Early mornings don't mix well with the band so we started the day asleep in the bus to Barcelona. We arrived in this beautiful city around mid afternoon and met our tour guide, Xavier. Our first stop was La Sagrada Familia, the incomplete cathedral in the heart of Barcelona. Xavier led us through the bizarre entrance into Gaudi's masterful cathedral knave: inspired by forests as seen in the leaning columns and their leafy capitals. Since we arrived in the afternoon the warm orange and red light of the stained glass windows filled the space. Gaudi would have been impressed by this modern interpretation of his grand plan. After seeing the drastic difference in the two façades of the building we returned to the coach for our driving tour of Barcelona. Our driver, Antonio, brought us right ... read more

Today, TASSO had an early morning with a performance at the Valencia Opera House for the opening ceremony of the festival. Everyone loved the opportunity to play in a venue with such fantastic acoustics. After a quick lunch at the local mall, the day continued with a workshop in body percussion that got everyone involved. Once TASSO finished the lesson, we had dinner then performed for an electrical audience at PercuFest. TASSO got the crowd on their feet with the song, Brazil. Some of PercuFest’s other staff also joined TASSO in playing Chicken, another fan favourite. The audience’s energy made it one of our best nights! By: Emily & Claire... read more

Today we spent our time in the "best place in the world". We're not kidding - that's the city motto of Alicante, the city we explored today. We began with a walking tour, starting outside the marketplace: one of the few buildings to survive a devastating bombing in the Spanish Civil War. Our excellent tour guide, Maria, told us about this war and other conflicts in Alicante's history to show us how Alicante got its reputation for being a resilient city against all odds. As we walked through the market towards the old town of Alicante, Maria surprised us with a taste of turrón, a traditional food from this region. Turrones are made from almonds and whatever ingredients the maker chooses. It's also a great ice cream flavour! After getting us hooked with the food, Maria ... read more

The day started off with a bang as we were woken up by our musical Director . We were then able to enjoy a breakfast buffet right in the lobby of our hotel. Soon after we boarded our coach and received an enjoyable and super informative bus tour of Valencia, Spain’s third largest city from Felipe. Although the sun was beating down, we were still able to enjoy our walking tour, and learn all about the beautiful architecture Valencia had to offer. Following that, the band had lunch in the old town, refuelling before unpacking the pans for the first time and practicing. After having a short practice we boarded our coach again and headed up the mountains to the village of Buñol. Buñol welcomed us with open arms as we performed on an outdoor patio ... read more

Everyone is excited and arrived at 5:20 pm to departure level to check in on Air Canada AC1917. Eighteen people have already traveled to Europe ahead of us.... read more