TRAVELOGUE (AKA EATING MY WAY THROUGH SAVANNAH)

Hello, everybody. I did not, in fact, fall off the face of the earth --- I've just been so busy with traveling and catching up in the interim that there's been little time to write. Currently, I'm coming to you live from a hotel room in College Station, Texas (where as a University of Texas alumni, called in these parts a "Teasip", I hope not to burst into flames). I'm here to sing the Verdi Requiem with the Brazos Valley Symphony. If you're in the neighborhood on Sunday at 5 p.m., come on by.

Last week, my schedule was this: flew home from New York on Tuesday. Picked Eric up from his trip to France on Wednesday. Flew to Savannah on Thursday. Flew home on Saturday. Drove to College Station today. I'm headed for New York again on Thursday.

Friends, confession is good for the soul, so allow me to improve my soul:  I ate my way through Savannah. Becca, my friend's lovely grad assistant, picked me up at the airport and took me for my first sights of this beautiful city. One of our first stops was this ship, docked on the Savannah River, owned and lived upon by a religious group called the Twelve Tribes.

Our second stop was the Savannah Candy Kitchen, which offered lots of free samples, so you can see my diet was doomed from the start. Becca had made reservations at The Olde Pink House, where we had an amazing candlelit dinner and I had to forcibly restrain myself from licking the plate of pecan vanilla butter sweet potatoes like a starving dog. The next day, I valiantly got up and jogged around the hotel and adjacent golf course. It was nice to run in a different environment, and being coastal, the terrain was mostly flat. The weather was nice, a little humid, but not too bad.

Becca and her colleague Caylee picked me up and after acquiring coffee, we wandered the streets of Savannah a little more. I am a fan of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which in those parts is known as The Book. And here is The House:

This is the famous Mercer House, where the famous murder took place. We also walked a few blocks south to the lovely Forsyth Park.

 

That's the lovely Caylee with me in the photo (right after she got hit on by two very cute young Australian tourists. Becca and I tried to get her to turn on her Southern charm and offer to show them the city, but alas, she was more interested in attending my workshop).

After some sightseeing and shopping, my hosts took me to lunch at Coconut, an incredible Thai place in Statesboro whose strip mall location belied the haute cuisine to be found there. And after all this eating and sightseeing, it was finally time for me to do a little work! When I'm not off singing, I can often be found bossing other singers around via my Business of Singing workshops, and I'd been invited to Georgia Southern University to speak to their voice students about the practical aspects of having a career in music. So, despite evidence to the contrary, I actually did some work on this trip.

For dinner, they took me to Chops, a lovely local steakhouse. The next morning, bright and early, you better believe I was in the hotel gym, pumping away on the elliptical and working up a good sweat. But before I got on the plane  I was treated to lunch at Leopold's, a historic ice cream parlor which also serves up terrific soups and sandwiches (I highly recommend the basil tomato soup) in the midst of movie memorabila from the career of the owner, movie producer Stratton Leopold.

It's especially difficult to avoid overeating and overindulging on trips like this. I try to compensate with smaller portions and by eating lighter whenever I can (especially for several days after getting home). I also keep up with the workouts. (Today, I did half an hour on the elliptical and then ran/walked for another half hour --- that's plenty on a day when I have four-plus hours of rehearsal). But it's not enough. I'm well aware that, while for the most part I've maintained my good habits, they've also gotten frayed around the edges. I'll write more about that next time. For now, it's late and I have a performance tomorrow --- must get beauty sleep! But I'll leave you with the November photo, as well as one of my new haircut.

One of my university students told me, "Professor, you look especially nice today!" Yeah, that kid's getting an A ... ;)

And here's the hair. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Jean at Path Salon is a genius!

Comments

[Mari Ann "Fat Stomach"]

I love the photo shots :-) I can see that you enjoyed the trip!

[Cindy]

Brava, MS. Every meal is a struggle for me, too, at least right now!

Wilkommen, Agentenfilme. Yes, the weather in the southern US is nice and warm well into deep winter. I don't envy you the German winters, but I miss the Weinnachtmarkt and Gluehwein!

[agentenfilme]

nice pictures, nice people and nice landscapes. In Germandy is still winter.

[Monster Soprano]

I love viewing pictures of friends travelling the world.

GD boot camp is going okay, it is still a struggle for each meal but, my high numbers from last week are now lower.

[Cindy]

From the little I saw, I fell in love with the city, Erin! I hope to go back soon and spend more time.

[Erin]

As a former Savannahian, I'll admit it's impossible not to eat your way through that city. Glad to hear how much you enjoyed your trip.