Saturday, April 13

The 2024 BC High Choir Trip to the Netherlands started off with some of us boarding the plane via the stairs after a two hour delay and a malfunctioning gate bridge. After our overnight flight, we arrived in Amsterdam around 11:30 a.m. local time and what felt like 5:30 a.m. to us.

Once we got off the plane, we went through the relatively short customs and baggage claim line and met our tour guide, Bill, for this week-long journey. We then took the bus to Amsterdam and met up with the other part of the group that had to take an earlier flight to Amsterdam via Detroit (due to a deeply unfortunate mishap with the airline). While in the city, we split up into groups to have lunch. My group walked around the Albert Cuyp Market and bought some local chicken on skewers for us to eat. I found the food lovely, but as we were walking around, we were surprised by the sheer number of bikes that we came across along our journey. When crossing the street, we found it much easier to avoid the cars than the bike riders who were reluctant to stop since many of the bikes in the Netherlands do not have handbrakes.

After lunch, we went on a tour of Amsterdam’s inner city. On the tour, we learned about how the city is built on mostly reclaimed land, and we learned the history of Amsterdam’s canals and dikes that demonstrate the city’s connection between architecture and nature and why many of the buildings are leaning since their foundations are wooden tree trunks. I also found it very interesting to explore the boat houses by the canals, to see the Dutch Royal Palace, and to watch Amsterdam’s trams roll on by.

Once the tour was finished, we took the bus to our hotel in the small town of Delft, which is about 45 minutes outside of Amsterdam. We then walked to dinner at a Boterhuis where we enjoyed an exquisite meal that included fresh bread, chicken breasts, well-seasoned fries, chocolate mousse, and even ice cream. Dr. Rozenberg let us break the “NO ICE CREAM” rule, just this once. It was a great way to end an exhausting day. We eagerly headed back to the hotel to rest our weary heads.

Michael Kester ’24

We made it back safely and had a lovely trip, in no small part due to warm spirit of the group participants. Thanks especially to Dr. Rozenberg for planning the trip and the other adults (both school staff and chaperones who joined us).

The day began abruptly at 6:45 A.M. with the clamor of an alarming wake up call from the illustrious Ibis Styles hotel in Paris. As noted by baritone Jaden Flaherty, the hotel is, “exactly like the bumper of my car: riddled with countless dents and water damage.” The array of breakfast food was, to quote John Kanter, “super super mid.” The slew of croissants (cwa-sawns) and double shots of espressos were a necessity to rally the choir after a late check-in the night before.

After most of us managed to gather ourselves down to lobby on time, we began the journey of what seemed like a lifetime into the cobblestone roads of Paris. Our Pariasian tour guide for the day, who’s name no one can seem to remember, shared stories of what to expect at our first stop, The Musée du Louvre. She told us we will see many scandalous Greek statues and provocative Renaissance paintings, and that we did. Our new driver, Mohammed, flexed the skilled techne of what it is to drive the narrow traffic filled streets of Paris. The choir explored the halls of the old palace, which holds The Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading the People, The Wedding at Cana, along with many works stolen from the African continent. This quick stop was just the beginning of our day-long exploration of what Paris has in store for us.

We then bussed off to the magnificent Eiffel Tower for the iconic tourist photo opportunity. I forcibly persuaded the choir to take the ritualistic .5 (point five) photo. 

In need of sustenance  “the squad rolled up” to the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, which was a glorified Natick Mall, pimped out with Parisian architecture. To quote senior Micheal Duffy, “we experienced another mid meal.”  (Editor’s note: I can’t decide if the description of food as “mid” reads as overly negative, which  we, of course, would not want to portray. However, the lads have turned it into a thread running throughout the blog posts, so stay it must). While the cafeteria made the interesting choice to add olives to perfectly fine pizza, the food was overall passable.  After taking in the sights of the city from the terrace, the beautiful boys were treated by the omnipotent and omniscient Dr. Marina Rozenberg to some well-earned gelato. The boys soon realized that they were in the La Femmes section and decided to take the pilgrimage over to the L’Homme section. After spending money that we quite frankly did not have, the boys, excluding myself, were on time to the meetup.  I showed up 10 minutes later with a bag in hand, but no Jaquemues Chiquito necklace 😦 .  Within minutes, our gang was once again on the bus, barely preparing for the upcoming performance. The collective then shuffled through traffic, barely surviving the maze of Parisian infrastructure and entered the Cathédrale de la Madeleine to rehearse for our concert. Our performance was mediocre at best (Editor’s note: it was lovely), and we struggled our way towards dinner, at a lovely little establishment below street level. The three-course meal we enjoyed was bittersweet as addresses were given by each of the seniors; toasts to our memories with Dr. Rozenberg, who was celebrating her 400 birthday,  and the choir program.  In addition to our heartfelt tributes to our time as choir members, we were pleasantly surprised with a good meal; thanks, Monssier Bill. We then switched buses in order to take a trip up the Seine on a Bâteau Mouche. “Roll Tides” and shouts of cheer were shared as we finally returned to our hotel for a restful night before our long trek back to Boston.  See y’all soon!

Cordially,

The illustrious, magnificent, stylish, Johnny Sullivan

Today was a big day, so we will have a big blog post. It’s so big, in fact, that it’s still being written. It will be worth the wait, we promise.

We have so many lovely pictures from recent days, but the internet speed via a hot spot reminds this editor of her days with a dial-up modem (yes, I know this shows my age). So, expect a bunch of photos from recent days to be posted when we return home.

Written by Zach Ewing, ’23

Frankly, it has been a long one. To say nothing of how much we enjoyed the day, I  have little to no interest in writing this blog on the ride to Paris. We are likely to arrive at our hotel a little before midnight, staggering, completely exhausted into our beds. So I would honestly rather get an extra hour of sleep before another long day tomorrow, but I still will do my best to recount the events of our day.

The day began only a little later than usual, with the increasingly annoying wake up buzzer rousing us at 7:30. After another near identical, but still pleasant breakfast, the students finished packing their khakis into suitcases, sport coats onto hangers, and toiletries into plastic bags. As the clock approached 9:00 more and more suitcases found their way into the hotel lobby whether by a student awkwardly hobbling the case down the stairs, or the elevator smoothly whisking them down. All went smoothly, tuxedos packed neatly for the day, students in dress code, rooms checked, keys returned.  With the help of our tour guide Bill, and driver Fred we loaded all of our luggage onto the bus. And with the most difficult of the morning executed to perfection, we were able to get on the road. Some students fell asleep, others became absorbed in their AirPods, and even more were consumed by their phones.

We arrived at the Jesuit school that would accommodate us for the remainder of the day, Institution Notre Dame Sain Francois. The school had a pretty amazing campus. Situated topographically above the City of Evreux, the buildings were beautiful, and the students were very welcoming. After a filling lunch of mashed potatoes, wax beans, and beef, with beure blanc, we made our way down to the City Hall of Evreux. The city is truly beautiful, and though it is only inhabited by 50,000 people there was something about the city that Ms. Winter articulated as Evreux being, “the first place we have went to that feels real.” While the other places we have been were beyond amazing, they felt like the way that a film director would portray France, the way that a tourist is intended to experience the country. Evreux, on the other hand, felt like a place that you could live, rather than somewhere you could simply visit. Accompanied by the boy’s and girl’s choirs of the Institution Notre Dame, we were able to perform in front of the mayor. While it was very difficult to top the performances of the choirs that preceded us, we sung quite well, singing three songs for the mayor before being invited down to the steps of City Hall to take a picture. 

After the picture and some refreshments in city hall, we were granted some free time to take a look around the city and go shopping. The choir spread out throughout the city moving to whatever stores we found interesting before congregating in front of the river to bet on some ducks.

We eventually made the long trek back up hill to the Institution Notre Dame Sain Francois for a ping pong tournament and our final concert of the day. The concert was excellent; before getting our chance to sing we had the opportunity to listen to the boy’s and girl’s choirs. While I cannot speak for the other people in our group, I was truly moved by their singing, and it was truly some of the most beautiful live music that I have ever heard. Our concert went very well, maybe it was the pressure to perform just as well as the choirs that proceeded us, or it was the way their singing or the crowd inspired us, but regardless it was some of our best singing of the year. This was to say nothing of the joyous entertainment that was watching Michael attempt to translate Doctor Rozenberg to French.

After a somber goodbye from the students and phone lights waved through the dark, we left the school. The lights shrunk. Waving, smiling faces faded into the dark. A somewhat somber reminder that we are unlikely to see these people again passing through our minds. And as we drive further away we find ourselves where I began. Tired. Ready to sleep. Pretty good day. Good night….

Writer: Mike Duffy, ’23

This morning, the choir was awoken by the lovely wake-up call we’ve all come to love at 7:30. After a short, yet sweet breakfast, the Chamber Choir met at 8:15 for a rehearsal in the lobby, much to the pleasure (or dismay) of our fellow guests. We boarded the bus and took a bus ride, just under 2 hours, to Mont Saint-Michel. We got off the bus and met by a tram station, where we boarded a tram to cross the bridge to the lovely abbey town. The view from the tram was absolutely breathtaking, and when we reached the foot of the mountain, we couldn’t help but take a mountain of photos ourselves. 

Once inside the small town, we hurried up the long, winding road uphill to the monastery. While the weather was brisk, we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Green stickers were distributed to declare our statuses as Mass Participants, and we made our way to the beautiful chapel. We sang the mass opening, as well as two songs during the Eucharist. Once Mass was over, we were allowed to explore the town for ourselves for an hour and a half. Then, we met up with our tour guide to take a guided journey through the cathedral, learning about its historical value of the abbey while appreciating its aesthetic value.

Then, once the excitement of the abbey had worn off, we returned to Fred and his lovely bus and once again made the 1.75 hour drive back to Bayeux, where we found a new restaurant to try to enjoy dinner. While the food was “mid”, to quote Jaden Flaherty, the vibes were immaculate nonetheless. Tired from our full day, we returned to Novotel, from where I write this post. :3

Written by Zach Ewing, ’23

The day began promptly at 7:00 am to the near incessant ring of the wake up call, the beginnings of a sunny day in Bayeux shining through the window. Groggy students hobbled down into the lobby to enjoy the same breakfast as the day before. Following breakfast we performed a rehearsal in the lobby of the hotel in preparation for the laying of the wreath ceremony later in the day. As we strode out into the light of a new morning, the weather was slightly colder than the sun alluded but still very pleasant.

We boarded the bus ready for our longest trip since the morning that we arrived, accompanied by a new traveler on our journey, a tour guide to show us around Normandy named Corinne. With all delighted by Jaden’s merriment ( Doctor Rozenberg less so than the rest), we traversed to our first stop of the day: Pointe du Hoc, Normandy. At Pointe du Hoc students were able to see the consequences of the Second World War on the landscape, fields littered with craters, grassy plains covered in bunkers and cliffs shielded with barbed wire. As we reached the monument at the tip of Pointe Du Hoc, we had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem in front of the monument honoring the service and sacrifice of the Army Rangers who scaled the sheer cliffs. As we began to look around at the geography and topography that the Rangers scaled, we were shocked by their perseverance in scaling the sheer walls of the Pointe in the mud, storm, and sea of June 6th, 1944.

After traveling to Pointe Du Hoc, we traveled to the western most point on Omaha Beach to see the section of the beach on which some of the youngest soldiers in the entire war lost their lives, the youngest soldier being only 17, and the oldest only being 22. As we traversed eastward along Omaha Beach, we only stopped briefly with the intention of taking some pictures. 

Our next stop was  Arromanches les-Bains to eat some lunch. Many of our students split off to go to one of the many Boulangerie-Patisseries to purchase their lunch, with the majority of the remaining students enjoying some burgers and fries at Sargent Willy’s. 

For our one and only concert of the day, we proceeded to the Normandy American Cemetery, a beautifully maintained park created to honor the soldiers who died during the liberation of Normandy. We had the opportunity to participate in the laying of the wreath ceremony in front of the main monument, where three of our students with veteran relatives were able to lay the wreath themselves. It was a truly meaningful experience, and, for many of us, it was one of the most significant ceremonies that we have had the honor of participating in.

After paying our respects to the fallen soldiers, we returned to Caen for the opportunity to explore William the Conqueror’s castle, and go shopping. 

We finished off the day with dinner at La Fringale. As was the standard for our dinners on the trip, the food was excellent. The appetizer was a vegetable soup, following the appetizer we had a northern french adaptation of a chicken stew that leaned heavily on the butter, and cream. We ended the night with a crème brûlée the perfect send off to a good day. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as fruitful, bon nuit!

Now that we are done with our first day, we have moved on to our second. Luckily, we finally got a night’s rest and woke up more energized than I was honestly expecting. We started off with a breakfast, which was pretty good. A good breakfast can really make a big difference in our singing and energy for the day.. The weather was very nice; there was a little rain but not too cold/warm. We got to explore Bayeux and walk around the village more throughout the day today. The village is great; they have a main street with many shops and cafes, and they have a beautiful cathedral.

Our first part of the day was singing in the cathedral for Sunday mass. The cathedral was beautiful on the inside, and the choir was able to set up and practice their singing, Anna also got to play the organ, which sounded very nice. The choir got to sing a few songs, including “Crucem Tuam,”  “Adoro Te Devote,” and “Ye Sons and Daughters.” During the church service,  the parish women’s choir sang, and the BC High Choir attempted to join in. The mass was pretty crowded; there were many people especially for that big of a building. Finally, the choir was able to shake the hand of the priest when we left. 

Then the choir went to lunch and split up. Doctor Rozenberg was very strict on our ability to eat ice cream, so a few groups bought some pastries after their meal (Editor’s Note: a few groups also tried to buy ice cream, but the city is small, and Doctor Rozenberg is quick).. We then headed out of the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, which showed a long strip of cloth depicting the stories of Edward, Harold, and William. Edward, who was the king, had passed and Harold had taken power against the wishes of Edward, even after vowing to William that he would not take the throne. Then William, who was based in northern France, brought an army back to England and took his rightful throne back.

Then we went to the WWII Museum, where we watched a short movie and toured all the artifacts about the allies that invaded France through Normandy and Caen. We learned more about the life of the French under the German powers and the liberations of the Allied Forces. Finally, we had dinner in Bayeux, which was a creamed vegetable soup, a main course of beef with carrot (beef bourguignon) , mashed potatoes, and green beans. Finally, our dessert was ice cream (Doctor said it was okay because it was melted) and apple tart. Hopefully, tomorrow will be as productive and enjoyable as today.

The 2023 BCHigh choir trip to France started off with a short bus ride to Logan airport, where we waited for our departure. After a couple hour delay, we had a very uneventful flight across the pond to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Once there we had a two hour long wait to get through customs. We met our tour guide, Bill, and our bus driver, Fred, and set off for our first destination of the trip, Rouen.  

While in Rouen we saw the beautiful Rouen cathedral (a favorite of Claude Monet), the exact spot where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, and a beautiful golden clock from the 11th century.. After we saw these wonderful things, we split up into groups and had time for lunch. My group went and found a small bakery and enjoyed a variety of fresh baked pastries like macarons, croissants, and a baguette.

After we finished in Rouen, we headed to the hotel in the small town of Bayeux. There we had some time to rest  in the hotel before heading to dinner at La Terrasse. There we enjoyed a wonderful meal consisting of tuna pate, chicken  cooked in a traditional Normandy way, and potatoes. Desert was a pear tart, another specialty of this region.  It was a great way to end a long and stress-filled day of travel.

We look forward to using this space to update you on our adventures in France.