Day 4 and 5

Compared to other days, yesterday was fairly uneventful, which is kind of nice for a change.  Yet again I didn’t sleep real well the night before, due to the window being open and the constant noise downstairs.  I’d kind of like to know (well maybe not) what they do at all hours of the night. People were dropping their glass bottles and laughing, and then there’s the cars driving, car horns honking, and then cars backfiring (which hopefully really isn’t gun shots). 

Anyway, Nicole and I met up and went shopping yesterday morning- it was a really unproductive shopping trip, but was fun to see what was out there.  I had to laugh when we saw a toy store in the mall with trolls.. I thought those went out years ago… but maybe they’re making a comeback! For lunch we went back to the same German restaurant Simon and I went to yesterday- more Wiener Schnitzel- yum!

Yesterday afternoon we got on a bus and went to the press conference that was the start of the competition.  It was interesting to say the least.  It was in some large building that used to be German or something, and there were lots of tv cameras there, etc. This competition is a really big thing in Russia!

Last night was the opening ceremony and concert. Once again, I’ve never seen so many TV cameras in my life.  It was a very interesting mix of music- everything from vocal solos, to piano/organ duets, to a quartet with “folk instruments”- one of which was accordion.  It was very unique… I have video on my camera of their take on the “Toccata and Fugue in d minor” which was very interesting and humorous.

After the concert, we went to the “Artichoke” and had a very light dinner.  I was a little concerned as to where we were going when they took us down in a basement, but it was nice.

And, for the first time, I slept really well last night, which is good since I have to play today.  I went over to the grocery store this morning, and bought a banana- didn’t realize that you need a sticker for it so the cashier was nice and helped me out.  I then went and sat and used wifi for a bit in my favorite people-watching area.  I also made my way to the coffee shop close by here and met up with Nicole.  After lunch, we went on a hunt for umbrellas.  I ended up getting a bright pink umbrella! It’s very rainy here today, and is supposed to be for the rest of the week, so I thought an umbrella would be a good investment.

Now, I’m hanging out doing score study and listening to recordings before Nicole and I head to the Philharmonic Hall for our practice time.  I will play at 11:20 Kansas time, and I’m hoping all goes well.