Nice is so nice :)

Where are we now? Paradise. Nice, France is like nowhere we've been yet. Brilliant sunshine, gorgeous aqua beaches, picturesque night time cafes, old Italian and French structures, bohemians, and an incredible busking music scene.

We began the week at a youth hostel, rooming with six fun Australians! First things first: Monte Carlo Casino. All dressed up and hoping for a glimpse of James Bond and some flashy wheels, we took a train to Monaco. We felt like the night was something from a movie. We had a lovely dinner with our new friends, and then in true Bond spirit enjoyed a martini at the casino (shaken, not stirred).

The next day it was time for the beach! After two months of becoming successfully pasty skinned in Northern Europe, we definitely laid on the sunscreen ;-) We've been dreaming of sunshine all summer and here there is an over abundance of it!!

In just our first few days here we've discovered that being a street musician in Nice is the absolute life. Our performing begins late in the evening after a full day of sun bathing and hanging with friends. There are countless quaint cafe lined streets and squares to perform for into the late night. Our first night out we had the privilege of meeting two fantastic established international buskers. For the last twenty years, they have made a life out of a combination of busking and private gigs. They "showed us the ropes" of street performing in Nice and by the next night we were doubling our profit and enjoying ourselves a thousand times more. The jazz bar "Shapko" has become our hang out in the old city of Nice, where amazing musicians from all over the world congregate in the late evening. The owners are wonderful people who invited us last evening to perform especially for their guests.

We sadly had to say goodbye to our Aussie friends, but are now enjoying the company of our couchsurfing host. He is a kind man from Nice who is heavily involved in the art and music scene of the area. His home is both a perfect location for Annelise to practice for the Nice Academy and for us to have a short distance to the best performing locations.

Our excitement for street performance is incredibly high right now because the music community here has made us feel so loved and welcomed. There is endless opportunity to make a life performing music here so we are looking forward to what the next three weeks will bring!

Delirium Kalypta Waffles

We had a surprise vacation in Belgium with Annelise's Dad! It was five days of relaxing, practicing, and exploring. It was my first time in Belgium but it took me just one day to realize how much I loved it. It's an intriguing country with varying languages, architecture dating back to Medieval days, and a laid back, international feel.

We spent several nights at "Delirium," a hip student bar near the Brussels Grand Place. It was fun making friends with people our age from all over the world! In Leuven, we stumbled into an exciting music festival with live bands spread throughout the main squares and plenty of Belgian beer to taste. We dined at an eclectic and cozy cafe called "Kalypta." Tall candles melted over their empty wine bottle holders, island signs adorned the colorful walls, sea shells held the guests' cigarettes, and a mini treasure housed our dinner bill. It had a wonderful ambiance and was a prime people watching location!

One rainy evening, Mr. Wiering taught us how to make a delicious beef meal. While we chopped and sauteed, we listened to Serge Gainsbourg and drank champagne. After, we had our first European movie theater experience, seeing "Midnight in Paris" - a film by Woody Allen with Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Marion Cotillard. (We HIGHLY recommend it!!) The opening scenes of the film were snapshots of Paris, which was especially thrilling for us after spending three weeks getting to know that city so well this summer :-) In true Belgian fashion, there were subtitles in French AND Dutch!

Eventually it was nearly midnight on our final night in Belgium. Suddenly we realized we had not tasted a Belgian waffle yet!!We were ecstatic when we discovered there was still something open. The last customers of a quaint sidewalk waffle shop, we enjoyed a traditional Belgian waffle, topped with cream and strawberries. It was a perfect finish to our visit :-)

To the Netherlands and Back

What better way to get to Amsterdam then driving the Auto Bahn in a car with good friends and a dub step play list? Oh and did I mention no speed limit?

Annelise and I have been dreaming of and saving for our 5 day vacation in Amsterdam since our trip began. And it was definitely worth every bit of effort and every last euro ;) We got to spend the trip with my amazing cousins Nicolai and Diana, our friend Kevin, and our travel buddy Josh (remember him from Paris?!).

Because it was our vacation time, we didn't do much performing. But with the money-making pressure off, we had a lot of unique and beautiful musical experiences. At one point we performed into a breathtaking canal in the evening, serenading a couple enjoying the romance of the night lights reflecting on the water. We carried our instruments with us everywhere and whenever we felt like putting a soundtrack to the moment, or offering a song to someone, we would. It was spontaneous, carefree, and wonderful.

Amsterdam is an inspiring city with its endless canals, cobblestone streets, network of bicycles, tulips, and boats. We enjoyed a sunset on a boat one evening, and spent others on the edge of a canal soaking up the moment away from our respective realities.

We've returned to my apartment in Hannover for a short pause. Next week, Annelise will be attending a week-long music academy in the south of France, so she will be practicing an inordinate amount this week. Unfortunately that means less street playing together, but I will go solo for a few days to keep up the trip savings for the French Riviera. We will be venturing to Brussels later this week which will be especially exciting for me since it is my first time!

All in all, Amsterdam was a wonderful experience. For those interested in a more...detailed story, shoot us a facebook message :)

A Restaurant and a Riddle

Tuesday was a day just like any other for two wandering street musicians. We played by our favorite cafes and flower markets in Lister Platz, shared lunch by the center fountain, and laughed about some favorite "How I Met Your Mother" scenes during song breaks. (yes, we realize we have an addiction) It was a regular afternoon for the jongleurs, until we played Moon River...

Now Moon River is a beautiful song that we both enjoy performing. However, we always wonder what's going to happen when we start playing it... Believe it or not, something about the romantic "my Huckleberry friend, moon river and me" attracts crazies. For example, one time while performing this song in Paris, a guy stood screaming for literally one minute at us. Immediately following, a deranged couple danced around us and demanded to hear Mozart. Anyway, back to the original story.

So we were playing Moon River and a well-dressed man came up to us and said he wanted to hire us! Were we skeptical? Maybe a little. This is Moon River we're talking about - Moon River. But we exchanged information and crossed our fingers. As soon as we returned home there was an e-mail outlining a contract with Restaurant Eliniko for the next night! A paid gig in a fancy Greek restaurant??! Thank you, Moon River!

It might sound a bit "My Fair Lady"-esque to say this, but we felt like we had been taken in, cleaned up, and turned into high class ladies. Was it a hard transition? Oh, definitely not ;-) The restaurant was incredibly generous to us and had a specially made dinner prepared for us upon our arrival - complete with a heart shaped piece of lamb and a tomato carved into the shape of a rose :-) We performed for about three hours as walking musicians in the restaurant, serenading diners. Then at the end of the night, the chef presented us with a special Greek dessert!

Although a wonderful experience in so many ways, we did have a challenge last night...The restaurant was not particularly large, and we had about three different playing locations that were fairly close to each other. We had a twelve song set that we performed during the night in varying order, etc. It was a game of "When was the last time we played that?" and "Do you think this section heard us play that over there?" throughout the evening...but as you can imagine, after several hours of this our brains entered a really mushy state of confusion. So we need your help...We have twelve songs that have morphed into a riddle in our brains. Can you tell us what the twelve songs are?? ;-P


A Javanese Flower Smile Makes Lisa Caprice River Dance

While...

Bella Hungarian Paganini Pearls Dream A La Notte Heart Bar

But we all know that,

Eleanor Peche carolle Mona de Rigby is Your No. 21 Duet Moon Wish

The Entrance to the Restaurant

Our Beautiful Dinner :-)

A Bear-Dog and Leonardo Decaprio?

Snapshots of a Week in Hannover

A giant, extremely furry black dog that was as big as a bear!! Couldn't look away!

Making a less-than-1-year-old baby SMILE while we played!

A nice old man giving us 2 big pink roses as we performed - and they were the most wonderful smelling roses!!

Making 90 euros in one day after playing for only three hours!!

Bringing a woman to tears after playing Offenbach's 'Barcarolle'

Frozen in their tracks, a crowd of five tiny German kids staring at us with huuuge blue eyes

Getting encouragement from a politics/history/music professor, a violinist from the Hannover Radio Philharmonic, and a professional jazz/rock instrumentalist

Spending a rainy afternoon in a pub with three retired Hannover regulars. (One of which, Fritz, looks just like Santa Claus)

In the middle of one of our songs, a man caught our eye- as soon as we finished, we shouted to each other, 'THAT GUY LOOKED JUST LIKE LEONARDO DECAPRIO!' I swear, it was his twin!

While playing outside the train station, a woman generously gave us a five euro bill and then sat at a cafe to enjoy our music. It was special because she seemed to be there just to watch us and appreciate the art of the moment (which was especially meaningful because we were feeling very low!)

One of the adorable blue eyed children of Hannover :-)

Playing in front of the rose covered instrument case!

In the pub with Fritz (i.e. Santa) talking to me in German...Me: "Ummm..what?"

Philosophical Thought of the Day ;-)

Sometimes the weather is just miserable. And, from time to time the thought of re-living that vulnerable, awkward feeling of playing on a random street corner is enough to keep us home...Some days we are horribly aware of our necessity for money and the stress of it weighs on us. And other days, like this week, we simply feel sick and want to collapse not perform. And..believe it or not, there are days where we even aren't happy with each other.

But we've discovered something really interesting, on days like those. The moment we start playing, our problems disappear for a moment. Cheesy? Ok, I didn't know how to write it without sounding corny. But it's really true - when we're making music, we don't feel sick, tired, upset with situations/each other. Between pieces we will re-lapse into our funks, but the second the piece begins we're fine again. We've wondered why, but haven't found an answer. Maybe we assume a performance mode that we're so trained to have? Maybe the music allow us to escape? Maybe playing music is the emotional outlet we need to stay balanced? Well, whatever it is - it's confirmation that we were born for this!

The Old District of Hannover

Beautiful Old Building in Hannover..I should learn the name of this...

Sick Jongleurs :-/

Well, we've come down with a cold :-(

I'm feeling a lot better today but Annelise has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse with her cough keeping her up all night, etc. So we're getting a lot of Halo 3 practice in and memorizing seasons of How I Met Your Mother. That's productive, right? ;-)

In between waves of sickness we've managed to have some good times here in Hannover. Last night we went out to an Irish Pub with some friends for a weekly pop quiz time the pub hosts. It was fun and we won all the rounds! And, to top it off, the owner offered me a job for the fall!

We've been getting re-acquainted with the best playing spots in Hannover, but the sickness has put a damper on significant progress. We're hoping for a better start next week :-) For now, drinking peppermint tea and taking medicine is the weekend lineup.