Crazy

The locals think we're crazy. The six of us girls are putting in an unheard of amount of kilometers on our van, jumping all over the place to play music. 4 weeks of this is gonna be a stretch!

The concerts have ranged from a jazz club in Rome to village church in a tiny Swiss village to an underground (both physically and legally) venue in Hannover, Germany. Each one's drastically different, fortunately. I love this kind of thing! But it's a lot of energy... and coffee is proof that God hasn't forgotten about us.

The places where we stay are also quite varied... a hippy band-host person's pad, to a pastor's house, to the six of us in one hotel room.

So far, my favorite part of each show has been a little duo that Cat (the Australian drummer) and I do. We play a tune by the Italian singer Paolo Conte: "Via Con Me." She's such a ham, and this is such a cool tune. I have a perma-goofy-smile when we play it.

Someone recently referred to me as being a "free spirit." I guess this is coming in super-handy right now. My flexibility and patience are being tested big time, and this next 3 weeks is going to need a giant sense of humor. Fingers crossed.

Guten Nacht from Frankfurt,
Megan

Dave, we're in Switzerland

"Dave, we're in Switzerland. I know this is getting hard to keep track of. We were just in France. Before that, Italy, and just last night it was Germany. But we're in Switzerland now. Try to get some rest before we head out tomorrow." (Dave is my harp.)

It's been 8 days now since meeting the girls I'm playing with, and after 4 shows, we're starting to have a lot of fun on stage and feel comfortable with the music. Tonight we played in a small village called Lohn in Switzerland. I think I could really like this country... green, clean and friendly. We've been hosted by a great guy and also pastor of the church here: Hans. He has reminded me that there are still nice and honest people in this world.

And all I can say is that I'll be happy to never eat a cheese sandwich in the car again. But I've been saying that for days.

Swiss chocolate, though.... yes.

Bonjourno from the road in Italy.

Bonjourno from the road in Italy.

Let me introduce my new friends and fellow musicians:

Emaline Delapaix. 32. PC user. Beautiful Australian singer/songwriter, living in Canada, Also organizer of this tour.
Camelia Jade. 24. Mac user. From Seatle. A beautiful rasta mama and heck of a guitarist and vocalist. Also a sound engineer/librarian.
K Phanie. 24. Mac user. Hip (and beautiful) Canadian from Quebec, playing the keyboard, flute, and singing. Also a bartender and lover of Japanese animation.
Louise Woodward. 34. Mac user. Beautiful and sweet Australian, playing violin and viola. Also an orchestra manager and lover of interior design.
Cat Leahy. 25. PC user. Another beautiful Australian, tearing it up on drumset. Also a pharmacist assistant.

This is my new family for a month. Eating, sleeping, driving, and playing music together for 5 solid weeks. I've known them in person for 5 days now, but it feels like a year already. It's strange to finally meet someone in person after knowing them simply through MySpace. They who were once pictures and sound tracks are now humans and friends.

I'm thankful for this tour for many reasons. Sleep deprivation and stress is eased so far by Italian cuppacinos, a walk through old Rome, seeing the countryside by car, and meeting interesting people with each stop. I feel like someone has placed me in a map of Europe with a giant red sticker on my head, and has said, "You are here." I am here. Nuts.

Exactly where "here" is at the moment is South of Florence in the middle seat of a Mercedes Viano van. We are on the way to Paris (this is a looooooong drive). I'm listening to the Bach cello suites and munching on cheese sandwhiches and oranges. I'm thinking of people far away whom I love and miss. I'm thinking of the next gigs and the music we will play.

One thing I am thoroughly appreciate is being able to drive ALL day, arrive to a gig in jeans and converse, setting up my harp, and playing. I can't say that I've been able to really do this to this degree before, though I've tried and dreamt of it. (My family is laughing as they read this, I'm sure.)

Pasta, sun, and espresso in Italy. What will Switzerland and Germany bring?

Ciao for now,
Megan

O Champs-Élysées, la la la la laaaa

Ladies and gentlemen! The most expensive cup of tea I've ever bought: green tea at Le Royal cafe in downtown Paris... 6,50 EURO ($11).

Very pleasant cup of tea. Never again.

Moving on! I am on the train coming back from Paris because yesterday I played in a "spectacular" in a cathedral called the Madeleine. I was playing with a small group of musicians and a choir as they presented an oratorio about Mary Magdalene. 1200 people in attendance and an incredible musical experience! I've never played in a cathedral this grandiose; I will remember that feeling for a long time. Not to mention my badly blistered fingers. (It's courageous work, playing the harp.) It's crazy to think that Faure, Saint-Saens, and many other amazing musicians have also played there. I arrived to a harp already in place and ready to be played. After two encores, we came off the stage and moved into a reception overflowing with champagne (I'm going to miss France).

I feel a little like I'm in one of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. I arrived in Paris the first day without a clue where I was going to sleep that night. I had made arrangements that fell through the day before, so I was hoping someone in the orchestra or choir might have a free bed in their home. One very beautiful and warm woman from Argentina quickly welcomed me into her apartment near the Arc de Triomphe. What a treat! Her place was amazing (5 exquisite floors), and I slept like a princess.

I was remembering the few times I've been in Paris, and particularly one time in which I was here someone I loved very much. We spent such a romantic time there; I worried that coming back would be depressing and lonely. But lo and behold! It was nothing but fun.

Out of sheer luck, I happened to be here during the grand opening of the Lyon and Healy harp shop in Paris. I stopped by to shmooze and to drink champagne and to play on my dream harps.

The concert at the Madeleine came with a team of sound and light engineers... really nice guys. Everybody was nice, actually. They came from all over France for this show. One of them in particular was exceptionally charming, and was nice enough to be my tour guide for a Friday night out on the town that doesn't sleep. Needless to say, I haven't slept, my feet hurt, and I had a blast... eating pizza at 3 in the morning, walking down the Champs-Élysées, singing, talking, and laughing until the sun started to come up.

And to polish it off, I shared a good old fashioned Starbucks (I don't see these much in the south of France) with some new friends before catching the train. I had to teach them how to drink their Caramel Macchiato out of a sippy cup because it was their first time at Starbucks. And just for the record, the French pronounce it "Starbuck."

So you see? Choose your own adventure. Thanks for my smile, Paris.

Thoughts from Cosenza, Italy

Ciao from Italia! I'm here assisting my teacher this week as she gives a masterclass to a group of young harpists. I'm reminded how much I love Italy.

Things I appreciate about the Italians:
1. Their beautiful language (They sing when they speak.)
2. Their manner of talking (Usually loud, with copious hand gestures, and this multiplies if it involves eating.)
3. Their musicality (May be linked to their language?)
4. Their style and sense of fashion (Men in tight jeans)
5. Their pasta.
5. Their strong coffee and their frequent cigarettes breaks (both things I've given up giving up this week)

Other thoughts while being here:
1. Playing the harp in any capacity takes major guts.
2. Playing the harp (or any instrument) is a little like living life in general: It's never really finished... learning, growing, understanding, maturing, improving
3. Being in the teacher's chair causes one to learn many things, perhaps even more than the student
4. Humility comes before honor.

baci e arrivederci

Seizing the Day

Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

This is a good rule to live by. But I don't think it means to run out and do whatever you want, not taking into account consequences of moment-by-moment living. This is not the concept behind the phrase "Carpe Diem."

I think it means that we are to look behind us, what's in our past, and to look forward, to where we'd like to go and achieve, and with those two pieces of path in our vision, we are to seize that exact moment, to "carpe diem" on that point on path... to be okay with the past and not apprehensive of the future, and to be confident in the passing moment... to let that moment be filled with abundant life.

Pablo Picasso was a big shot in this part of the world (Mougins, Southern France). I saw some photos of him recently that were taken when he was working and painting. Usually with his shirt off. Always with a cigarette in his mouth. He seems like a normal, down-to-earth man. Approachable. I like this guy.

Aside from his obvious "realness", I like the way his art morphs from "safe and mandatory" to a style totally his own over the course of his career. He put in his time with the still life paintings (flowers, fruit) like many other artists. This was a foundation for learning the techniques of painting- colors, strokes, light, etc. He did this for years. And then there's the stuff he was doing towards the end of his career: crazy and eclectic and unmatched by any other painter. Beautiful.

Painting those flowers and fruit (boring?) gave him a foundation for which he could then place a trampoline and jump into his own painting style.

I feel like I'm at a point in my music where I've put in my time with the fruit and flowers and I'm making plans for a trampoline installation. :-) Carpe diem. Thank God for the path behind me, for the unknown in front of me, for my goals and hopes, and for this very moment.

Harpe Diem (haha)

Houses and Harps

I have never been a homeowner, but from what I can tell, it's a big decision, and often times not an easy one. One of my housemates, Royce, was telling me yesterday about how there is a lot of emotion that goes into buying or selling a house. He was talking specifically about selling, and how it's sad because a house represents memories and a period of life that won't be revisited, or at least not in the same way. He spoke about one of his houses, which happens to have been his vacation home in the North-Eastern US where he and his family vacationed for years. It was a beauty, nestled up to a lake, warm in the winter, cool in the summer… you get the idea.

Since retiring and moving to France, Royce and his wife recently sold this house to make it feasible to buy another. Despite the excitement and thrill of buying a great house on the Cote d'Azur, he was still just bummed about letting this other house go.

The only thing I can relate it to is selling a harp, which I happened to do about 3 weeks ago. Her name was Austin. She was a beauty. She was "home" to me, in some crazy way. So many memories with her! And such a significant period we spent together. It's sad. The thrill and excitement of one day buying another will some day come, I hope. But I'll still miss Austin.

Someone once said that we should "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Harp and houses are temporary; we can't take them with us to our grave. What remains will be the unseen.

So for now, it's me and Dave (my other harp). It's the start of a new season for me in a lot of ways: I'm shifting gears in my music, in between a "real" place to live, closing the France chapter and moving back to the States soon, and taking a hard look at personal growth.

Dave and I will have a lot of stories to tell.