Vilnius poster

"After a leisurely morning in the hotel, we took a bus to Grenoble airport (the boys having left much earlier), accompanied all the way by Garry's niece's daughter's vocalising - phew! Still, we made it in good time, flew to Brussels, then took a connecting flight to Vilnius. We arrived quite late and were met by young Nev, Mandy's husband, who had flown in just an hour or so before us. He does turn up in the weirdest places!

The restaurant staff at our hotel had very kindly agreed to accommodate us for a late dinner, and we couldn't have been happier with the food or the service. It was wonderfully cheap (as was the wine!), beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. We all made mental notes to have dinner at the hotel after the concert the following evening.

Fortunately there were no more sickness casualties overnight, so we could all enjoy our free morning in Vilnius.

I've never seen so many amber shops in my life. Fortunately, I didn't feel the need to buy any, but I did remember that Vilnius was a great place for children's toys. I found a wonderful creature for my young nephew. We named him "Nobby", and he was a huge hit with all the ensemble. Several people went out early the next morning to stock up on "Nobbys" for their kids!

I decided not to bother with lunch before the concert, as we knew there'd be food at the hall when we went to rehearse - wrong! This was the only venue where there was absolutely nothing provided before/during or after the rehearsal - not even tea or coffee - and I was starving! Still, we struggled on through the sound-check. It was nice to be doing Music for Mallets for a change. Everyone was feeling very relaxed at this stage in the tour, so it was a delightfully light-hearted rehearsal.

Thad & Garry

Heather centre-stage for Mallets

As Mandy wasn't involved in this piece, she very sweetly went out with Nev to try and find a sandwich or something to keep us going until after the show. In the meantime, Liz went out for several pizzas, sensing the communal desperation! Then Mandy turned up with a sandwich - all very gratefully received.

Liz's pizza party

This final concert of the tour went extremely well. I really liked this venue (apart from the lack of refreshments). It had a wide curved stage, so you really felt in touch with everyone in the audience.

Just as we were preparing to head back to the hotel for our delicious dinner, an after-show reception was announced - with loads of food (hot and cold). Most of us had already decided by this point that we'd rather have a relaxed sit-down dinner at the hotel, so we drank a glass or 3, sampled a couple of hors d'oeuvres then headed back across the river for a very splendid final evening together in the hotel restaurant.

It's always such a treat to work with Steve Reich & Musicians. After quite a few years of working together now, all the players seem like old friends. I sincerely hope it won't be too long before we can all hook up again."

Micaela