Day 2 - After some rest ...

November 22: by Siri Bloom, Oboe - BM 2011


After a night's sleep recovering from jet lag, I woke up ready for a new day in Rome. The morning routine proved tricky as my roommates and I had to plan for three showers and a limited supply of hot water. We managed quite well, and I am now a big fan of the detachable shower heads they have here. The looming chance of an ice cold shower though ... not so much.

Once I was done getting ready for the day, I went down to breakfast in the hotel restaurant. There waiting was an incredible spread of croissants, bread, cereal, fruit, yogurt, ham, cheese plus a machine for juice, cappuccino and espresso. It is very unfortunate that I don't like straight coffee, so that's one Italian experience I'll have to miss out on. However, I enjoyed my breakfast very much. I realized I had whole milk on my cereal, which was both interesting and surprisingly good.

Following breakfast, all of us loaded the bus to drive into Rome around 10:45 AM. By strategically picking a window seat I got a good view of everything on the way into town. The sides of the streets are usually lined with various shops and bars, and above them are apartment buildings. Almost 100% of all these apartments had their own personal balcony and the buildings themselves are decorated with plants. It's a very different atmosphere from anywhere else I've been before; everything is old and the architecture is so interesting to look at. Also on our way into town we crossed the Tiber River, got a small view of St. Peter's within the walls of the Vatican, the Castle of St. Angelo and parked the bus right in front of the Piazza Venezia. From there we walked to our rehearsal site - the Church of St. Ignazio.

To get to the church we got to experience crossing busy Italian streets with Smart Cars and mopeds flying by. We zig-zagged through side streets until we reached the square. I was amazed how large and beautiful it was, and it was just a rehearsal space! When I stepped inside I was blown away by the incredible size, detail and beauty of the artwork and architecture of the church. It was full of color and every space in he church was different and unique. he walls and altars were beautiful, but for me, nothing compared to the ceiling. The artwork looked like it was three dimensional it was so vivid! I took what seemed like a thousand pictures and then went out in to the city while the strings had a sectional. I was so lucky to get a few more hours to explore Rome!

I went to the Piazza Venezia first and marveled at its size and beauty. The white marble combined with grand statues and the ancient architecture was amazing - a perfectly designed monument. From the top of the monument I could see the Coliseum plus parts of the Roman ruins. Also, another great part of the monument to see was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Two guards were on either side of it as well as two fires that are constantly burning.

A large part of my day was taking advantage of the amazing shopping in Rome! It was a lot of fun for me to explore Italian stores and see European fashions. My favorite purchase was a "Bordeaux" color leather coat - on sale. What could be better? I also bought gifts for friends and family and towards the end of the afternoon bought myself un ciccoliata (hot chocolate). It was European hot chocolate, so it was basically a melted chocolate bar in a cup - American cocoa will never be the same!

The next part of my day was the evening rehearsal. We were in a different church, but it was only a half block away. It was a smaller church, but even so, there wasn't a slack of artistic excellence. There were paintings everywhere on the walls and ceilings. The rehearsal was a good one and it was an honor to work with Maestro Helmuth Rilling and the members of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas (YOA). The only thing that was problematic was the tuning. I have to tune the orchestra to A=443, and what made that even tougher was the lack of heat in the church! Because of that, intonation was one of the weak spots in the orchestra, but overall it was a productive rehearsal. I like my stand partner a lot, and it seems that everyone else from NEC does too (we are seated next to YOA members). The fun thing for me is that she's from Montreal and speaks fluent French. So I not only get to work on my Italian while I'm here, but my French as well!

Following rehearsal we loaded the buses and came back to the hotel. We took a detour though, in order to pass St. Peter's Basilica. It was absolutely gorgeous! It is completely surreal for me that we will give a concert there on Wednesday. What an amazing, once in a lifetime experience! That sent a wave of excitement through the entire group.

The day of rehearsals, shopping and sight-seeing concluded with a late dinner at our restaurant for the week - Benedetto Ristorante Bar Pasticceria. The past two days we have all eaten so much food! Every night we get 4 courses, the first being some type of past, the second being meat or fish, the third is a side of salad or French fries, and the fourth is dessert. It's a great part of the day because you can wind down, eat good food and have fun conversation.

Rome is an amazing city, and I'm so excited to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel more of it in the coming days! Ciao!!!