Stephanie Says

This is me at a piano. Not an unusual sight. But this just happens to be the same piano on which Madame Butterfly was composed. Puccini anyone? Basically, if you're not a music nerd this means absolutely nothing. But it's going to be in a frame on my wall when I get home. Next to the massive Madame Butterfly poster I bought and Puccini's picture. Call it a shrine if you will.

This picture was taken last Friday night in Celle de Puccini, the summer residence of the Puccini family. I Solisti, the group of singers I play for gave an evening concert out in the gardens and it was absolutely beautiful. And really just one of those "how cool is my life" moments. How many people get to give a concert, singing/playing Puccini arias in the exact place where many of them were written?

As if things couldn't be any better, the concert was followed by an amazing home-cooked Italian meal that took 3 hours to eat!!! Loved it! We had two rounds of appetizers, then two different pasta courses followed by a main course of roast and potatoes and topped off with some amazing sweets---a lemon tart type of dessert and another that was layers of chocolate mousse in a tart. Big fan. Not only was the food an amazing cultural experience, but I also happened to sit at the end of a table with two of the native Italian speakers and ended up speaking Italian for most of the 3 hours! If you can think of a better way to spend an evening in Italy, let me know, because this seemed pretty much ideal---the complete cultural package!