Wednesday, Feb. 22. from Cheryl Christo:

A LONG day filled with Milan, "The Last Supper," Duomo, First Day of Fashion Week.

Saw many models and fashion designers exhibits, sang in the hall in LaScala and sang in the center of the Galleria.

Saw some of a rehearsal in LaScala. Visited the castle. GAVE A concert (formal) and then attended a reception after. Arrived back to our hotel 12:30 a.m.

At 5 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, the Madrigals and Honors Orchestra performed live in concert at the Lugano Conservatory, here >>

Tuesday, Feb. 21, from Cheryl:

[Tuesday] was sunny and with warmer temps than we have had. We had a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, pasta bolognese, chicken milanese, salad and decious fruit wtih gelato.

We rode the ferry to the island of Bellaggio, which is in the middle of Lake Como.

First thing after breakfast we had walked to the local outdoor market which stretches for about 1 mile [above is a scene from that walk].

You can purchase EVERYTHING there. yarn, clothing, tools, shampoo, shoes, houseware items and more. It was very crowded as it is only open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Late in the afternoon we spent time in Como walking, taking photos and eating gelato and other treats.

Wednesday is a very busy day for us. We travel to Milan and sight-see, Then we stay there and go to our concert site to change and prepare for a 9 p.m. concert.

Monday, Feb. 20, from Christo:

View of Lake Como from the hotel.

We have arrived safely and are in Lake Como, Italy. This morning it is sunny, and our view is amazing.

Again, all of our luggage and instruments, etc., managed to arrive with us.

We are going to an open-air market this morning and then touring the area, with photos to follow.

Sunday, Feb. 19, from Christo:

What a spectacular day! We started with a guided tour of the Parliament. It is huge and very majestic. We learned a lot about the government.

We then spent some time in an indoor mall where we had lunch in the food court. We walked to Vaci Uta, a pedestrian street filled with shops and people.

Madrigals perform in a piazza in Budapest.

From there, off to the opera house and a guided tour. It is beautiful but small. It is quite ornate. Each of had to put on shoe covers to protect the floors as we moved through the building.

We learned a bit more about Mahler, Liszt, Bartok and others.

For our last dinner we had a dinner cruise on the Danube. The important buildings are lit up at night and are as beautiful as Mr. Werst, AHS math teacher, told us it would be.

We had a quiz again this evening and the winners were Brent and Will L. Billy came in third along with Margaret.

Tomorrow is a travel day, off to Italy and Lake Lugano.

Saturday, Feb. 18, from Tino D'Agostino and Christo:

We just finished having a quiz with the students after dinner. The two winners [were] Anna B and Nathan.

Attending the opera in Budapest.Today was sunny and warmer. We visited Visegrad and a beautiful castle there. We also saw the tower where Count Dracula was imprisoned.

We then went on to Szentendre, an artists’ village. We had free time to enjoy the quaint village and to have lunch.

Many of us chose to try traditional Hungarian food, and we had pita cooked in an oven outdoors, with various toppings, bacon and cheese, sausage; of course, there is always a paprika sauce to put on top.

We performed in a music school in the afternoon, and Mr. D. and Ms. Christo told us our performance was even better than yesterday's.

One thing we did differently was that the orchestra performed indoors and the Mads then went out and performed to a very appreciative crowd in the piazza.

It is hard to believe we were singing outside in February, in Budapest, Hungary.

Today is Tim's birthday so we sing for him and he received an extra slice of cake.

The students are wonderfully behaved and we are having a good time.

Honors Orchestra keeps instruments indoors in Budapest.

Friday, Feb. 17, from D'agostino:

10 p.m. here. We have just returned from a long, wonderful day. We woke up to snow and it gently snowed until around 2 p.m. About 3 inches. It has become warmer throughout the day.

Our guide, Janos, is very interesting and has been not only speaking about the sites we are visiting, but filling us in on the history of Budapest.

We visited Castle Hill, site of the photo sent this morning, the city center, St. Stephens church and visited the oldest music school in Budapest [overall view of city, above].

AHS students in snowy Budapest.We had a solfege lesson [a technique for teaching sight-singing] from the director of the school while there.

Our concert this evening was received well, and our students were incredible. We listened to a student jazz ensemble before we had our turn and performed.

After performing we changed at the hotel and then went to a pizza parlor for dinner. It was delicious and many of us had a traditional Hungarian dessert, sponge cake with choc and vanilla sauce.

Last night we had goulash soup for dinner and many of chose goulash for lunch today. It is delicious and of course has Hungarian paprika in it.

Tomorrow sunshine is predicted and we have another full day. We are all well and feeling more rested.

Thursday, Feb. 16:

"We are in budapest ... about an inch of snow. Tired but happy to be here. Off to check-in to the hotel and begin our 'adventure'!"

AHS student musicians perform in Budapest.

So wrote Cheryl Christo, Arlington High School choral director, as the Arlington High School Madrigal Singers and Honors Orchestra began their concert tour of Budapest, Lugano and Milan.

The Madrigal Singers, at left, led by Cheryl Christo, and the orchestra, below, led by Tino D'Agostino, and left Feb. 15 for Hungary, Switzerland and Italy to perform and tour these parts of Europe.

Highlights include visits to the Opera House in Budapest and La Scala in Milan and the Parliament Building in Budapest as well as an excursion to Szentendre Artist's village, where they will visit a school and perform.

The groups also will be participating in a dinner cruise on the Danube.

Those involved will then fly to Milan and transfer to their hotel in Lake Como.

"We are very excited that we will be in the 'City of Silk,'" Christo wrote.

From there, they will tour the area, including a visit to the village of Bellagio and Milan, where they will view da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper."