Landed!

We're home! Safe travels to your own homes, ladies and gents of Europe 2009! Have a great summer! Watch your email for updates about sharing photos and check out the blog of YOUR great trip! Thanks for a wonderful tour! Dr. Wis

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The last leg to Chicago!

We are boarding and getting situated for the long flight home. Watch one of your favorite flight trackers to see our progress -- blue skies for take-off! Everyone is talking about the foods or restaurants they are planning to head for as soon as we land: Liz Kelly (Taco Bell); Sarah Homan (Chipotle); Hannah Toriumi (Portillo's); the Wis ladies miss Corner Bakery (and real size cups of coffee)-- Amanda Dominguez is planning a banana and peanut butter fix soon:) -- be prepared for special requests when you pick up your WC-er!
See you all soon!
Dr. Wis

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In Frankfurt

Arrived easily in Frankfurt. Killing time until we board at noon. Skies are sunny:)

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On the plane to Frankfurt

Sleepy and ready to come home. We stop in Frankfurt for about 4 hours and then board the long flight to O'Hare.

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Our very last day.

Today was our very last day in Europe. It was a day of last minute shopping, sentiments , and thanks. We started off the day by going on a tour led by our fantastic guide, Maggie. She's a great tour guide because o f how real she is. The other day, in a palace, she said in all honesty that the next room would be boring and that we should quickly pass through it to get to the next interesting one. Everyone really enjoyed recognizing her genuine attitude. She met us in the downtown area this morning. Again, it rained, but it wasn't as cold or windy as it was yesterday, which made walking around on foot manageable. We went to see the gilded statue of Johann Strauss in the park, took a quick picture, saw the Vienna River and escaped the rain (yes, it's still raining here).

Then we went to see Mozart's house in downtown Vienna. We walked around, glued to things that seemed to b e a cross between a cell phone and a walkie talkie. In every room, on the wall there was a number. We'd punch that number into ou r little device and listen to information about Mozart. It was a very different type of tour than we were used to. Usually, we are led around by someone who talks about one subject and then leads us into another. Here, we could choose which subjects we wanted to listen to, and which we'd rather pass up.

After the tour, we had time to wander around the city on our own. We all had our separate adventures. Now that we're "seasoned travelers" we knew how much we could accomplish in the city in four hours. I loved hearing all the stories from the different groups and their activities. Be sure to ask your singer what she did in her free time! We all met up for dinner in a little, and very authentic, Austrian restaurant to experience Wiener schnitzel for the first time. The roaring majority had to keep from asking for seconds.

Our final concert was at the beautiful Charles Church, or Kalkirche. It's beautifully decorated with marble and gold leaf in every possible direction you look. By this time in our trip, we were extremely well rehearsed in our repetoire and felt free and accomplished in our singing. The family members and faculty all agreed that it was our best concert of them all. I think that much emotion was packed into this performance, as it was the very last Women's Chorale concert for some of our graduates and alums. It was, yet again, an amazing experience. When we come home, poor Wentz will seem so small compared to the gold gilding, exaggeratedly tall ceilings, and marble decoration. We'll be glad to be home, though.

Tonight at the hotel, we had a good-bye dessert party. We had to discuss some business issues, but most importantly, we wanted to celebrate the experience we had. We took some time to thank everyone for their individual contributions, shared sentiments and stories, and toasted the cheese-stuffed sausages that many of us tried for the first time today! We couldn't bear to let the last concert be our last singing endeavor of the year, so we stood in a huge circle in the hotel lobby and sang one of our signature warmups, "Yonder Come Day."

We've been extremely privileged to go on such an amazing tour to such amazing locations, with amazing people with amazing talent, an amazing director, and amazing guides in the city. They say that you go to Europe and come back a different person. I never believed it until going on this trip. I'm not going to come home with a different name and personality, but I have gained immense knowledge about myself and learned a lot about those close to me (and those who weren't close but are now!). This group now, more than ever, feels like a family. It will be very interesting to see how we all interact in the fall after having had this profound experience together. Thanks for following the Women's Chorale on our journey through Europe, and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow!


Your blogger,
Emily

P.S. I have some flight information for those of you who are interesting in obtaining it.
Arrival and Departure times
Flight: LH 3543 - Vienna International, Austria Frankfurt/Main International, Germany
Depat 6:35am
Arrive: 8:00am


Airline Flight Departure Arrival

United Flight 941
Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
Wed, Jun 24
Scheduled: 12:45 PM
Estimated: 12:45 PM
Reason: --
Gate: --

Chicago, IL (ORD)
Wed, Jun 24
Scheduled: 2:53 PM
Estimated: 2:53 PM
Reason: --
Gate: INTL2
Baggage claim: IT

Final concert at the Karlskirche

I did not think it possible that we could have found a more spectacular church but tonight, we sang at the incredibly beautiful, majestic, and best-acoustics-ever Karlskirche in Vienna. (It is worth Googling to get an idea of what we experienced.) The women were impeccable, the large audience very appreciative, and the hosts delightful. Every reason for which we sing was made clear tonight: the sound itself, the meaningful text, the spiritual experience, the connection with the audience and each other, and in a collegiate environment, the connection to an institution and a heritage. We count ourselves very lucky indeed!
We had a rousing final dinner before the concert and a dessert and wrap up at the hotel after. Just a few hours sleep before we get on the bus for our early flight. Right now, all flight info appears to be the same as our latest itinerary but check O'Hare and United for updates. We will see you soon!
Dr. Wis

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Lunch near St. Stephen's

I am finishing my lunch of wurst und kraut and it never tasted better! We are enjoying free time in the heart of town near St. Stephen's--many shops like Swarovski, many cafes . . . you name it. Something for everyone:) We enjoyed our touring this morning and were able to catch about 30 minutes of St. Charles North's performance at Haus der Musik. They were impeccable, as always! Dr. Wis

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Our final day

We begin our final day with a walking tour in Vienna, rain and all! Many of us will try to see part of a noon concert by St. Charles North High School at Haus der Musik. We have many connections with St. Charles North and were delighted to run into their group at Schonbrunn yesterday. This afternoon we have free time for our final shopping and cafe stops. Then tonight, our last concert at a stunning church, the Karlskirche.
A note about flights--we will post any updated info on the blog later today.
Off to Downtown Wien! Dr. Wis

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Rain, rain, GO AWAY!

We've been extremely fortunate to have such crystal clear weather for the majority of our trip. It had to end... and it did. Today, the rain came like never before. We were a bunch of bummed bumpkins on a bus watching the raindrops drip down the windows. We sprinted through ice cold globs of water to get into our first stop of the day, the Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna! The Habsburg family was the empirical family in the palace since the 1600s, and they had both a summer and a winter palace built for them in the city of Vienna. Today, we visited the summer palace. I was my own personal favorite. It was beautifully decorated with articulated crown molding and carved woodwork lacing every wall in the structure. The furniture is ornately preserved and reupholstered every so often to keep the air of originality. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the inside because cameras are strictly prohibited! Since you all aren't here, and I'd like to pretend the weather was more than favorable, I'm attaching a picture found on a Vienna website so you can see the outside looking its best.

After the tour of the palace we once again darted through the cold raindrops to get to our tour bus, which seemed like it was parked all the way back in Salzburg! Whoever knew that March could come for visits in June? We were so relieved to end the running chaos that we all fell asleep for our panoramic tour of Salzburg. I did manage to grab a picture of the rainy day. There were so many beautiful green parks in the heart of the city, and wished so badly that it would stop raining so that we could get a chance to walk through them. The second best thing is staring at this photo and imagining we're inside. :)

The next event was certainly the highlight of the day, if not of the trip for some of us. Dr. Jutta Unkart-Siefert, an acclaimed opera singer from Vienna, recently named a cultural ambassador, invited us into her deluxe apartment for a reception and dinner. It was the highest honor for us to be in her home, and supposedly, she's very selective about her company. We exchanged laughs, hugs, and most importantly, music. After the delicious dinner that she spent the day preparing for us, we performed several of our songs for her. After we finished, Dr. Wis asked her if there was anything that she would like to contribute to the music performance. Barb ran over to the piano and Dr. Unkart-Siefert performed one of the most gripping and glorious performances of Ave Maria that I've ever heard. Several people took video recordings, so expect those to be posted to the internet once we've returned home. It was an absolutely magical experience.

Tomorrow is our last day in Europe, and we're looking forward to see you all again, but we're also sad to be leaving this different universe in which we've been participating in for the past 8 days. I'll post one last time tomorrow night after our concert in Kalkirche. Thanks for reading and keeping up with the Women's Chorale!

Dinner at the Cultural Ambassador's home

We are heading back to our elegant old hotel after dinner at the home of Dr. Jutta Unkart-Seifert, cultural ambassador of Vienna. Jutta invites only select groups, so we were honored to be her dinner guests--and to sing for her and hear her sing "Ave Maria." She presented us with a certificate from the European Cultural Initiative for the Young Generation, thanking us for our "magnificent concerts as part of the Austrian school project." Great food, new friendships and wonderful music! Dr. Wis

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In Vienna

Off to Schonbrunn Palace for a tour before dinner at Dr. Jutta's. Maggie is our city guide for this part of the trip:) Dr. Wis

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On the road to Vienna

We head to Vienna, seeing many lakes and beautiful countryside, despite the gray morning. We will do some sight- seeing after we check in this afternoon and then an early dinner at Dr. Jutta's lovely apartment. We continue to be grateful for safe travels and great friendships! Dr. Wis

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A day in Salzburg

We started off the day by going on a foot tour of the downtown Salzburg area. It's much chillier here than the sunny, nice weather we had in Paris. We got to see some genuinely beautiful place. Situated far beneath the Hohensalzburg fortress that sits atop the town, the Mirabel Garden was the first stop on the list. If you're not familiar, it's the site where the Do Re Mi song was filmed in the Sound of Music. Lots and lots of tourism is brought into Salzburg because of that musical.

We wandered through the historical sites, over the river and through the woods (okay, not the woods, but it was a long walk). We saw some inspirations for the cemetery fabricated for the Sound of Music. We took the funicular railway up the side of the mountain to get to the Hohensalzburg fortress. It was quite fun! It's kind of like a slanted elevator that goes rather quickly. Inside the fortress walls, a renaissance fair was set up with staged fencing, potters with kickwheels, bakers, and blacksmiths. People were dressed in medieval attire roamed the square as the Women's Chorale (and friends) watched with curiosity and interest. Just when we thought the view couldn't be more interesting, we stopped by an opening that led us out onto an area that overlooked the entire city and the enormous mountains that envelope it all. It had just began to rain, and everything took to a radiant green hue while clouds skirted the mountains in a grey haze. The scene was absolutely fantastic.

After taking the fanicular back down the mountain (which was even more thrilling than going up- I was sure to grab a spot in the front car with a window view!) we walked further into the village to visit Mozart's birthhouse. It included beautifully preserved belongings of the family and Wolfgang, including the very first violin that he played. They had copies of his first pieces of work (the originals are in the basement of the house and cost far more to see). No pictures, though. They don't allow cameras inside. Just use your imagination!

An afternoon of leisure was ahead of us, and we all welcomed the idea of slowing down the pace to enjoy the views and the company with us. It's really amazing how a group can come together during a trip like this. Everyone already sort of knew each other at the beginning, but you make great bonds with people that you had the chance to get to know even better. I know it's true for me. Alright, alright- sappy moments aside- it was a great afternoon. Intermittently interjected with bouts of rain, the day was enjoyable and even though most of the stores are closed on Sundays, everyone seemed to find treasures to take home. Also, if you picture Paris having a lot of cafes, you must consider Salzburg as well. Every ten feet there was a different type of restaurant or cafe to enjoy. Reconvening at the end of the free time was fun because of all the stories that everyone had.

We finished up our day with a concert in the University Church right outside of downtown Salzburg. Everyone agreed that it was the best concert yet. The acoustics of the church were absolutely amazing. At the end of every song lingered a six second reverb. The sound filled up the church to a point at which we thought it would implode! Singers can tell they've put on a good show by the audience. If you quickly glance out into the audience (Just quick, Dr. Wis, we're looking at you mainly!!!) it's so fun to see all the faces absorbed in the music in their own ways. Some with their eyes shut, some with their eyes tearing, and some just smiling. It's a very affirming experience for a performer. I think it's partly why we do it.

We're coming close to the end of our stay in Europe, and we're looking forward to being in our last city, Vienna. We're leaving tomorrow morning! We'll also be having our dinner with the accliaimed cultural ambassador Dr. Jutta Unkart-Siefert in her upscale apartment. Expect great stories and photos from that!

I noticed in your comments that some of you want group pictures. It's hard for me to take them as I'm part of the group, but I know Dr. Wis has been taking them all along. Be sure to look back at the end for all of the extra pictures and information that hasn't been posted on the trip. You and your chorale singer can reminisce. In the mean time, if I get my hands on one, I'll be sure to post it. Thanks for your lovely comments and keep on reading!

Lunch near Mozart's house

Just a quick post as we enjoy free time over lunch in Salzburg--a lovely day with only moments here and there of mistiness (though some of that was in the form of tears as Aileen reflected "I just never thought I would be here. This has been life-changing.") We enjoyed tours of Mozart's home and the fortress and many other sites but made sure to eat HUGE pretzels from street vendors and found some great chocolate. Our spirits are so very high (we laugh a lot) and we have enjoyed becoming a family over these many days. We saw our venue for tonight's concert - wow! Emily will post more later! From Dr. Wis

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Today and Yesterday- a 2for special!!!

Yesterday was the day that a large amount of the chorale members were looking forward to the most. We were finally able to sing in Notre Dame!!! Our tour bus, driven by the fantastic "Pollo," dropped us off just outside of the island that the cathedral is located on. Apparently, tour buses aren't allowed on the island at all. We made quite a scene, walking the streets of Paris draped in our elegant black gowns amidst the Parisian pedestrians. We definitely got several strange looks! I've seen hundreds of pictures of Notre Dame in my life, but I'll tell you, there's nothing at all like being inside it. All the years it's existed seem to pile up and remain inside the tall ceilings. It's as if voices from hundreds of years ago are still echoing in its deep chambers. As one chorale member, Emily Smith, said, "It's almost like being in a museum, there's so many alcoves and details!" I couldn't agree more. Every way you turn, a new detail is uncovered and appreciated. Singing was an even wilder experience. One of the men helping organize the recital approached a microphone and proceeded to shush the entire church to welcome our entrance. We went through our repetoire, fighting the urges to completely space out and gaze at the sights around us. We had many, many people coming in and out of the pews to listen. We even saw several tears roll.

After our performance at Notre Dame, we had time for an afternoon at leisure. We grouped into smaller divisions to go explore! By this point, we had several days experience in Paris, and had some sort of idea what we'd like to see. My group went to the Musee de l'Orangerie located right by the Place de la Concorde. It's a fantastic art museum that displays Les Nympheas (Monet's Waterlilies) in beatifully lit, elliptical rooms. I didn't expect the paintings to be so big and long. Seeing them all was really quite breathtaking. There was another section of the museum that held some Renoir, Picasso, Cezanne, Guillame, and Matisse paintings (just to name a few). It was a small museum with crowds much smaller than the Louvre. Most of us left with souvenirs to remember the experience.

After a very lively last dinner in Paris, we boarded our overnight train to Munich, or Munchen. It was a VERY tight squeeze for most of us as we were mainly sharing train compartments between six people in bunks three people high. I tried to get a picture of the setup, but it was too small to get into and be able to get a photo. It was a bonding experience, for sure. We had a beautiful view of little villages and churches as we whizzed through the French/German countryside. After a somewhat restless night, we ended up in Munich this morning, eager for the day.

Our first activity, after a delicious breakfast at the train station (believe it or not), was a trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. This is the castle that Disney modeled their famous logo after. It's tucked beautifully into the side of the mountains. You could travel up the winding mountainside either by foot, horse and carriage, or by bus. No matter which way we took, we all had the same beautiful view of the foliage surrounding us. Since most of us come from Illinois, it's very strange to see the land buckle and give way to such monstrous mountains. We were all left feeling impressed and amazed.

We had a long bus ride to Salzburg from the castle. We entertained ourselves by sleeping :) and playing a competitive game of Musicals and Movies. One side of the bus names a musical like Cats, and the other side of the bus has to come up with the name of a Musical starting with the last letter, so Singing in the Rain would work. We kept volleying back and forth until everyone was breathless from shouting possibilities or just stumped. What a great way to burn off some otherwise boring bus time!

We had a DELICIOUS dinner at the hotel, ok, maybe I'm a bit biased toward the German and Austrian food. It really was, delicious, though. Now we've all wound down and are ready to to see what tomorrow brings us. We'll be singing at the University Church. Check back tomorrow for more updates. Sorry to miss you yesterday- no internet on the train!

On the road to Salzburg

We finished a full afternoon at Neuschwanstein Castle, walking A LOT on our way up the mountain to the castle. Despite gray skies and a few moments of misty rain,we enjoyed scenery to take your breath away: two castles, waterfalls, a lovely glass-smooth lake and of course, mountains. At the end of our tour of the castle interor, we had a chance to sing a bit in the music hall built by Ludwig II-impromptu and even with an audience! Great acoustics, Ludwig! Skies were clear as we left and we now make our way to Salzburg. From Dr. Wis

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Breakfast in Munich

Guten Morgen! Sleepy but enjoying our full breakfast at the delightful Rubenbauer's in Munchen (Munich). Off to the castle and then a good bit of travel time on the way to Salzburg today. We look forward to a hotel bed and more breathing room! And to walking into "town" once we hit Salzburg! Guten tag! From Dr. Wis

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Couchette Coziness

First, ignore duplicates of some posts if you see some from a few days ago:) As for now, we are settling in to our couchettes on the overnight train to Munich. The ladies are very "cozy" to say the least. (Ok, more bonding opportunities.) We just saw a castle out our window, prepping us for the beauty we will see in the mountains of Austria. From Dr. Wis

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Paris: Day Three

Once again, it ended up being a beautiful day in Paris! We started off this morning with an hour drive to Versailles, which was well worth the time. The gates to the chateau are covered in gold leafing and the architecture is exquisite. I find it simply amazing that we were standing in and around a building made in the 1600's. What an immense amount of history in that very spot.

We took a walk around to the back to begin. We saw the beautiful gardens which seem to vanish into the distanced scenery of green hills. There's a really lovely juxtaposition of landscaped work to organic, sprawling nature. It was a misty morning, and it was
overcast, making the scene even more majestic.

After taking a long look outside, we roamed through the inside of the Chateau Versailles, led by our fantastic tour guide, Christine. I've attached a picture so you can picture the woman who is a constant ball of energy, oozing with passion for Paris. We came out of the Chateau as more knowledgeable people. She has a way with teaching by storytelling. We clung onto her every word as if flipping pages in a suspense novel. Needless to say, the inside of the Chateau was absolutely gorgeous. Maire Antoinette resided there with her husband King Louis, and their style was nothing short of royal.

After a long morning of walking and looking, we had our concert in La Madeleine church. Our very first one! Personally, I felt overwhelmed by the amazing sound that carried throughout the tall, cavernous ceilings. At certain times it felt more difficult to not let my eyes wander than to actually sing well! We've never had such reverberation in our music! Dr. Wis would take longer pauses than usual to let the sound ring out and echo. It was an extremely empowering experience. Overall, we were very happy with our performance and our experience in La Madeleine. Take a look and listen to the video I posted of one of our songs!
-Emily

Dinner before we leave Paris

What a great day! Singing in Notre Dame was an experience beyond words! A huge sense of awe and history and different musical challenges which the women met stunningly. We had hundreds of audience members and hundreds more walking through as we sang. So much more to share but for now, know that we are having the time of our life. We had the afternoon to spend as we chose and soon will board the train for our overnight trip to Munich. Many of us are wanting to re-enact the "Snow" number from White Christmas:) From Dr. Wis

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Day Two in Paris!

Once again, we were lucky to have perfect weather in Paris. It was warm and sunny with a clear, blue sky dotted with big, white, puffy clouds. We had a very busy day sightseeing as you have previously seen.

First, we had breakfast at our hotel. After we had already finished eating, they brought out warm, fresh croissants. We couldn't resist, knowing well that they weren't the pop and bake type. Fresh Parisian croissants are unsurpassed in flavor.

We spent the morning sightseeing from our bus. We picked up our lovely and entertaining tour guide, Christine by the new opera house (which we would learn lots about). She told us in a voice blanketed with a charming French accent about the history of France, the significance of the buildings and all of the fun details. Something about the ancientness of the massive architectural works really commands your attention and awes you. I've seen hundreds of pictures and videos of Notre Dame, but I've never experienced it like I did today. I'm very much looking forward to singing in it later on this week.

The Louvre was absolutely magnificent. Had there been no artwork at all in the building, I would have been sufficiently impressed by the architecture of the building itself. We entered through the original foundation to the museum. This sounds like nothing at first glance, but the original foundation dates back to the Medieval Period. How cool is it that a whole group of people in 2009 walked through the same hallway that people did so many years ago? You sure don't get that in Chicago! The pyramids are really a nice touch to the building- and they bring in so much natural light. The entire building is magnificently lit naturally with only limited electrical aid. There was an ENORMOUS crowd around the Mona Lisa, and it took several minutes to work my way through to get a good look. You'd be surprised at the aggression that amounts from anxious tourists!

We had dinner at a charming little restaurant called Fontaines St. Honore. The food was very fresh and savory. They served us soup in pots with a ladle to share among us. I've never had soup served to me in such a manner, but it was fun! Dessert was vanilla flam, and it was delicious.

After dinner, we moved on to our Bateau Moches cruise on the Siene River. It was open air seating on a very long boat. Everybody got a great view. We passed under the many bridges of Paris while admiring the surroundings. At one point, some misbehaving bridge-standers dumped beer all over one side of the boat. Not many from our group were hit, but many others were. Not many were happy. Aside from the beer incident, the boat ride was marvelous. We got to see angles of buildings that are virtually impossible to see from the road.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings us in Versailles! We also have our very first concert in La Madeleine tomorrow evening. Keep tuned for videos and pictures!

A side note: Some of the girls wanted me to relay to friends and family that their cell phones aren't working properly and some aren't receiving texts or calls. All is well, though- so no worries!

Bateau Mouches

On the Bateau Mouches (boat ride) on the Seine--leaving soon to see Paris via water!

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Amazing!

In just a few hours we have seen more amazing sights than we had imagined--the architecture is stunning and the history is almost hard to imagine for us. Our city guide, Christine, is wondeful! "Oh-la-la" punctuates most sentences and her way of calling us together is to almost intone "cuckoo":) We are learning and experiencing so much--and now fir a lunch break before we tour the Louvre.

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A beautiful day for the Louvre

Bonjour! We are on the bus heading to Downtown Paris for our historic and artistic tours today, including the Louvre. Anorher beautiful morning--clear and sunny. We will be picking up Christine, our city guide. Starting "fun factoid mornings" by sharing an interesting fact about someone on our trip each day! Bolo is our bus driver (fun fact only because he speaks no English and even getting his name right was a trick) and Carmen, our tour manager, went to BYU even though she is Austrian. (I am counting on some REALLY fun facts coming from this group in the days to come:) Be sure to scroll down and check out some photos!

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All Settled In!!

After what seemed like the longest day in history (and it kind of was- what with it being over 30 hours long) we have finally arrived and settled in at our first hotel. The Golf Hotel Bussy St. George welcomed us with a delicious dinner and BEDS! I'll tell you, you never appreciate a bed more than you do after a sleepless night on an airplane. We've got our power adapters and laptops in place and we're ready for a night of real rest.

We had an absolutely beautiful day in the city of lights today. We started off at Sacre Coeur. The climb up to it seemed never ending, but the view from the top was unparalleled. I've attached a picture of both the church and the view. Atop the hill was a little village with MANY shops and MANY people trying to draw your portrait. There must have been at least 20 artists on the street at a single time. We spent some time browsing through the stores, waiting for the extreme tiredness to set in.

While we were walking the streets of shops and artists we stole our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! Seeing it stand out of the scenery was even more gripping than I had expected. You're up so high, you have no concept of scale of buildings at all, and then you see the Eiffel Tower and it absolutely dwarfs everything surrounding it- even the highrise buildings!

Soon enough, we actually got to go to the Eiffel Tower. Being underneath it makes it seem even larger than life. Some of us waited in the long lines to go up to the platforms while some of us wandered about the city below. At this point we all had one thing in common- extreme exhaustion. We had a great first day in Paris and we're very excited for the fun tomorrow brings!

Heading to Montmartre

On our way to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur where we will see a great view of the city. Lunch on our own--let the eating begin!

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In Paris!

We have arrived in Paris after a very smooth flight. Some of us (no names) did not get any sleep so will likely be needing a French espresso before long!

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Later departure out of D.C.

Well, let the story begin! We were all seated on the plane and ready to go when they found there was a maintenance issue that required we deplane and take a different plane, to leave here hopefully at 7:15 eastern time. Besides the inconvenience it really won't impact our day tomorrow much so we continue to grow our travel experiences and enjoy each other's company!

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Easy flight to D.C.

A quick stop in D. C. On to Paris very soon!

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Fun at O'Hare

We are finally getting us all through check- in and security after 4 different United folks debated over just WHICH line we should stand in! Most of us are grabbing food and we are getting to know everyone, including the alums and husbands. It's a beautiful day for flyovg!

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Looking ahead

As we are about 10 days out we want to be sure to notify our credit card companies that we are traveling abroad so they don't think that spending is unusual. Also our tour company suggests debit cards that are associated with a checking acct.

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Getting Started

Hello!!!

You've found the blog for the North Central College Women's Chorale. We created this blog so that our friends, family, and everyone else can follow us as we tour Europe! We'll be leaving Monday, June 15th and flying in to Paris, France. We'll be spending a few days there, then we'll go to Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. We don't want to give away too many details, though! We have lots in store for this trip, so be sure to check back and see where our travels have taken us.

Thanks!