You may have noticed my absence last week,
but never fear! I have not abandoned you. Last week I rejoined my previous
secondary school as their orchestra, wind band and jazz band went on tour in
Lake Garda, Italy. As I had been on the Tuscany tour 2 years earlier, it’s safe
to say that I was buzzing with excitement in the run up to our departure.
The whole party was divided up into 2
coaches, both of which would travel across the country to Dover where we would
take the ferry across the Channel to Calais. From there the coaches drove
through the night and worked their way through France, Germany and Switzerland
until we reached the Italian Lake.
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| A lake in Switzerland |
A journey that lasts over 30 hours is
enough to drain anyone, however we all still managed to jump in the hotel’s
pool almost as soon as we arrived.
On the first day, Monday, we visited the
city of Verona: a beautiful city and the home of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. For hours we wandered
around the shops and explored the market square, eventually making our way to
Juliet’s Balcony. A small courtyard off one of the streets with green leaves
covering most of the walls, it is a pretty sight to see in any place, but having
the connection to the famous literary couple the place was packed with
visiters. Over the years many of those visiters have marked their coming by
writing on the walls of the archway that leads to the courtyard. Love letters
and graffiti have been displayed there and the artwork continues to grow
everyday.
That evening we held our first concert of
the tour. Sirmione - a town that sits with three of its sides directly on the
lakeside, and, as would be expected, is extremely pretty - was our venue and we
returned to the town on our last full day in Italy and took advantage of its
close proximity to the lake and its large number of ice-cream shops.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we went to a
nearby waterpark and Gardaland theme park; both days were great, even if the
scorching heat did have us sweating buckets (this was where the waterpark
perhaps made us happier than the theme park did!).
Our two remaining concerts were held on
Tuesday and Thursday, also in towns either near or on the lakeside.
I had an absolutely fantastic week in
Italy. It was brilliant to spend so much time with people who, I know, are true
friends of mine. If I could repeat the trip ten times over I would, but as for
now I’ll just have to wait until August until I see you guys again and til, well,
whenever, until I return to Lago di Garda.
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