France

2018 Tour Stop #6: Paris, France

*in heavy French accent* Bonne journee et bonjour, welcome to the place du pan au chocolate, des croissants, et vraiment boucoup de vin.

During our time in Paris (pronounced pear-ee), the Dins were certainly living la vie en rose (coincidentally, a song which we slid into our sets a few times, for the wonderful Sydney Mukasa #234 to serenade our francophone audiences in their own tongue!) 

A gaggle of Dins outside the Centre Pompidou.Photo by Eli Troen #250

A gaggle of Dins outside the Centre Pompidou.

Photo by Eli Troen #250

Hosted by some gracious individuals from the Harvard Club of Paris, we stayed for about four days in the beautiful City. As far as sightseeing, from the Musee de’Orsay to the Sacre-Coeur on Montmarte to the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle, we saw the sights and heard the sounds from edge to edge of Paris, as much as we could see in the few days that we were there.

A photo of the floor-to-ceiling stained glass in Sainte-Chappele.Photo by Eli Troen #250 

A photo of the floor-to-ceiling stained glass in Sainte-Chappele.

Photo by Eli Troen #250 

Our highlighted performances in Paris were definitely those at the Travellers’ Club and a joint performance at the Church Notre Dame du Travail as a part of Fete de la Musique with a Basque choir whom we’ve performed with on tours past. In the former, we performed for a small audience in a sitting room sort of setting, which always gives that up-close-and-personal sort of vibe, where you get to single out audience members and create an individually-cultured experience for each person. For the latter, the joint performance with the Basque choir, we sang a couple songs jointly in Basque, which was a load of fun. Learning new music and singing in different styles is always a welcome learning opportunity, and it shows us how far we’ve come in just a year of singing together, when we can work up songs in just a day or two. After our performance for Fete de la Musique, we shared an evening at a Basque restaurant, where the two groups traded songs and merriment over traditional food and drink. For dessert, we were all treated to some Gateaux Basque, a miraculous almond custard cake served with berry jam!

We also had the chance to make a short excursion over to Chantilly (pronounced shan-tee) to perform for a fundraiser for their local church, Saint Peter’s. This fundraiser was to kickstart a new initiative to renovate the stained glass, as the church celebrates its 100th anniversary. The performance in Chantilly goes down as one of my favorite of tour so far, and I’m sure will be one of the treasured memories years down the road. We performed en plein air, in a private garden theatre overlooking a beautiful pond and perfectly preened gardens. During our performance, some peacocks were calling to one another across the stage, sounding like screaming youngins, and to the amusement of all performers and audience members present, one wandered onto our stage during the performance of our song What a Wonderful World

Dins Eli, Austin, and Sydney taking inspiration from Lime Statues.Photo by Sam Rosner #245

Dins Eli, Austin, and Sydney taking inspiration from Lime Statues.

Photo by Sam Rosner #245

After the peacock was gently shooed away, another approached from the other side and thought about following suit, but it reconsidered and left us to finish our set. Never would I have expected to have a performance in the Dins to be interrupted by a peacock, let alone two! We actually added a cameo performance of Brian Rolincik #240 giving his best peacock imitation during a round of Din Impressions. Pulling off-the-cuff humor like that into our performances, and the ability to adapt that we’ve developed, as a result of our comfort with one another on stage, is one of my favorite parts of being in the Dins. Not only does it provide the tools to manage crazy situations during performance, but it also just makes being on stage so fun for all of us..

During our last night in Paris, a few of us Dins spent the night along the Seine River, watching passerby and chatting into the early morning--a phenomenal way to bring our sixth stop to a close.

Adieu, Au Reviour, Bonsoir, or as they say in Paris, un autre Américain?!

Austin Lentsch #246

2018 Tour Stop #5: Strasbourg, France

Hi everyone! My name is Pat Moran, and I’ll be talking about our visit to Strasbourg, France.

After spending a wonderful week in Switzerland, the Dins took a train from Zürich to Strasbourg, connecting through Basel. Upon arriving in Basel, we learned that we had only two minutes to make our train to Strasbourg. So, we took in the sights and sounds of the city, as we frantically sprinted through the station, suitcases and garment bags in hand. Luckily, we all made it onto the train without a second to spare!

We arrived in Strasbourg in the afternoon of June 13th and enjoyed a nice meal with our hosts at the home of Molly Tennis, our contact and biggest fan in Strasbourg. Afterwards, we accompanied our hosts back to our homestays. Sam and I had the pleasure of staying with Sarah and Michael O’Connor and their two daughters. Sarah worked at the Council of Europe and Michael headed European sales for a nanotechnology company. Sam decided to call it an early night, while I stayed up talking about European politics with Michael.

The towering Strasbourg Cathedral in the city center.Photo by Eli Troen #250

The towering Strasbourg Cathedral in the city center.

Photo by Eli Troen #250

Seeing that we had a free day, Sam and I took the opportunity to sleep in before meeting up with the other Dins and exploring the city of Strasbourg. We saw the Strasbourg Cathedral—although we didn’t climb to the top—and enjoyed a wonderful lunch nearby. After spending the day in the city, Sam and I headed back to our homestay to freshen up and rest a bit. One of the best parts of Alsace-Lorraine is the food, and we made sure to enjoy this unique regional cuisine during our time in Strasbourg. That night, all of the Dins met up at a local restaurant to enjoy an Alsatian specialty, tarte flambée, which I can best describe as a flatbread pizza topped with cheese, sliced onions, and bacon cubes.

The next morning, Friday June 15th, we had a tour of the Council of Europe courtesy of Eli’s host, Isabella Pilavachi. In contrast to the European Parliament, the Council of Europe is not endowed with any powers, instead acting as a purely diplomatic organization. That afternoon, we met the US Consul General to Strasbourg, Kara McDonald, and toured the US Consulate General building. In the evening, we performed at the College International de l’Esplanade with the Sunday Afternoon A Cappella Choir, an extracurricular a cappella choir inspired by the Dins’ performance on our last world tour.

Dins being...well, Dins at the US Consulate in Strasbourg.

Dins being...well, Dins at the US Consulate in Strasbourg.

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On the next day, Saturday June 16th, many of the Dins chose to go to Colmar, a picturesque example of Alsatian architecture. Sam and I, however, chose to stay in Strasbourg on Sarah and John’s recommendation. That night, we had our biggest concert in Strasbourg: a joint performance with the Strasbourg Philharmonic Choir. The concert venue was special, a former Cabaret and space not normally available to the public. Thanks to the work of the US Consulate General, the French military agreed to let us perform in the space.

Biking through the lovely French Countyside, looking forward to some Crémant.Photo by Kevin Kearns #244

Biking through the lovely French Countyside, looking forward to some Crémant.

Photo by Kevin Kearns #244

After our big concert, many of the Dins were ready for some rest and relaxation. On our last day in Strasbourg, our prayers were answered, and we were generously hosted at a countryside manor for an unbelievably fun, all-day pool party featuring ample Aperol Spritzes and an inexhaustible supply of Crémant.

Best,

Pat #239