It's great to be home! Except, of course, for the jet lag. Although I haven't talked to any of the Rosies in a couple of days, I assume they all got home safely.

It was a glorious week and a half and I shall miss France and it's wonderful people. We were treated like very special guests and I know we are all the better for it. I think my favorite happening of the entire trip was hearing the people leaving the Rose concert in Candes exclaiming, "The Americans speak French!"

Lisa finally here... after a week of literally wining and dining and a fine concert for our hosts, I'm here in Paris where I finally have a wi-fi connection! Internet is not so easy in Tours, so apologies to all who were hoping for frequent posts on our travels.

So much we saw, so much we ate! Photos of the week's events will be posted shortly to this site as soon as I can get them ready.

Many thanks to all that made this trip possible and to my friends, colleges and the best group of singers I have had the priviledge to perform with.

Gratefully - Lisa Drew

The Rose Ensemble enjoyed a triumphant finale on Thursday night. Their performance at the Basilica of Saint Martin was attended by hundreds and the pews were filled to capacity.

The first half of the program was the best of the St. Martin show and the second half of the program was the Cantiga show. As the last notes of the final song flowed across the crowd, they leapt to their feet, calling for more and demanding an encore. Of course, Jordan obliged with Dicit Huis from the Road To Compostella CD.

We found out later that standing ovations are rare in France. They must be earned and obviously, the listeners who came to celebrate the life of St. Martin of Tours felt the promise was fulfilled. Congratulations to all the Rosies for a fabulous performance topping an extroardinary trip.
Bob

Hi everyone, this is Kathy (soprano), writing on the train from Tours to Paris. I am filled with gratitude for all of our new friends in Tours. We have been treated like royalty, our every need looked after, our every want anticipated. Last night Regine invited us to her office for a drink - I was expecting a small office, a quick glass of wine, a short visit. But once again, the French do everything more grandly and with more attention to detail. We arrived and were shown into a spacious, 3-story office in a renovated 17th-century building, built very sturdily but with original beams and other features intact. In a large open room, there was a lovely spread of wine, juice, crackers, sausage rolls, biscuits, and a savory bread with ham and green olives. We spent a delightful two hours talking with people who have become our dear friends. We sang for them, Kim taught us all a hula (pictures coming soon - maybe video as well), and we coached them on the Minnesotan phrase "Oh no - snow!" By the end of the evening, both French and American were claiming to have received the greater gift from the other.

Mark here, Sunday morning, our last in Tours. What a week this has been. I wish I could remember what I've already written, but I'll do my best. The concerts were lovely, the people of Tours were incredibly gracious and appreciative...it's all been a wonderful experience. St. Martin died in 397, and we sang our concert Friday above his tomb. There's so much history here, it's hard to imagine. After the show, we ran into a group of Italian musicians on the street, and had a little impromptu performance. They didn't really know any English, our Italian is rusty at best, but there we were, laughing and dancing and playing and just enjoying each other's company. It's crazy to think we've only been here a week.

Impressions of France. Well, the first thing would have to be the food. People here are just serious about their food. Some challenging ideas about what constitutes sausage, but other than that, we have eaten exceedingly well. The wine of course is everywhere, and lovely. Yesterday in Amboise, we ate lunch at the Craperie L'ecu, with its resident dog, Flora. We learned what Gallettes were, then we ate a bunch of them. A Coke on the menu was 2.60, the red wine was only 2.00. Guess what we picked. There seem to be a lot of restaurants here with animals living (and maybe working) on site. Whatever health codes make this kind of thing possible, I think they're a lot more civilized than ours. The restaurant where the group gathered after Friday's big show was the home of Geraldine, a beautiful calico cat who greeted us from her perch above the fireplace, right next to a little cross stitch of herself. By the end of the evening, Jennifer got to enjoy her dessert with Geraldine sprawled, unconcious, across her lap, having licked her fill of Vanilla cream from more than one finger. What a wonderful time.

Our hosts in Tours have been simply astounding. They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome, and to show off the best of their city and of the Loire. Needless to say, they have set the bar very high, and I hope that, when they return to the Twin Cities, we can give them the welcome they deserve. Florence, Regine, and Marie-Bernard are amazing women. We leave Tours with more true friends than when we arrived, and a much more enlightened opinion of the French people. For our part, I think we've done well to convey the kindness and warmth of our little corner of America. And of course those are the best results we could have hoped for. Now, on to Paris. I'm not sure how (or if) I'll be able to post again, but I'll try. If not, I'll meet you at the Modern for a cup o' Joe, and I'll tell you all about it.

Hi there, it's Heather here with my first blog! I have to say my fingers are thorougly enjoying being able to fly across the keyboard with which they are familiar instead of hunting and pecking across the french keyboard. To my credit, on my last e-mail home, I only typed "qnd" for "and" once. It's hard to believe that we are on the last leg of our journey and a group of us are heading back home tomorrow. We've had a wonderful week, and I think, I hope, we did The Rose Ensemble and The Twin Cities proud. The people of Tours were so unbelievably gracious to us and I think our wonderful hosts from the Cultural Center in Tours were pleased with our performance. We certainly hope that this friendship between our cities and between our organizations continues for many years to come.

What will I miss from France? Well, the pastries, duh! Oh my goodness this is a dangerous country for anyone with a sweet tooth. However, if you head over to Patrick's French Bakery on 66th and Xerxes, you'll get a pretty good idea! I will miss the extremely sensible concept of eating two or three meals and day, with good, unprocessed food, and then not snacking during the day. I will miss walking to all the places that you need to go. Having a car in much of Europe is often more trouble than it's worth, so if you can walk, you do. This helps to walk off the lovely meals that you've had during the day. Remember the book "French Women Don't Get Fat"? Well, they don't, and neither do the men. They eat balanced meals, they don't eat fast food, they don't exist on prepackaged, processed food, and they walk everywhere! I will miss the absolutely awesome shoes that they have here! These folks, particularly the women, are fashion divas, and I could have spent a bomb on shoes (but I didn't).

I'm looking the most forward to being back at home with my husband and my puppy, sleeping on my own pillow, and wearing clean clothes again! But as soon as I get the laundry done, I'm sure I'll start thinking about when I get to go to Europe again. I can only stay away for so long, after all.

The French have a grasp of ostentatiousness that transends all logic. With all their talk of Republic and equality, I think it is the one part of Royalty they just love and refuse to let go of. The city hall, which was built around the turn of the last century, is amazingly outrageous with carvings and murals of astounding scale.

At the banquet, there was an exchange of gifts and compliments and then something truly unusual happened. The Rose performed Sergey's piece from Fire Of The Soul and it so filled qnd almost overwhelmed the room we were in that Ginna burst into tears from the shear overpowering emotion of the song. Then Kris saw Ginna crying and she started crying. The Rosies finished the piece beautifully inspite of the emotions spilling over.

The best way to describe the Rosies right now is food overload. Every lunch or dinner has been a banquet of at least three courses plus dessert. I'm certain I heard Jordan mumble something about being desperate for some broccoli. Poor Kim, being allergic to dairy, is in a real quandary. Try to find food in France that doesn't involve cream.

Yesterday began with the Rose in rehearsal at the Basilica of Saint Martin. Ed Coughlin and I met them there later after we wandered the city looking for a place to get on the Web.

Then yesterday evening, we were guests at the opening of an art exhibition. The Rosies were introduced and then sang a short piece fro, the St. Martin program. About an hour later we were off to City Hall for another banquet.

Hello friends and fans

The wireless connection in our hotel does not seem to be what they promised and finding a connection let alone the time to write has prevented me from writing until now.

Currently in a smokey billiard place with internet to say that all is well with us. The sites, sounds and cuisine continue to amaze us and we are being treated so well by the city of Tours. We are all very much looking forward to performing in the Basilica tomorrow night? but first a reception with city officials.

We are NOT in danger but thanks for all the kind emails showing so much concern.

Jordan Sramek

What a fantastic voyage! Our first day was incredible... we were treated to a wonderful meal at The Blue Martin and I have to tell you if you have never been to France, you have never experienced 'meals.'