Switzlerand and Return

Hello all,

This will be the last installment of this blog, unless Andrew chooses to continue it during his 3 week journey in Ghana, West Africa.

We spent two days in Switzerland. The French spoken there is quite different than the Parisian French, of course, so sometimes it was difficult even for Andrew to be understood. We arrived in the afternoon, a few hours before the next gig, and checked into the youth hostel where we would be staying. The room was very nice, but nothing compared to the views.

It was impossible to look up and see anything but beauty. Mountains everywhere, so many that Jess just wanted to bundle them up and take them home with her. We walked the path along Lake Geneva to the festival, enjoying shops and the view. Andrew took many pictures of the flowers, as well as a video of "jazz on a boat:" a trumpet player and a tuba player, playing Honeysuckle Rose on a boat (it has been posted to Andrew's facebook and youtube accounts if you are interested). That was the atmosphere. Beauty everywhere, music everywhere, and people everywhere reveling in it.

Andrew joined RCJ to get set up for the gig, while Jess went to the audience to get set up to take a video. It was the 2nd to last concert, and again, the sound guys were wonderful. Overall the program went well; one tune had been played by Woody Herman some odd years before at the festival, and one of the members of the audience had been there at that time.

After the gig, Andrew and Jess went to dinner with some of our favorite members of RCJ. It was a lovely dinner of pizza with some good conversation on the side. It wasn't nearly as hot in Switzerland because of the altitude, and that was a relief. The evening breeze was also welcome. Jess bought some wrap pants on the way back, her favorite :-). We went back to the concert venue and listened to the last two big bands before heading back to the youth hostel for some sleep.

We had to check out of the hostel by 10 am, which was super frustrating. There was also some confusion about where exactly we were storing our stuff, so we took shifts guarding it throughout the day. Andrew and Jess had some yummy sushi for lunch! then started to get ready for the gig, which was earlier than the day before. Last night Andrew had met a guitar player from the big band that was playing before us, so they re-connected. He was a nice kid, good ol' British bloke. They wanted to get a jam session going but were unable to because of time constraints. Those musicians, always networking :)

The last gig was the best gig, overall. Everyone played their hearts out and were happy to play one of their favorite tunes, Shiny Stockings. Jess recorded the whole thing, to the excitement of the band. After the gig, Andrew and Jess went to dinner by ourselves, finding a nice little restaurant with a view of the sunset, and some yummy mussels for an appetizer (Jess's first time having them).

Before long, it was time to head to the final meeting place, and board the bus for our overnight drive to Paris, where we would get on the flight home (or, at least to the Twin Cities). We both slept well, and then had an adventure trying to return the instruments before we could go to the airport. We had to show our passports no less than 7 times before we could get on the plane, twice before checking in, twice between checking in and security, once for security, then once for the lady at the gate, and then another time for employees frisking every 3rd person who got on the plane. Of course Jess got picked for the patdown. Lovely. Good thing she checked her pepper spray! There may have been another time we had to show our passports, but we were all so tired, can't remember.

Finally, we were allowed to board the plane and settle in. There were better movies playing this time, and the food was really really good airplane food, though there wasn't nearly enough of it. Because it was a daytime flight, we were able to look outside and see the ground/ocean when the clouds cleared. We saw the entire tip of Greenland, which was really cool, and then Canada--which looks like a giant mud pie. At first, Jess thought we were flying over the Gulf of Mexico because of the giant brown swirls, but then she saw three houses together and realized it was Canada ;-)

After landing in the Twin Cities, we had to go through customs, which was a pain. The guy was a douche to Jess. But it is worse for visitors, who have to get fingerprinted and photographed half a billion times before they're allowed in. After customs, we parted ways with the majority of RCJ, except for one lone saxophonist who was also flying to Milwaukee because she lives there. After checking in, we met up to exchange pictures and videos and to eat some dinner. She is a wonderful person, and a good contact for Andrew in the music world. Finally, her flight was leaving, so Andrew and Jess headed out on their own to the gate.

Once we landed in Milwaukee, we discovered that the flight to Appleton was delayed and possibly cancelled because of thunderstorms in 3 different spots around the country. After traveling over 24 hours already, and facing the prospect of waiting another 5 in an airport for a flight that may never come, we decided to call friends. Patty and Carl were darling and came to get us, bringing the two of us sleepy people back to Appleton before our flight would have even gotten in to Milwaukee.

Once back, we collapsed and slept for a good long while, having traveled for 33 hours in order to get back to Appleton. Of course, Andrew was not yet quite home, but he had a few days to recover before flying back to D.C. this morning. Overall, a lovely trip, and one we will remember well :)

Andrew and Jess