Italy 🇮🇹Day 1

We arrived in Rome about 8:10 am and met  up with our group from Celebration Concert Tours International. We left the airport around 10 am for our drive to Montecatini.  We had a stop along the way at an Auto Grill for lunch. In Italy these are the equivalent to our rest areas with excellent food choices and shopping for snacks etc. we arrived in Montecatini at our hotel about 4 pm. 

Grand Hotel Francia e Quirinale 

Check in was very efficient and we were in our rooms and able to unpack what we would need for the next 4 days and shower before dinner at 7:15. Remember we had been up since about 5:30 am on Tuesday and by dinner we had been up for about 30 hours. Some of us had a few hours of sleep on plane some of us had no sleep. 😳. 

Dinner was at 7:15 pm and as always I am sharing pictures of all the yummy food. 😊

1st course made Michael so happy especially when some of us shared with him. 

Tuscan starter: assorted cold cuts with fresh tomato

"Bruchette" croutons

2nd course was a pasta dish - 

Fresh pasta with light poultry ragù meat sauce

3rd course was the meat Roasted Pork Leg the chef seemed please with himself. 😉 

Roast pork leg portioned in "bellavista" by our chef

4th course mans probably the most important 🤣 Dessert 

Delizia Fiorentina cake

After dinner we met in a room in the lobby area of the hotel for an informal rehearsal of some of our music by the different worship pastors that will lead us during our concerts. For 80+ of us that were sleep deprived and with very full stomachs I don’t think we sounded too bad. But then again remember music isn’t really into my expertise. I give a new meaning of “making a joyful noise unto the Lord”! 

Tomorrow, Thursday morning we leave the hotel  at 8 am on our buses to go to La Spezia. Stay tuned for more fun!🤩 

Buona notte 😴