tenerife - las palmas - barcelona - lisbon - madrid - valencia

lost in madrid

hello again and sorry for the long silence. it's been quite busy here w/ traveling and concerts. on top of that, there are just so many places to see and so much food to eat!

paella w/ chicken and rabbit

seafood paella

valencian paella in madrid

paella broth w/ lobster (not sure of the name but it was DELICIOUS!)

things have been going quite well here. all the concerts have been very well attended and received. our violin soloist, leonidas kavakos, has been INCREDIBLE as always. each night after the bartok #2 or sibelius, he has delighted all of us w/ an encore of bach, paganini or tarrega (the orchestra's favorite).

here is an old clip of the tarrega:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A_CCOsNn_w

i've had the privilege of getting to know leonidas over the past few years. not only is he an unbelievable violinist, but he's also an extremely nice, down to earth guy. during the 06-07 season, he played the berg violin concerto w/ us and after the first concert, a group of us went out to eat. we had such a good time, we ended up having dinner 2 more times that week and also got together when he came to philadelphia for a recital about a year later. it has almost become a "tradition". so during our week of concerts together before leaving on tour, we made plans to hang out and get some paella.

in las palmas, a group of us went out for some good food and hilarious stories

tonight, we're actually going to a very famous place here in valencia where the queen even goes. can't wait.

the halls have been quite interesting as well. the first one in tenerife was very cool on the outside and the one in las palmas was incredible on the inside. the back wall of the stage was actually a huge window overlooking the ocean.

in tenerife

in las palmas

the most beautiful and ornate hall has definitely been the one in barcelona. i've never seen anything like it. even the lobby is incredible.





one thing i really wanted to do during my free time in the canary islands was go to the beach. everyone said it would be too cold but the water was just too inviting. the wind was also quite strong which made for great waves.

couldn't believe i was doing this in the middle of winter!

madrid was also very nice. several of us took the metro into the old part of town to take in the many sights.



outside the royal palace in madrid

statue of don quixote and sancho panza (truly appreciated by this group of violists and cellist)

barcelona has been my favorite stop so far. unfortunately, we only had a few hours to spend there before our concert so we didn't get to see very much. i wish my wife pauline could be here to enjoy these amazing places. i hope to come back and spend more time exploring this fantastic city w/ her.



i think everyone is looking forward to our free day tomorrow in valencia. after that, we head for the final stretch in luxembourg, budapest and vienna. will update you tomorrow (hopefully)......