On our last full day on tour, we got up in the morning for another delicious Courtyard Marriott breakfast and then headed to Rochester, New York. It was a long drive, so we napped and watched a movie to help pass the time. We had a short time to stop for lunch so we stopped at…you guessed it…McDonald’s! We finished lunch, got back on the bus and continued on to Rochester. When we arrived at our hotel, we found out that the Hampton Inn had lost power and were transferring us to a different Hampton Inn in Rochester. This created a tighter timeline for us since we needed to check-in, change into our concert attire and get back on the bus to head to the Eastman School of Music for our 4 p.m. tour. When we got to the hotel, we had 35 minutes to unload and get read and get back on the bus. Luckily, we made it!

Day 8 was our last day in Canada. We loaded the busses, got out our passports and headed for the border. It was a nice drive to the border as we drove back around the Montreal area and towards New York. When we got to the border, an officer got on the bus to collect our passports. She was stern, serious and carried a gun, but her name was Tulip and she smelled like coconuts! Once she finished checking our passports, we continued driving and the bus broke out into our national anthem. It was exciting to be back home!

Monday, we woke up and left the hotel for Sherbrooke for an evening performance in a university. The drive was rainy and long so we watched a movie. Upon arrival in Sherbrooke, we had a short amount of time to grab lunch at a “New York style” restaurant, change clothes and then head to the university for rehearsal. After rehearsal we quickly went and grabbed dinner at a local eatery known as McDonald’s. It was interesting to see the McDonald’s menu in French.

Here are the pictures from day 6!

Bonjour! Before I talk about day 6, there are a few things I forgot to mention in previous posts! First, if you look at the photo of the front of Rideau Hall, you’ll notice a blue flag flying above the home. The flag has the seal of the Governor General. When that flag is flying, it means that the Governor General is currently in the building. When he leaves, they replace the flag with a Canadian flag. Second, we learned that the province of Quebec has considered seceding from Canada due to their close ties to France and the French culture. However, according to a local citizen, it is unlikely it will pass soon. Lastly, the hotel we are staying at in Quebec is the oldest hotel in Quebec. And now for day 6!