Monday, February 27, 2012

Passing Clouds

Last night I went to the coolest place in an area east of downtown London (I think called Dalston.) With some of Damien's friends, I wet to a very excellent British pub and ate a very delicious toast with white beans, mushrooms, cheese, and truffle oil.

Then we walked down the road to the coolest place ever, a very laid back club called Passing Clouds. It cost 3 pounds to get in, but when you enter you hear why. Up on the stage were about 6 musicians, all playing a reggae beat. It turned out that it was an open mic jam session, and people took turns playing the instruments, and making the best sounds. The audience was so enthusiastic too. Everyone was dancing, and so excited to see who would perform next. There were even some rappers doing the competition thing, where the person who gets the loudest response wins. This was definitely the best local hangout, and I was so glad that I had such cool friends to show me a fun time in London.

Tomorrows my last day, and then on to Tallinn. I'm starting to feel positive about the next stretch of auditions, and I'm glad I had this rest period!

Friday, February 24, 2012

London, and how I got here

Do I have any followers left? I don't see why I would, but let me try to update you on where ive been:

From Zurich to Saarbrucken, flop; then to Antwerp, rainy but fun! Turned 25, feeling old; went to Oslo, less cold han Germany but frustrating audition. Then to London where I met Jane, had amazing adventures drinking fancy tea, eating Sunday roast, and looking at fancy tapestries and jewels.

For the past week (almost) I've stayed in London, getting organized and spending time with my good friend Damien, from Los Angeles Ballet! He now dances for Ballet Black, where I've been taking class this week. They rehearse at the royal opera house, which had been fun to be inside. I've also been doing bikram yoga and exploring, and it's been a nice break to be somewhere where everyone speaks English for a little while.

I have plans to visit Tallinn, Estonia on the 1st of March, and Copenhagen right after. For now I'm enjoying London so much, and here are some random pictures from Zurich, Oslo, London, and one from Berlin (can you find it?)

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Where's Lucy?

Anybody who's been tracking my progress will laugh at this next turn of events. Of all places, I'm back where I started in Zurich!

I went from Stuttgart to Saarbrucken, where I'd seen that they were hiring girls. But somewhere in the last week I got overly confident with getting in touch with companies at the last minute, and it wasn't as easy to just show up in this case. It's also been harder to find classes to take on the off days, and I was just not feeling so good about it. The cold probably didn't help my decision making either...

Then I got an email inviting me to a private audition in Basel on Thursday. I thought to myself, if I keep sitting around in Saarbrucken, I might not get a class tomorrow, but if I go to Zurich, I know I can get a few in before the audition. Also, the hostel in Zurich was by far the friendliest and most fun, and I knew I would see some familiar faces.

So I raced to the train station, and bby some miraculous stroke of luck, there was a train that left in 15 minutes for Strasbourg, with a direct connection to Zurich. I'd be there by 9:00. In this entire month of traveling, I've never had such a convenient trip with so little planning.

The train to Strasbourg was a very funny one car train that I named " the bullet." here are pictures of the entire inside of the train from where I was sitting.

The Zurich hostel was such a welcome break, and the breakfast with excellent coffee, yogurt, and gruyere cheese wasn't so bad either.

I got a class in this morning, and will do another tonight before getting on the train to Basel. I'm really excited to see the company there, it had a really good reputation and excellent repertoire.

It's a beautiful day in Zurich, glittery flurries against a sunny sky. I'm going to find a laundromat this afternoon, big activity of the day!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Crossing bridges and city lines

I didn't think you would find it interesting that I was huddled in bed all day Thursday, sick with a cold. No big deal, and I'm feeling much better, but there wasn't anything very interesting to tell. I spent the next day exploring in Augsburg, had a kundalini massage and found an adult ballet class to take. It was freezing cold but I insisted on saving money so I walked everywhere. I don't know how it feels back home, but in Germany in the last week, it's dropped to about -15 C, which I'm told is extreme. My fingers and toes are so cold through my gloves and socks that it feels like they're being hit by direct air. A huge change from just a week ago.

I'm in Stuttgart but probably leaving tomorrow. I heard about some new opportunities that id like to try before returning to Antwerp next week. Sunday seems quiet for social activities in Stuttgart, but I found a yoga class to take.

My roommate is a very friendly girl named Eleni from Greece, and I think we're having some dinner together later. You really learn to appreciate social interaction when you travel alone.

I keep meaning to tell you the craziest story! First of all, I have to edit an earlier comment that canals passed through Lyon. They are actually rivers, the Rhone and Saone. Well, to get from the hostel to the theater, you had to cross a bridge over the Saone. On the last day, I had all my bags because I was leaving Lyon for Paris, and it was about 9am. It was beautifully sunny and warm, and there were a few other people crossing the bridge on their ways to work.

All of a sudden I noticed that it felt almost too peaceful. I looked around and saw the water on either side, normal, and scanned the ground of the bridge. There were spots from daily city activity, but then I noticed...some of the spots were wet. And some were just splatting down. I could hear them and almost feel the wetness, but it was a perfectly sunny day...

And then I looked up. All along the top of the bridge, in two perfect straight lines, we're hundreds of seagulls, perched on the line. They were really high up and I could only see their undersides, all facing the same direction. That was when I realized, I was walking on a land mine!

When I finally made it across, I thought I'd survived without being hit. Then I saw, on the corner of my bag, a fresh, steaming, gift from above.

And that is the story I've been meaning to tell you.