2024 Tour Day 11: Barcelona to Minneapolis
It was an early morning (or very late night) for GTCYS musicians. We left the hotel at about 3:30 am and spent a very drowsy morning at the airport. We said goodbye to our tour guides and boarded our flight to Frankfurt where we all slept heavily. Then we arrived at Frankfurt where some of us grabbed a quick breakfast and awaited our long flight back to Minneapolis. We are all very sad to leave such an amazing trip but I think everyone is a little excited to sleep in their own bed tonight 😄
After our long flight back to Minneapolis, which entailed a few movies, some sleep, and some lowkey delicious plane meals, our trip came to an end. After the 10 day trip we all reflect on our favorite parts of the trip and how fortunate we are to have gone. As we say goodbye to the trip some fan favorites were: meeting and becoming friends with new people in GTCYS; Cassis, France, which had great food and a beautiful beach day; casa mila, which a few kids went to on their free time; the walking tour in Lyon France, which featured the basilica there and a beautiful walk down a hill, and the free time in Lyon featured some great bakery items; and last but not least, playing at the Palau (of course).
Our fun was not limited to these things though, every single part of the trip was special in its own way, we learned so much, ate so much, and talked (also) so much. For many of us, this is not just the last day of the trip, but the last day of GTCYS ever. I think we have cried enough about it at this point but that doesn’t make it any less sad, some of us only being in GTCYS for this year, and some for 10, we all say goodbye to this amazing orchestra that has been such a place of learning, joy, challenge, and lifelong friendships. I have loved every single second in GTCYS and am very sad to say goodbye, but am so fortunate for the opportunity I have had to be able to play with them.
Last, on behalf of all of GTCYS, I want to say thank you to everyone who makes this happen for us, Megan Balda, Miranda Bryan, Maestro Smith, all of our chaperones of course, and grand tours, for planning such an amazing trip. We are all extremely grateful to be able to participate in such an awesome trip and have such an amazing orchestra community. #wearegtcys
-Amara, flute