Lots of singing to be had today!!! We started the morning off with two full choir rehearsals. We are performing a Mass on Tuesday and also preparing for our gala concert on Friday night so there is lots to do. The music is fun -- right up my alley and all new stuff that I have never sung before (for the big choir stuff that is...) so it's a great experience to sing some non-overdone Byrd, Tallis etc. We also got broken off into small groups today. We have what are called "tutor groups" where we are placed in a group of about 16-20 people and we work on one piece with one of the tutors all week and then perform the piece on Friday night at the gala concert. We also then have the opportunity to form our own small groups. Basically people say they want to do a certain piece and you say "I'll do that". Some groups were getting stupid and planning to do auditions etc. for the voice parts but really....that's just not necessary. I just planned on hanging around and seeing what kind of groups were available and if none were to my liking well then I would have more free time. Turns out I am now in four and having to turn down requests!!!! So far I have only had one rehearsal for these self-made groups -- it's was AWESOME!!!! We had a half and hour to practice and after the first run-through we decided maybe we should do more than one piece!! It's great!!!
I've met some pretty great and interesting people here. People have come from all over the states and there are five Canadians here including me. For a while I was holding the title of the person who traveled the farthest to be here but then we realized one lady came from ITALY so I guess she wins. I'm finding it easier to get along with people my age better than the older people. The people my age are very relaxed and have a very similar outlook on music and on being here that I do....but some of the older people -- WOW. The attitude is astounding!!!
Full choir rehearsals are going pretty well. I'm not a huge fan of singing with a choir of 60+ so it's not exactly my cup of tea but the music is nice especially the Fayrfax. Fayrfax is an earlier Renaissance composer sort of bridging the gap between Ockeghem and the tres early style and Tallis and company. His music is difficult (ie: One iteration of the work Kyrie can go on for about two pages) and the vocal ranges are difficult (ie: the altos are to sing low Cs....) but it is hauntingly beautiful....I hope to bring this music back to WLU and see what we can do with it!!!
Last night we went to hear the Seattle Tudor choir sing and they were joined by our three tutors from the Tallis Scholars. It was great minus the lilies and the incense in the church! Mass tomorrow might be interesting!!!
I have a break right now until dinner which is nice because I am in need of some vocal resting!!! After dinner we have a workshop with two of the craziest Brits I have ever met (this morning we danced the disco to get our singing blood flowing) and then more small group rehearsals and then Compline!!!
Greg flew home today and arrived safely this afternoon. Apparently the cats are quite happy to see him. Well, Boo-boo is as she's following him around everywhere but Chucky has taken to hiding behind the couch again (until he heard the bag of treats, that is). Gerry was somewhat indifferent to Greg's homecoming but was pleased to receive a treat!
That is all from Seattle -- I am still waiting for a rainy day on the west coast!!!!!!
Love,
Katie
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
More bus adventures....
Just when I thought we'd had enough bus adventures to last a lifetime, I boarded the bus headed for Seattle this morning. It was a pretty little bus ride through Vancouver downtown (I saw some places that I will be sure to visit when I return next week) and then on to Surrey and beyond. Everything was going well. I kept thinking to myself that this 3.5hr bus ride was NOTHING compared to the 75hr ride out west. But then, looming on the horizon came the US/Canada border. The bus driver tried to convince us that the 15 buses ahead of us was a "short line" but it seems to me that Quick Shuttle has not really taken a FOUR HOUR wait at the border into consideration when posting their bus schedules (hence, the supposed 3.5hr TOTAL journey time). People missed flights. Two random girls took a six hour trip just to go shopping at the outlet stores (they weren't too happy and in fact slowed us down at the border since apparently "Take everything off the bus" didn't apply to the one girl until the boarder guard with the gun told her to do it). The bus was full --46 people on board and what happens when we enter the border checker building?! Four of the six security guards get up and LEAVE!!!! What the hell?! So this slows things down further and it irritated me even more when it took about 10seconds for me to actually get through the border ("Where are you from? Where are you going? How long are you going for? Bringing anything with you? You should get a passport. Have a good day" that was it).
So needless to say I was a LITTLE bit late for the start of the Seattle singing day. So that sucked. What sucked even more was the stupid taxi driver taking me to the wrong university. Now, I could understand this happening if I had just said "university please". But no. I not only told him WHICH university, I gave him the address. Well it's one way to get more fare. Anyway, I am here now and had a wonderful evening of making beautiful Renaissance music. We are focusing on English Renaissance music which is not my favourite but it will do!!!
This morning the Hoff and the Shaw parted ways and are now on separate western adventures. Greg explored downtown Vancouver today after seeing me off on the bus. Tomorrow, he is going to Stanley park with Sarah on the sea taxi!!! Should be fun!!!
Good night!
Love,
Katie (& Greg)
So needless to say I was a LITTLE bit late for the start of the Seattle singing day. So that sucked. What sucked even more was the stupid taxi driver taking me to the wrong university. Now, I could understand this happening if I had just said "university please". But no. I not only told him WHICH university, I gave him the address. Well it's one way to get more fare. Anyway, I am here now and had a wonderful evening of making beautiful Renaissance music. We are focusing on English Renaissance music which is not my favourite but it will do!!!
This morning the Hoff and the Shaw parted ways and are now on separate western adventures. Greg explored downtown Vancouver today after seeing me off on the bus. Tomorrow, he is going to Stanley park with Sarah on the sea taxi!!! Should be fun!!!
Good night!
Love,
Katie (& Greg)
Friday, July 25, 2008
Sunny Vancouver Friday
Well we have had a beautiful and busy few days in Vancouver! Yesterday Greg and I headed out on a walking tour of Vancouver. We checked out some of the main streets close to Sarah and Jim's, had some coffee (of COURSE!) and then took the bus to UBC. We walked the wrong way, but saw the beautiful campus. Then we found the music building and got some info from them about their masters programs. Then we met up with Jim and he took us on a tour of his lab and told us what not to drink (mmm chemicals!!!). Then we went to the beach. Let me tell you about this beach. A) you have to climb down about three hundred thousand stairs before you reach the beach. Then you reach the beach and it's pretty -- mountains in the background, beautiful ocean water and naked people. Wait what?! Yes naked people....clothing optional beach. Interesting to say the least. Hope you don't run into your profs there...... then we met up with Sarah, Jim and Danica for sushi -- it is SO MUCH better with fresh fish!!!! Very good!!!
Today we left with Sarah and Danica in the morning to go for brunch and some shopping. Finally I made it into a Lush store -- SO GOOD!!!! This afternoon, Greg and I were the babysitters. After a nap, we had mac and cheese for lunch and then headed out to the park (see facebook for pics). Now we are relaxing at home and cooking up some BBQ!!!!
It's been a great couple of days in Vancouver. Tomorrow I get on yet ANOTHER bus and head to Seattle (this 3.5hr ride will be NOTHING!!!). I am there for a week for a much needed dose of Renaissance music and then likely am coming back to Vancouver. Tim & Jill had some bad luck with their house and so it might be easier just to come back here....but we will see what happens between now and next Thursday!!!!
Greg is here for two more days and is heading home on Monday!!!!
Time for dinner!!! :-)
Love,
Katie & Greg
Today we left with Sarah and Danica in the morning to go for brunch and some shopping. Finally I made it into a Lush store -- SO GOOD!!!! This afternoon, Greg and I were the babysitters. After a nap, we had mac and cheese for lunch and then headed out to the park (see facebook for pics). Now we are relaxing at home and cooking up some BBQ!!!!
It's been a great couple of days in Vancouver. Tomorrow I get on yet ANOTHER bus and head to Seattle (this 3.5hr ride will be NOTHING!!!). I am there for a week for a much needed dose of Renaissance music and then likely am coming back to Vancouver. Tim & Jill had some bad luck with their house and so it might be easier just to come back here....but we will see what happens between now and next Thursday!!!!
Greg is here for two more days and is heading home on Monday!!!!
Time for dinner!!! :-)
Love,
Katie & Greg
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Vancouver!!!
Well, finally have some time to write about all of the adventures!!! We arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday night...an hour and a half behind schedule!!! Many things to describe....
When we arrived in Calgary on Tuesday morning around 5:45am, it was a beautiful day. We had a bite to eat in the bus station cafe as our layover was only about an hour before we needed to board the Vancouver bound bus. Turns out, that was a big lie and for reasons that no one could explain (even the bus driver said don't ask) the bus was delayed for over an hour. Now, this isn't the first time we had to wait for a bus on this journey...waiting was getting a little annoying by this point. But Greyhound always seemed to be able to make up lost time (although going through the Rockies slowed progress a little bit...a bit bendy for speeding). We arrived in Revelstoke about a half hour behind schedule. Still not too bad. We changed drivers and on account of him being an Aussie, catching up seemed to be probable. That is until we turned the corner and the RCMP waved us over. Super. They were doing a surprise bus inspection and the surprise was....another 30min wait!!!! So needless to say we arrived in Vancouver two hours later than expected.
All in all the bus adventure was fun. I will never, EVER drive through Ontario again....the prairies were mighty entertaining compared to N. Ontario! Sleeping was difficult the first night but we managed to snag the big long back seat and two of the three nights no one was sitting in front of us so we were able to both have a place to lie down and sleep. Beer was also available in the bus station in Thunder Bay (of course) so that was good. Some of the drivers were crazy -- Nascar crazy. We had about three or four Newfie drivers which was good for a laugh and the Aussie Vancouver driver was a riot! The only thing I can say that I didn't really appreciate so much about the bus ride....and this is just a small thing.....but I didn't really enjoy them LOSING MY LUGGAGE (ask Greg how well I handled that one). It was annoying but not as annoying as your luggage being flown to Japan while you are in Canada....it's a little easier to get your luggage/find your luggage with the bus company. It got misplaced in all of the hubbub in Calgary and placed on the other bus going to Calgary. So the bag was retrieved yesterday and I was able to change out of my four-day-old clothing which I'm sure everyone here appreciated greatly!
Tim, Jill & Jenny were also here when we arrived. They are moving from Edmonton to Victoria and stopped in on the way by. We were chasing them. When I talked to Jill on Monday, they were in Revelstoke BC and we were in Saskatchewan. When I talked to Jill on Tuesday, we were in Revelstoke BC and they were only about 150KMs away from us!!! Crazy nighttime bus driving!!! So we enjoyed a nice visit, a SHOWER, and some tasty food courtesy of Greg's sister Sarah.
The nieces were having a blast together and the adults were having fun taking pictures (see facebook). Yesterday we took the girls to the park and then in the afternoon, Jenny, Tim, Jill and I went to Granville Island while Greg stayed home and rested his pregnancy ankles (ask him about this one). We cooked up a great dinner of steaks, fresh scallops and shrimp with an heirloom tomato, cucumber and cheese salad. Delicious!!!
Today started off with some clouds but seems to be clearing up or at least getting brighter now. I am tending to some laundry and then Greg and I are heading out to explore Vancouver (hopefully with a stop at Lush and the Apple store!!!)!!!!
Hope everyone is doing well and hope you tidied up from your party Alyssa and Dane!!! :P
Love,
Katie & Greg
When we arrived in Calgary on Tuesday morning around 5:45am, it was a beautiful day. We had a bite to eat in the bus station cafe as our layover was only about an hour before we needed to board the Vancouver bound bus. Turns out, that was a big lie and for reasons that no one could explain (even the bus driver said don't ask) the bus was delayed for over an hour. Now, this isn't the first time we had to wait for a bus on this journey...waiting was getting a little annoying by this point. But Greyhound always seemed to be able to make up lost time (although going through the Rockies slowed progress a little bit...a bit bendy for speeding). We arrived in Revelstoke about a half hour behind schedule. Still not too bad. We changed drivers and on account of him being an Aussie, catching up seemed to be probable. That is until we turned the corner and the RCMP waved us over. Super. They were doing a surprise bus inspection and the surprise was....another 30min wait!!!! So needless to say we arrived in Vancouver two hours later than expected.
All in all the bus adventure was fun. I will never, EVER drive through Ontario again....the prairies were mighty entertaining compared to N. Ontario! Sleeping was difficult the first night but we managed to snag the big long back seat and two of the three nights no one was sitting in front of us so we were able to both have a place to lie down and sleep. Beer was also available in the bus station in Thunder Bay (of course) so that was good. Some of the drivers were crazy -- Nascar crazy. We had about three or four Newfie drivers which was good for a laugh and the Aussie Vancouver driver was a riot! The only thing I can say that I didn't really appreciate so much about the bus ride....and this is just a small thing.....but I didn't really enjoy them LOSING MY LUGGAGE (ask Greg how well I handled that one). It was annoying but not as annoying as your luggage being flown to Japan while you are in Canada....it's a little easier to get your luggage/find your luggage with the bus company. It got misplaced in all of the hubbub in Calgary and placed on the other bus going to Calgary. So the bag was retrieved yesterday and I was able to change out of my four-day-old clothing which I'm sure everyone here appreciated greatly!
Tim, Jill & Jenny were also here when we arrived. They are moving from Edmonton to Victoria and stopped in on the way by. We were chasing them. When I talked to Jill on Monday, they were in Revelstoke BC and we were in Saskatchewan. When I talked to Jill on Tuesday, we were in Revelstoke BC and they were only about 150KMs away from us!!! Crazy nighttime bus driving!!! So we enjoyed a nice visit, a SHOWER, and some tasty food courtesy of Greg's sister Sarah.
The nieces were having a blast together and the adults were having fun taking pictures (see facebook). Yesterday we took the girls to the park and then in the afternoon, Jenny, Tim, Jill and I went to Granville Island while Greg stayed home and rested his pregnancy ankles (ask him about this one). We cooked up a great dinner of steaks, fresh scallops and shrimp with an heirloom tomato, cucumber and cheese salad. Delicious!!!
Today started off with some clouds but seems to be clearing up or at least getting brighter now. I am tending to some laundry and then Greg and I are heading out to explore Vancouver (hopefully with a stop at Lush and the Apple store!!!)!!!!
Hope everyone is doing well and hope you tidied up from your party Alyssa and Dane!!! :P
Love,
Katie & Greg
Monday, July 21, 2008
When will this province ever END?
Can someone please tell Ontario that it needs to be SMALLER?! It took us THIRTY-ONE hours to get out of that stinking province INCLUDING the 2 hour delay in Toronto!!! Alternative title to this post for Nathan is "We are waiting for a bus....constantly". The adventure began with drinks on our patio -- mostly we were drinking the liquor that we didn't want Dane to drink on us! :-) Then we called a cab around 8:30 -- being a Saturday night we thought it might take a bit longer. Whoops. So there we were at the beautiful (read: not so beautiful) Kitchener bus station waiting for our 9:50 departure. This wasn't too bad because it was warm out and we met a family (two boys, grandma and uncle) heading to Edmonton. We are now departing ways in Winnipeg. Sleeping on the bus is...well, what you would expect. Last night's driver was pretty good. Saturday night's driver....well, he was pretending he was a NASCAR driver...probably trying to make up for the 2 hour delay. We ended up slowly gaining back the lost time only to be lost again by late buses, late drivers, late riders etc. etc. but we actually arrived in Thunder Bay last night 2 mins. before we were supposed to! Bonus: Thunder Bay's terminal had BEER!!!! That made sleeping last night so much better!!! Yesterday afternoon, we met up with Greg's Granny, Auntie Helen and Uncle Don in Sault Ste. Marie! It was too bad that the bus was late and we could only really visit with them for about 10mins. Auntie Helen brought us a delicious bag of sandwiches, veggies and water and Granny made us buttertarts!!!! Thanks to them!!!! We are now in Winnipeg on a two-hour layover until we leave for Regina at 10am our time (11am Eastern)! We are having breakfast at a Holiday Inn on Rue Portage...so appropriately, I am portaging the Holiday Inn's internet!!!
All for now!!! Hope everyone is well!!!!
Love,
Katie & Greg
All for now!!! Hope everyone is well!!!!
Love,
Katie & Greg
Saturday, July 19, 2008
T-minus 4 hours....
Well, our bags are packed and we're almost ready to go....I should really be sick of that song by now!!!! I am getting ready to go to work (yes, work...!!!!) and then we are leaving at 9:50 on the bus!!!! Wish us luck!!! Hopefully I will be able to blog a bit on the way....we'll see where I can find some free internet!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Suitcases are staying together....so far...
So we leave in t-minus two days and I finally decided to start packing!!! So far I have fit most of the clothes I want to take in the big suitcase so that leaves me with the entire small suitcase to fill with goodies!!!! We were looking at the schedule from the Greyhound website for our trip the other day and man!!! A few times we have TEN HOURS between big stops!!! Ten hours?!?!? Ugh...thankfully we have a pile of snacks to feast upon!!! The worst stretch of the trip will probably be between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay...10.5 hours....of northern Ontario....!!! But nevertheless I am still very excited to depart on this adventure west of Detroit!!!!
Friday, July 11, 2008
It's been a while....
So I used to blog quite religiously but then I actually began to like school so nothing really to procrastinate from. But in eight sleeps, Greg and I are heading out west for a few weeks and I don't think there is a mode of transportation that I am not covering. Plane, ferry, car and of course, the bus, the inspiration for the blog. That's right. We are going all the way from Kitchener to Vancouver on a Greyhound bus. Now don't get me wrong. I am actually looking forward to this adventure. I have never been out west before and what better way to experience "west of Detroit" than by driving through it?! And I have been told that the first time I see the Rockies needs to be by driving through them, not flying over them. And the $150 price tag sealed the deal.
So the current dilemma is packing. Greyhound only allows one carry-on (seriously?!?!) while every other mode of transportation allows two. However, Greyhound's fee for extra baggage is a whopping ten dollars so I think I can handle that. But this is not our typical sort of vacation (and by typical, I mean the one vacation we have taken together) where we drive somewhere. Yes, we may stay in a few different places along the way and on the way back but we always have the precious hub, the car. This time, no such luck. We have to take everything off of the bus in Vancouver. After three days I have to re-pack and wait outside of a hotel in downtown Vancouver for yet another bus to Seattle where I am going to sing with the Tallis Scholars for a week. I then have to re-pack and get on a boat to Victoria. And finally, after a few days on Vancouver Island, I pack, take another boat, another bus and then get on a plane. So I foresee me as a little bit of a hobo wondering around unfamiliar cities with four bags of luggage. Could be interesting. Greg's go it easy. Just the bus and then a week later, a very early plane home.
Even though I have a few horrible situations swimming in my head (like my amazing Wal-Mart luggage breaking and exploding everywhere...thanks Alyssa!!), I know that everything will probably work out just fine (I am however, bringing duct tape with me!!!). I can't wait to see the entire western part of the country. I can't wait to see the Rockies. I can't wait to stay for possibly one night with six adults, two toddlers and 4-6 cats in Vancouver. I can't wait to see UBC and SFU. I can't wait to have a great visit with Sarah & Jim and eat BBQ!! I can't wait to teach Jenny and Danica how to be flower girls. I can't wait to sing Renaissance music for an entire week (*heaven*). I can't wait for the ferry up the coast to Victoria. I can't wait to help Jill set up her new house and hang out with Jill and Jenny some more. And finally, I can't wait for the flight home (I love flying). All in all, it's going to be a great adventure!!
So the current dilemma is packing. Greyhound only allows one carry-on (seriously?!?!) while every other mode of transportation allows two. However, Greyhound's fee for extra baggage is a whopping ten dollars so I think I can handle that. But this is not our typical sort of vacation (and by typical, I mean the one vacation we have taken together) where we drive somewhere. Yes, we may stay in a few different places along the way and on the way back but we always have the precious hub, the car. This time, no such luck. We have to take everything off of the bus in Vancouver. After three days I have to re-pack and wait outside of a hotel in downtown Vancouver for yet another bus to Seattle where I am going to sing with the Tallis Scholars for a week. I then have to re-pack and get on a boat to Victoria. And finally, after a few days on Vancouver Island, I pack, take another boat, another bus and then get on a plane. So I foresee me as a little bit of a hobo wondering around unfamiliar cities with four bags of luggage. Could be interesting. Greg's go it easy. Just the bus and then a week later, a very early plane home.
Even though I have a few horrible situations swimming in my head (like my amazing Wal-Mart luggage breaking and exploding everywhere...thanks Alyssa!!), I know that everything will probably work out just fine (I am however, bringing duct tape with me!!!). I can't wait to see the entire western part of the country. I can't wait to see the Rockies. I can't wait to stay for possibly one night with six adults, two toddlers and 4-6 cats in Vancouver. I can't wait to see UBC and SFU. I can't wait to have a great visit with Sarah & Jim and eat BBQ!! I can't wait to teach Jenny and Danica how to be flower girls. I can't wait to sing Renaissance music for an entire week (*heaven*). I can't wait for the ferry up the coast to Victoria. I can't wait to help Jill set up her new house and hang out with Jill and Jenny some more. And finally, I can't wait for the flight home (I love flying). All in all, it's going to be a great adventure!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
