Boston Adventures

What a crazy couple of days this has been! Yesterday morning, I ventured out bright and early to the North Shore. (I didn't know that's how far out I was going...that was quite a public transport hike!) I met Heather, my accompanist, at the Wonderland stop, and we drove out to her house to rehearse. (Every time someone said "Wonderland" or I saw it written somewhere, it just made me giggle. And it certainly isn't a wonderland in Wonderland. haha!) Her student canceled their lesson that morning, so then we went to lunch in Salem at the Hawthorne Hotel. It is so pretty and cozy inside! And delicious food! :)

That adventure took quite a bit of the day. I got a quick rest in mid-afternoon before heading back out to Harvard Square for a trial lesson at the school. It was my first time actually visiting the school. My lesson was pretty awesome, despite being fatigued and still battling the effects of flying on the voice. Anna, the teacher, was such a sweetie and fun to work with. :)



I explored the school a bit and then the Square, where I found this amazing place called Tealuxe. It is a tea bar and cafe. Literally, that is all they have. Like a hundred teas. Um...Awesome! I enjoyed a small pot of tea while waiting to meet up with my friend Andrew for dinner. Five years is all a lot to catch up on!

Sucks to be this dude! :-/

This morning was my audition. 6am is far too early. Oof! I had to keep telling myself, "Keep your eyes open! Keep your eyes open," which is not a good thing when you are supposed to be concentrating on everything else! Nonetheless, I survived, and I think it went fairly well. :)

Afterward, I was sitting in the parlor/sitting room with Heather, and the dude that sang after me came in. Lo and behold...he is from Budapest. Get out! Tooooo crazy...esp. since they asked for me to sing my Hungarian piece and were so intrigued by my time spent over there. haha! AND...it gets even one better...he studied with Janos! This is a small, small world! So crazy. Janos even wrote him the recommendation letter for his application. Totally cool.

Very small sampling of the snow around here. Actually, this is extremely mild!

When all my duties at the school were through, I changed and made my way to the North End/Little Italy and Quincy/North Markets, where I wandered around in my typical exploratory fashion. ;) I was meeting up with my dear friend Chris for dinner, chats, and a bit of adventure and decompression after all the singing events were complete. It's been too long since I've seen her! I miss her in my life. Also, before meeting up with her, I was walking by Quincy Market, hanging up with her on the phone, and had an earphone from my ipod in my ear, so I didn't hear everything this newspaper dude said to me. However, I am pretty sure he said something to the fashion of, "Are you an actress? Can I be your black big daddy?" Um. No. OH, boy! That's when it's definitely time to keep on walking. haha! Wow.

Chris and I went to an Irish pub for some Sam Adams and delicious food. Mmm sweet potato fries! We spent some time walking around and then decided to call it an early night because we'd both been up since super early.

Tomorrow holds [super hopefully!!!] Sam Adams Brewery Tour and then who knows! I wanted to visit the Isabella Gardner Museum, too, but can't do everything you want all over the city in just a few days. Perhaps another trip...

Gratitude 312
Meeting up with old friends during my stay here. :)  Also, I have been super chill most of the time I've been here. This is, of course, a really good thing...and a much necessary thing, but those who know me, know that this isn't always the case. I don't really know very much why, but I'll just go with it! Actually, I think this American travel thing is pretty much a walk in the park after European travel...not so much brain power involved in understanding things, since you are not in translation/foreign language mode. haha! But I certainly, even with its added stress, love that, too!!!