Catch Up Post

Sorry for my absence over the weekend!  It turns out that touring, blogging and general gallivanting can wear a gal out.  I haven’t had the time, energy, or internet access to blog in the last few days.

BUT, I’ve got a few quiet minutes now, so I thought I’d fill you in on the latest goings on of the Florida Friends Tour.

On Saturday afternoon we arrived in Daytona Beach to find ourselves smack dab in the middle of Spring Break.  It was quite a scene, and one that we observed with no small amount of amusement.  I’m 34-years-old, which doesn’t feel ancient in most settings, but I sure felt like an old lady strolling down the main drag on Daytona Beach.  All I really have to say after observing Spring break for a few hours is, it’s a miracle we survived adolescence!

The concert itself was at the Peabody Auditorium, and we were all very pleased with the vibrant hall.  It was pretty cool to step off the wild streets and step into a serene and responsive concert hall.  Saturday evening was also our reunion with Fabio Bindini and the Ravel Piano Concerto.  The Ravel is one of my very favorite concertos to play, and Fabio has been a real treat to work with this entire time.  He’s a gem!

Here’s a tale of culinary adventure from Daytona Beach: After the concert I had a lovely meal with Patti and Amelie at the steakhouse in our hotel, and at the end of the evening we ordered a piece of chocolate cake to share.

This is what we got:

I’m not sure this picture does the cake justice.   This is the BIGGEST “slice” of cake I have ever seen.  Ever.  In the history of the world, there has never been a piece of cake as big as this one.

The three of us did our best with the cake, but we barely made a dent.  It was delicious but we had eaten a full meal, and we were stuffed.  That’s when Patti got the idea to call in reinforcements!  Patti called Glenn and told him to get down to the restaurant because we had a cake situation on our hands and we needed help.  Glenn was so hilariously workmanlike in his approach to the cake that he practically rolled up his sleeves before digging in.  And he got the job done!

Glenn was the right man for the job.

Yesterday (Sunday) we had a day off, and we scattered to every corner of Florida.  I was part of a small crew (Roman, Antoine and myself) who drove to Tampa to see the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Those who know any of the three of us personally know that we are all true hockey nuts and will not find it at all surprising to learn that given a day off in sunny Florida we chose to drive two and a half hours to sit in a cold arena.  It was a BLAST and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.   Unfortunately, I only took two pictures, and neither of them include a BPOer.

This one….

The area around the St. Pete’s Times Forum is pretty cool.  There’s a little cluster of shops and restaurants, and a GIANT dock for humongous cruise ships.  That structure in the background is NOT an office building, but an incredibly large boat.

….and this one:

This picture also includes no BPO members, but at least it proves we were at a hockey game.

Other orchestra members found all sorts of adventures ranging from golf excursions, to training camp baseball, to dolphin-watching cruises, but the award for “Most Industrious BPO Members On A Day Off in Florida” goes to violist Matt Phillips and bassist Mike Nigrin, who ran a half marathon (!) in Sarasota.

Matt came in second in his age group and 16th overall.  He practically won the race!

After a fun and relaxing day off, it was back to work today.  This morning we all piled into the buses and hit the road for Vero Beach.

Alright, I have to start preparing for the concert. (And by “preparing for the concert” I mean “figure out if my concert clothes are even remotely un-wrinkly enough to wear in public”.)  Until next time!

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