WOW ! What an amazing trip !!
I know ; it did take me a very long time to update my blog : I am still not used on sharing a computer with a very busy student (no, not a new boyfriend : just a brother in law...) and I had some trouble posting pictures.
The tour went amazingly well. Amazing people, great food, GREAT wine (especially the free all-you-can-drink one...) And Suze's horoscope was damn right : I did meet somebody !! Well, hum... Nothing permanent but I had plenty of fun ! I guess the sun, the wine, the deep tan gotten on the Mediterranean sea and the plunging neckline might have helped a bit...
I knew we were traveling high class on the first tour but it finally sunk in when a fellow musician asked for more of that sparkling wine, only to be told by the puzzled waiter that it was in fact some Mumm Gordon Rouge Champagne. Hum, OK, more of that sparkling thing then ? We visited the Mumm Cellars later on ; but since the hostess was SOOO snub (imagine the perfect little miss picky, with hair in a bun, blue suit, little scarf, saying "We, at G.H. Mumm" about 100 times) I've decided that Cremant would be my new favorite beverage. Any kind of Cremant will do but I particularly like the Alsace one for some reason...
I learned a lot about wine and Cremant on that trip ( have I mentioned that it is my new favorite beverage ? ). And I am still a bit jaundiced ; yep, we drank that much. That has to be the best perk of being a musician : free booze wherever you go ! Had a blast and took many, many incriminating pictures (Sorry guys : you're screwed !!) Oh ! and yes, I am aware of the fact that we look more like eternal teenagers than actual full grown adults...musicians will always be musicians...
Oh ! And yes, this post will mostly be about parties and drunk people, since we spent the majority of our time over there with an alcool level of over 0.08...
The first week of the trip, in the French Riviera, was mostly spent on the beach , drinking and eating Paella (I know, poor me) We only gaved 2 performances which meant a lot of free time to party and work on that deep tan... Well, we did go to those mandatory group visits ; still had a lot of fun in Cassis and St-Tropez ! But the guys were really eager to see the welcoming committee , waiting for them on the beach every morning... They were actually topless girls putting on sunscreen but whatever...
I then took the TGV and met the second tour in Paris. What a blast ! But we left the very the next day for our next destination : Alsace and its Cremant. Best way to describe it ? Lots of medieval castles and cute villages and LOTS of booze... In just 4 days, we managed to drink over 240 liters of beer and countless bottles of wine and cremant. Those people have neverending cellars ! Used to be a legend but has now been tried and tested...
The bus trip for our next destination was, for some reason, very quiet. We spent 3 days in the Loire area visiting lots of castles, museums and many wine cellars. Did you noticed a pattern here ??
I was living on a goat cheese farm for that bit of the trip. Some would say MIAM !!! But after 3 days of eating only goat cheese oriented meals , I kinda banished that element in my diet for the next year of so. I got to drink Viperine though ! And yep, it is what it is: a viper, steeping in alcool... Lets all say it together : YUK !!
We then spent 3 days in St-Remy-Les-Chevreuse. Met some really funny people over there and we got to spend the July 13th celebration with them. Did a concert for the celebrations, passing around a very inexpensive bottle of wine while playing.... hum... And got to dance to the cheeziest band ever ! Imagine a cheap version of a country music band, signing some French Elvis, costumes and all...
July 14th was spent in Paris. WOW ! and ouch ! the alcool was starting to take its toll on my system...
The fourth and last week was spent in London with a friend, M. : some of our students were touring in the area and we decided to surprise them ! The kids were screaming and crying... same for us. And we got to see Harry Potter's school !!!
M. and I met an amazing band while in London : Das Contras. They are probably going to kill me for saying that but they are a mixt between Jack Johnson and Maroon 5 with some Manu Chao and gypsy flavor... Really good ! You should really drop by their site ! And brownies point for them : they have some free downloads !!
They did an impromptu show at the hostel we were staying at (think lamp shade in lieu of a mike stand ) and we ended up spending the whole evening with them... hum... Well until the wee hours. Those guys are really funny and I finally met my match ; somebody that could deal with my quirky personality ! And he's actually worse than me ; I had a blast ! Too bad he's already taken...
WOW ! That should really be the longest post ever to be put on a blog !! And I am still not done ! No wonder it took me so long !
So, what did I learned during that trip ?
Some people are not as expected. New friendships were formed while others broken. Yes, one can grow tired of visiting countless castels and museums. I can drink more than expected. And not be hungover. I will get jaundissed however ! One can loose sight of its ankles, only to be recovered after a real night of sleep (wich didn't happened oversee). Yes, some questions Are stupid. (When a fellow musician asks if the instument over there is a French Horn Bass (actually a Sousaphone), the rest of the group is entittled to make fun (even in a rude way) of the said musician and take pictures of the said activities, for the rest of the tour)
That I did find my frog, but didn't find THE prince.
That one should never run to take the subway. God knows were it goes...
That I will trully miss some people...
Hamael and Julien : just for the fun of it.
Maud : who stayed behind, alone, to beging an incredible journey on the road to St-Jacques de Compostel. If you happen to see her, give her a big hugg , a cigarette and a drink: she deserves it.
And Nico , who's abandonning us, me, to go back in France. Just not fair.
What else did I learned ? That with a big smile and a plunging neckline, you can get almost everything for free (hum... coffee, more booze, food, memory card, extra hostel night, you name it !). Apparently, nothing's better than a foreing accent mixt with the sight of a big cleavage. Some would call it being sleezy : I call it travelling on a budget.
And I'll drink some more Cremant to that.
G'sundheit Caliss !!
Oh ! And just in case you hadn't seen enough of that debaucherie, here's more pictures !! Have a great week everybody !!
