Friday 13JUL2007

Travel day from Nimes, France to San Sebastian, Spain.



This trip has been fantastic and we still have five more days to go. We are on our way to Spain today. It’s about a seven hour drive to get there. It’s been a pretty fun bus ride even though it’s been really long. I’m sitting next Ryan Pascual. He’s a pretty cool guy, he keeps me company on the bus. Rooming with Jordan has so been much fun and we haven’t killed each other yet, even though everyone said we are. Well, we are done in Montreux  and everyone did very well, especially all of the singers. Montreux was a nice small town and they had these shops all along the Geneva Lake and it was right next to the jazz festival. About twenty of us went to a Pat Metheny concert on the last day in Montreux and he was awesome. In one song each band member took about a ten minute solo and Steven Flores got Pat Metheny guitar pick. Anyways, after Spain we are going back to Paris for two days then we are already going back home to see all our lovely families and enjoy the rest of our vacation, like going to Europe wasn’t enough. We are having so much FUN!    

Alex Bonilla



Yesterday arrived in Nimes, France after being in Switzerland for four days. Switzerland is seriously one of the prettiest places that I have ever been to. Hiking the Swiss Alps was one of the last things on my mind, but more than half of the band was willing to do it in the rain. There were a couple of slips, but we all got to the bottom safely. The air up there was so crisp and the sound of the river was soothing as we all made our way to the little town of Grindelwald. The scenery and town reminded me so much of Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings.
The Jazz Festival in Montreux was full of so much culture. There were so many bands to see and so many things to eat. The one thing I didn’t like about the festival is that there were smokers everywhere of any age. It is part of the culture here, but it’s really hard to get used to. The people here really appreciate the performances more so that was heartwarming. They respect musicians so much more than Americans. It was great to experience that.
One of the definite highlights of the festival for me was going to the Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau concert. I had been wanting to attend it since March, but I never seriously thought that I’d have the chance to. The concert was amazing even though most of us that went had to stand for three hours after a long day. I was so tired and I kept closing my eyes as I let the music envelop me. It seriously felt like the music was holding me up.
Nimes is so much more different than any other place we have visited. The people were ruder and the town seemed so much dirtier. The air wasn’t as clean as what we had gotten used to in Switzerland. There isn’t really much more than we saw of Nimes other than the little shops near the hotel, which composed of bookshops (with GREAT books) and restaurants.
It’s amazing to realize that we’ve been here for a little over than a week. The lack of sleep has mushed most days together, but I didn’t come to Europe to sleep.
We are currently on our way to Spain!!! This is the most exciting part of this trip for me (other than the Metheny/Mehldau concert) because I have been saying that I want to live in Spain. I hope it’s everything I hope it’ll be.

Susana Quinteros




Hey it’s Sam C. first I have to say hi to mom and dad and Sarah and everyone else at home. I miss you all and can’t wait to come home (even if I don’t want to). The trip has been a lot of fun so far. Today is Friday the 13 and it’s been a very long day. We got up and ate then got on a bus for like 10 hours, which by the way is very boring and long. I can’t wait till we get to go to San Sebastian and swim at the beach. Right now we are somewhere near the border and have an hour left of driving so hopefully we’ll get there soon. I can’t wait to see everyone and I’ll talk to you soon. Oh and by the way the bus smells says Brittani who is right next to me.

Sam Courduff