing, exciting, beautiful, interesting, beyond description.....we LOVE it! Have an agent audition today which was the greatest excuse to come! We don't want to leave but must for German and Italian auditions this coming week. I have taken the kids to the Louvre where we saw THE Mona Lisa, Venus, and a fantastic Egyptian Wing. The museum is certainly the greatest one I have ever visited. Afterwards, we went to the Eiffel Tower and went to the top. It was an unforgettable evening, a memory that we shall always cherish. My favorite city so far. Oh! Nothing is crazier than these motocyclists around the Triomphe de Arc than a 6 foot 5 Texas baritone trying to keep from getting run over.

The Wall

Good morning. We are leaving Berlin today and have to say the visit here was an interesting one. Of course we couldn't leave without visiting the wall. The kids took it all in with amazement, awe and sadness. I am sure they will never forget the experience. The day before in our ever-ending quest to find practice space Larry ran into someone in the street who offered a big space. It ended up being the ground floor of a TV station that did a show about animals. They were so kind to us and amazed with Larry's voice. They gave the kids a grand tour (and box of cookies), and want to do an interview with Larry should we come back here. On the other hand, when we showed up to yesterday's audition, there was a big stink with the monitor about letting me play for Larry. After some exchange between the two, she said he couldn't audition. We almost walked out but as you all know nobody better try to stop Larry from singing. So he went to the agent directly who turned out to be very nice and fair said "no problem". After the audition, the grumpy monitor was smiling, the other pianist embraced me, and the agent immediately approached Larry about his availability. In general, I see a big difference between here and the States on the treatment of singers. That's all I will say for now! Photos from the wall and Checkpoint Charlie.

On the road again!

We made it to Munich the other day and are in Berlin today. Talk about two different worlds. Larry had another agent audition yesterday and he couldn't have sounded better! We were greeted by the door of an assistant whom I'll call Brunnhilde who started scolding Larry (in German, of course) because he was warming up outside in the street. I guess she felt like she owned his air. I really don't like how they treat singers over here. They make them show up in the morning to get a number...no warm up room whatsoever and to top it off, made him pay for the accompanist even though I was playing for him! At least this agent was interested.

Dom

THE Cathedral in Cologne was AWEsome. We arrived just in time for mass, lucky us, so were able to bypass all the tourists who were oohing and awing. Sydney prayed for Grandpa Manny and Quintin prayed for Grandpa Louie. These are pictures taken inside and outside of the Cathedral. Did you know the Dom is almost 1000 years old!

Did you know in Germany...

At the grocery store:

• you have to pay 1 euro to use a shopping cart
• the bags are not free
• the plastic fork and napkin that you get at the salad bar is not free

At the restaurants:

• a glass of coke is 2.40 euro ($3.40)
• no ice
• no tap water
• don't assume they take credit cards
• and lastly, don't go to a Mexican food restaurant

For breakfast, get used to:

• salami!
• bread, lots of bread
• liverwurst
• pickles
• no bacon!

When you drive:

• the map is confusing as hell
• people drive FAST
• gas is about $5 -6 a gallon

and:

• people are friendly and helpful
• you can't find a piano anywhere and pitch pipe we bought is out of tune!
• McDonald's has onion rings, cheesecake, hot milk and will charge you for ketchup
• "getting lost" is our middle name

Update

Hi all,

Had trouble getting online the past few days. Today we moved into the city of Cologne to the Meininger Hostel where surprisingly so for a hostel in the city, is affordable, modern, family oriented, and right in the heart of the city! Our little guest house in the country was a great find. The kids would open their windows to find two horses waiting for them to feed them. They were in heaven and Quintin would not leave me alone, rummaging the place for food to feed the horses. The kids other favorite part of Numbrecht was the adjacent small market with bakery (pictured here; no Kimberly, it is not a bar although they did sell a lot of beer), also owned by the lady who owns the guesthouse. Quintin would wake up bright and early to announce that the store was open ready to spend our money for fresh bread. We would send them to the store to practice their German and to practice using the new currency. We didn't realize until Sunday, that just about a mile down the road was a real medieval castle called Schloss Homburger. It was very exciting to visit and very beautiful; full of artifacts from the medieval era until WWII. The kids had a blast climbing to the tower where we could see miles of stunning views of mountains and trees. Monday, we visited Bonn to see the birthplace of Beethoven! It was truly amazing to explore the house where he grew up and to see it in the middle of a busy shopping area. Will be back to write more!