After a nearly twenty-hour flight, the West of The Divide ensemble landed in Rome on 16 January.
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From the beginning, our days were full of adventure.
Starting with a visit to the famous Colosseum and Forum, experiencing incredible feats of the ancient worlds.
Our first performance was at an Australian embassy, which was very successful, giving us the confidence for the rest of the tour.
Unfortunately, after visiting the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and more, it was time for us to move on.
Passing through San Gimignano, and tasting delicious gelato, we arrived in Florence.
While the band was having a fairly restful day, allowing us to take in the beauty of this amazing city, the choir attended a masterclass, which I’m sure was fun too.
Saying our goodbyes to David, Michelangelo’s amazing statue, we packed the bus again and moved on to Venice.
It was clear to everyone that we were dropping to a new level of cold, as we were being hit with the cold breezes from the water.
However, this didn’t stop us from taking in the uniqueness of the city.
Following an incredible glass blowing workshop, we performed in Saint Marco Basilica with an out of tune keyboard, making the performance a challenge if nothing else.
Pulling ourselves away from the wonders of Italy, we travelled to the plummeting degrees of Slovenia, with our first sight of snow.
Our performance in the Postojna Caves was something out of this world, with a delay of six seconds the songs sounded incredible.
Lake Bled was breathtaking.
We drifted effortlessly to the only island on the traditional Plenta boats, before climbing the stairs, drinking gloriously warm and rich hot chocolate, and ruthlessly pelting each other with snowballs.
Dragging ourselves from the luxury of our Slovenian accommodation, we arrived in Croatia.
Here we sang the Croatian National Anthem for a major morning television program and experienced Zagreb on a walking tour.
All of the ensemble took part in a Klapa vocal workshop.
Their entrancing talent convinced even the most percussive players to want to sing along.
Our final hurrah was the performance for Australia Day at the Lisinski Hall, followed by a formal reception at the Australian Embassy.
I would like to thank Mr McKnight for accompanying us ... and for making sure I didn’t die.