Day One: Journey!

There was an early start to it all - the first call was to meet at Gatwick North Terminal at 4am. 4am. Gloriously, several folk decided to make their way to the airport the night before and catch a little sleep in a hotel on site. Some looked amazingly awake and alive - others looked - well, let's say, it was the airport lighting that refused to flatter... Here's how the choir were feeling:
Amazingly, everyone was on time, everyone had brought everything, and we all sailed through passport checks with hardly a problem. Two or three almost missed the flight because they took their time over breakfast (we started to learn who might be at the back of the pack when we needed to move fast anywhere) but soon pretty much everyone was sound asleep, high in the air above the alps...
And then we were in Italy. Italy - gloriously bathed in sunshine, making the previous week's heatwave in Oxford feel palid and slightly fake. Italy, with airconditioned trains and railway platforms you can fry eggs on.
4am suddenly seemed a world away. Because now - Firenze. For most of the crew, that meant arriving at the hostel that would become home for the next week. For our leaders, it meant a moment to breathe and relax that so-far-so-good was holding, and maybe a drink was in order...

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