The Chattanooga Girls Choir

Day 8: VENICE/MILAN
Thursday, June 16, 2005
(Note: Click on underlined links for more information.)

The buffet breakfast this morning was at 8:00, and by 9:00 we had loaded our luggage on our regular bus. However, since our regular driver Giuliano needed to sleep since he would be driving us to Milan late tonight, so we had a different bus and driver to take us to the boat to Venice.

When we reached Venice, we headed for the Piazza San Marco, where we were met by our local guide Lucia who would lead us through the historic buildings. Our first stop was the Doge's Palace (pronounced "doh-jiz"), the former residence of the leader of the Republic of Venice and the former location of the Venetian Senate and the Venetian High Court. No photography was allowed inside the palace, so we can't show you, but it was very impressive, especially the ceilings, which were decorated with paintings and covered almost everywhere with ornate designs covered with 24 K gold. Lucia was a good guide, though a bit hard to hear. Next she took us into the ornate Basilica di San Marco next door to the palace, and again we marveled at all the beauty inside. The floor was amazing, made of small pieces of different colored marble laid in intricate patterns; and the ceiling was made of mosaic paintings--religious scenes created out of tiny tiles, many of them coated with 24K gold.

Before we went to lunch, the choir performed a few songs in a shady area at the side of the Basilica. (We were finally having a truly warm day!) The crowd grew as the girls sang, and again the choir received a great response and lots of personal thanks (both from tourists and from locals) for their singing.

We walked to a local restaurant where we had lunch together consisting of antipasto, pasta, baked chicken, salad, and of course ice cream. (It was an unusually large meal for that time of day, but it had to hold us a long time.) After lunch we were free to wander in smaller groups for almost two hours, so some even managed to squeeze in a gondola ride. At the end of the afternoon, we took another boat back to the mainland and got on our regular tour bus for the trip to Treviso where the choir was scheduled to perform at 9:00. The bus couldn't take us all the way to the performance site, so the girls had to change into concert dresses on the bus and walk some distance to the plaza where the concert would be. There they grabbed a quick panini in a nearby shop (and used the restroom there, where the toilet was essentially a porcelain-coated hole in the floor!)

The choir warmed up on the stage in the loggia (an open-air theater) and began drawing an audience. By the time the concert began at 9:00, every seat was full and a crowd was standing several deep around the edges of the loggia. With Penny Tullock on keyboard, the choir finally was able to sing the songs in their repertoire that required accompaniment, as well as some of their best a cappella pieces, and the concert was fabulous! These girls have really melded into a unit, and it shows in the quality of their performances. the large crowd clapped and cheered loudly after each song, with especially enthusiastic applause after Chattanooga Choo-Choo. (It's interesting--Italians often come up to us wherever we go and say, "Oh, Chattanooga! Choo-Choo!" That one song has put Chattanooga on the map of the world!)

The girls were grinning broadly as they filed off the stage, and they then mingled with the crowd that was waiting to pay them compliments. Of course, there were also some tears of sadness shed when the girls realized that they had just sung their last concert together. They have worked so hard and come so far!

There was another group scheduled after our choir, so we stayed to listen. It was an adult choir of Italian gospel singers! They were really enthusiastic and soon had the crowd happily clapping along. Believe me, you haven't heard anything until you've heard "Joshoo-ah feet-ah deh Bottle of-ah Jerrrreecho." We thoroughly enjoyed the performance and clapped loudly after each song.

Finally it was time to head back to the bus, where all of us changed into our pink t-shirts for the trip home. As Giuliano eased the bus out of Treviso and onto the highway to Milan, it didn't take long for almost everyone to fall asleep!

Yo, Venice! We've got a bad Penny in our midst!

The dark-haired woman in front of the girls is Lucia, our Venice guide.

The choir entertained a growing crowd outside the Basilica.

"OK, done with lunch. Is it time for a gondola ride?"

Aghhhh! It's obviously been a very long tour for Tarbell.
(That's a fan sticking off the side of his head!)

The final scheduled performance of the tour was in this open-air stage in Treviso.

LuAnn Holden befriended a young fan after the concert!

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