June 9, 2018, and flight home June 10, 2018 Today we went to beautiful Lake Garda. From Wikipedia: Lake Garda (Italian: Lago di Garda or Lago Benàco, Latin: Benacus; Lombard: Lach de Garda; Venetian: Łago de Garda) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location located in northern Italy, about halfway between Brescia and Ve... read more

June 7, 2018 (I apologize for the delay in posting. I tried to post 3 days of events from Verona but the Internet was not cooperating at all. I couldn't upload photos and the Internet was on/off/on/off. I finally quit. So, I'm home now getting caught up.) Today we left beautiful but busy Florence. What I mean is that it is not easy to walk around Florence: narrow streets, people to dodge around, cars, scooters, motorcycles, buses, etc. Walking in a straight line is impossible. The walking exhausted me. Before we left Florence we had one last stop: The Academy Gallery where Michelangelo's original David is kept. Getting into the gallery was the typical hurry up and wait routine, and we only had time to see David- which is spectacular. There are also many unfinished sculptures ... read more

June 5, 2018 We had wine in the hotel bar last night to celebrate our wonderful concert, and getting up today was difficult. Another rehearsal today - from 0930 to 1330. It was grueling but we got through it and I feel much better about performing the Rossini piece. Brad Ellingboe did half the rehearsal and Peter Tiboris did the other half. It's difficult to get used to different methods of conducting from different people, and Peter Tiboris is not positive & encouraging like our other directors. I had lunch with Barb & Ernie at a small place down the street from our hotel. Then we had a walking tour to the Pitti Palace & Museum. Thing always seem so slow and disorganized with everything we do. This also applies to the disorganization for 'Line up ... read more

June 3, 2018 We had free time in the morning so Nancy, Diana, Mike & I walked to the Ponte Vechhio and then to Boboli Gardens. We entered at the far end (based on our walking route) and found out it was free on Sunday. We walked the length of the park and had a beautiful view of the city, then walked back anticipating a panini from the small place right next to our hotel. It was closed! I ended up at a place with a HUGE calzone. We had rehearsal from 1-4 in a room that was terrible for a choir rehearsal. We practiced Rutter for 2 hours and Rossini for 1 hour. Bradley Ellingboe led our Rossini rehearsal (we sang his Requiem in April). I had dinner with Nancy, Anita, and Dave, and then ... read more

May 31, 2018 Today is our last day as a group. We started out with a trip to the glass blowing demonstration and a description of how they make the world famous glass here. Then they turned us loose to shop. Since I don't own any Venetian glass (the last time I was here I was 23 years old and didn't have much money) I decided to buy some Venetian glass. I bought a glass aquarium that looks really nice when put on a stand with a light. They ship it to my home. From here we went to San Marco Square for a tour with a local guide. We went to St. Marks Basilica and the Doge's Palace. Here's descriptions from Wikipedia: The first St Mark's was a building next to the Doge's Palace, ordered ... read more