Our Last Day :(

Our last day was fantastic!

We started the day touring Madrid and had lunch at a little market with all different kinds of foods. We want to the Prado museum and say works from Goya and other famous artists. At the end of the day we had an amazing farewell dinner. We gave Mr.Drake  a gift and he loved it.

We said good-bye to our fantastic driver, Marcos. He kept us safe and made sure we always got to our venue on time.

We had an amazing time and we loved every moment of the trip.

Day 6 and Day 7

Each day gets better and better!

Wednesday started off by exploring Segovia. We saw the 2,000 year old aqueduct. we toured Alcazar, an old castle. For lunch we were able to choose what we wanted. There was Duck, Fish, and Steak. During our break before the concert, 15 of us decided to go play a little concert in the main square. We attracted a very big crowd and people seemed that they loved our playing. The concert at the San Juan de los Caballeros was amazing. A sizable crowd showed up, despite the cold. For dinner some people just went out for coffee or a light snack because we had so much for lunch.

Today we headed off to our last city, Madrid. We stopped by Villavisciosa de Odon to play a quick performance. After the concert students got to ask us some questions. After our performance we went to our hotel, NH Collection Paseo Del Prado. Everyone grabbed a quick bite and then headed off to another concert. The audience loved our performance so much that they called for an encore, and then we played another piece just for them! Dinner was at the Prada a Tope Restaurant. We had steak and a Spanish Omelet. The Spanish Omelet consisted of: potato, onions, eggs, and tomato sauce.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Europe :(

Day 5

This morning we left Porto, and after a short delay, we were on the road to Spain!

The entire trip was smooth and the views were fantastic. Salamanca truly did look like the golden city. We stopped there and grabbed some lunch for an hour then it was off to Segovia!

During our ride to Segovia, we saw a rainbow, and some huge mountains! Our hotel is right in the middle of the plaza with some amazing views.

Dinner was great,  we got to try some authentic food from Segovia!

Tomorrow we are touring Segovia and playing a concert at the San Juan de los Caballeros.  There are posters for our concert all over the city square.

-Armani

Day 4

What a beautiful day today! The weather was just perfect!

We started the day early by walking around the beautiful city of Porto. We stopped by the beach and saw the Atlantic ocean. The waves were huge! We began walking around the city and looking at the parks. We went to the church where Henry the Navigator was baptized. We enjoyed a traditional Portuguese tapas lunch, including octopus, local cheeses and meats, sardines, pork, frittatas, and some great desserts.

Our afternoon consisted of a relaxing boat tour of the Rou Douro. The boat ride was calming and had great views of the city.

For the evening we played at the Colegio Nossa Senhora da Paz school. Before we performed, we had a reception at the school with some of their students. We ate a little, talked, and then played soccer for a bit. The concert went very well, and the audience was very receptive.

Tomorrow, we will be traveling for a long time, as we are saying goodbye to Portugal, and heading to Segovia, Spain.

-Armani

           

Day Three

Today was mostly a travel day.  We left Lisbon early this morning, and stopped in Tomar to tour the Convent of Christ, which was really stunning.  It's amazing to think that this stuff was built 600 years before the US even existed.  We left there after about an hour, and arrived in Porto around 4 this afternoon.  We did some quick shopping, had a great dinner and then some down time.  Tomorrow is a very busy day, with a long tour, some rehearsal, and then our next performance.

Here is a link we received a few hours ago from our friends at AMAC, the school we performed with yesterday.  There are some great pictures here, feel free to take a look.  More tomorrow!

AMAC’s webpage. (click that link for some pics from yesterday's concert)

Second Day

Hello Friends and Family of Solisti,

Just another fantastic day in Lisboa!

The breakfast this morning was so good. There was eggs, bacon sausages, fresh fruit and so much more!

Ju picked us up this morning and took us to a Cathedral dating back over 600 years. We hiked our way up hills to the St.George Castle. The Castle had stunning views of Lisboa.  After seeing the amazing views of Lisboa we went back down into the Alfama district, the oldest neighborhood in Lisboa.  Once we finished seeing the old district, we toured the Fado Museum. Fado is the music of Portugal. It is believed that the beginning of Fado started with the navigators singing sad songs about traveling and the hardships they faced. Yet, Fado can also be happy songs, songs about love and about Portugal's culture. The museum was filled with the history of Fado and some paintings

We ate lunch, got ready for our concert, and then practiced before our concert.

The concert went so well! We had 4 very special people attend. Dr.Donald Jones, Mrs. Rosalind Jones, Mrs.Fran Jamison and Mr.Bill Jamison. Avi and myself (I'm Armani by the way) met these  people in the Newark airport and we talked to them for awhile. We told them about the concert and they told us they would try to make it. Right before our concert they were right there in the front row! Not only were our fans in the front row, but the carriage museum was packed! Standing room only! The Youth Orchestra of the AMAC School did an amazing job. The last song in the concert we played all together. We might be speaking different languages but we were able to connect through the power of music. When the concert was over we got to go backstage and talk with the youth orchestra. They were all so nice and we laughed a lot, we were sad we couldn't spend more time with them!

After all of that fun we went out to dinner at the Pateo de Alfama. There we heard a live performance of Fado. It was unlike anything I have ever heard. The singers were so passionate and the food was very good.

I would like to thank Ju for all of her hard work in coordinating the concert between AMAC and Solisti. She worked tirelessly and the concert went off without a hitch. It was an amazing experience that we will never forget all because of her.

 Tomorrow we head for Tomar and Porto.

I cant wait for all the amazing things that will happen tomorrow!

-Armani

First Day!

WOW! What a great first day!

Our plane landed on time and after clearing customs we meet our amazing tour manager Yvonne and our knowledgeable guide, Jú. Once boarding the bus we headed to the Belem Tower.  Belem Tower is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tower was able to survive the massive earthquake of 1755. The tower was used as a defense structure as well as a prison. Ju explained to us the large history that Portugal has in navigation.  Portugal established lots of colonies along the African coast during 1427- 1503.

From there, we took a quick 5 min drive to the Jeronimos Monastery and Church. The monastery was named after Saint Jerome, who was alive during the 4th century and created the bible. The monastery is built from limestone, and designed in an architectural style known as, Manueline.

After seeing the old monastery, we made a quick a stop at the Royal Carriage Museum. We saw luxurious carriages that carried Kings and Queens.

After all the sightseeing, we headed to the hotel  to check in.  Next, we had a quick lunch, and then we had a little time to explore the town square outside our hotel in Lisbon, and do a little shopping.

Dinner was at the Nicola Restaurant. We had rice with duck (or not duck) and different types of mousse for dessert.

We are looking forward to another day of sightseeing tomorrow as well as meeting and performing with the Youth Orchestra from AMAC.