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Kopenicker Blues & Jazz Festival – July 28, 2012

Posted on July 28, 2012 by md in Blog

July 28, 2012

Arrived in Berlin this morning to play the Kopenicker Blues and Jazz Festival.  I’m staying at a wonderful, eccentric hotel, a five-minute walk to the town center where the festival is held, right on the river.  The weather is perfect and I can’t wait to play for these enthusiastic jazz fans.

My walk to the gig is beautiful and sets the perfect mood to play some music for a crowd of jazz lovers. I feel so fortunate to have been in Italy last week and Germany now and soon Brazil. It's fascinating to see the difference in the audiences.

The music is held at the Ratskeller Restaurant, celebrating it's 17th year of presenting 30 concerts of a wide variety of music. It's impressive and the setting is wonderful.

The Ratskeller, the restaurant that presents this event. I introduced myself to the bartender and he beamed and said: "OH YES" and kissed my hand. I admit this never happens in the States . . .

The Ratskeller

My first meal in Germany was appropriate "light". How these Germans stay so slim and gorgeous eating like this, is a mystery.

Ah, the German sense of humor. Do you think this is inspired by all that beer drinking?

The same venue in the evening. The crowd was into it in a big way. I hope my audience tomorrow is as enthusiastic.

Legnano Festival July 21, 2012

Posted on July 21, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 21, 2012

I’m finally posting these pictures of the wonderful, old square where we played the Legnano Festival, a short distance from Milan, Italy.  It was a beautiful building built around an open area they filled with chairs and beautifully dressed people. (It WAS Milan, after all, so everyone looked chic!)
               
This was to the right of the stage, a huge mural.
And these are a few shots of our fun that night.
You can hear me attempt some Italian on YouTube and hear some tunes from that night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeSi8iWo6JE&feature=relmfu

Milan July 2012

Posted on July 13, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 13, 2012

I spent the next day in Milan for some fun before coming back home.  The hotel was across from the Duomo, and since we were there Sunday, we got to see part of a service, complete with a beautiful organ concert.

                     

                   

From the sublime to the ridiculous.  This meeting was in a drug store.  Hmm . . .

Legnano, Italy – July 13th

Posted on July 13, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 13, 2012
Just arrived in Legnano, Italy for the festival here and of course the first thing I scoped out was GELATI!!!!!!!!  Plan on a few visits to this place.

Malta – July 12th

Posted on July 12, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 12, 2012

It’s 94 degrees!!!!!!!  Here I am ROASTING in Gozo, Malta.
Coming into Valetta, Malta  SPECTACULAR!  Big deck party tonight, but hopping off the ship to get some WIFI at the Hard Rock Cafe, the only thing that would entice me into that place.

Trapani, Italy – July 11th

Posted on July 11, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 11, 2012

 

Trapani, Italy - Interesting place that seems quite small, but as you wander around, you realize it seems to go on forever.  It appears prosperous, but didn’t have a lot of posh stores everywhere you looked and the ones visible were subtle in the extreme in letting you know they were open for business.   Odd, in a country one would think is dying for business.

I THINK this was a wall sculpture of hands without fingers, which I presume will be added later.  (This was sitting on a truck being carted off somewhere.)  My Italian was too limited to ascertain exactly what was going on.    I held up my hand, pointed at it and asked my questions and all I got was a nod and a handshake.  Hmm . . .
With one of my chums from the ship who’s involved with a Chamber Music Festival in Jacksonville.  We’re plotting a addition of some jazz!

Corsica – July 10th

Posted on July 10, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 10, 2012

Bonifacio, Corsica   The weather remains sunny and warm, which keeps surprising me, as I thought it would be unbearable. Spoke some French to my waitress during lunch who just stared at me, so while the weather is perfect, my French, apparently, is not.

Sardinia – July 10th

Posted on July 10, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 10, 2012

 

Cagliari, Sardinia - This is the yacht that bumped us from our spot, owned by the Shah of Brunei.  It looked almost as big as our ship!

St. Tropez July 8th

Posted on July 8, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 8th

Spent the day in St. Tropez, where I feared the crowds and heat would be overwhelming, but it was the opposite.  Perfect weather and fewer people than when I was here in May.  Perfect!
Wandered the streets away from the water, which were much more interesting and tourist-free, and eventually found ”The American Sports Bar” to watch the Federer/Murray Wimbledon final.
Only one other couple was interested, a lovely pair from Malta, who continued to text me updates after I returned to the ship for a rehearsal.  Amusing (to me, at least) to surreptitiously glance at my phone (sitting on the piano), at various times during my rehearsal to assess the progress!
Check the size of those FIGS below!
Back streets of St. Tropez.
The smell was Heavenly!
I have a thing for cool doors, and there were a lot of them in St. Tropez.

Monte Carlo – July 7

Posted on July 7, 2012 by judycarmichael in Blog

July 7th
Great to be back in Monte Carlo, if only for a few hours.  I took this picture in the glass wall on the passport entry.  That’s my silhouette with a reflection of Monte Carlo in the background.
Dinner on the deck that night gave us this sunset view of Monte Carlo.
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