Oh Ontario! & home sweet home

Oh Ontario!

What a pretty last day it was  and  I can still feel the movement of the train and last nights merriments in my head. We met so many wonderful people. Heard dozens of songworthy stories and ate enough cake to make Marie Antoinette proud!
Yesterday after our gigs and dinner we end up to a dome car making songs and talking to various people while playing our newly purchased/learned and loved Hapi drums to the night sky ... A lovely instrument.
We reflected to the time on this travel and realised how lucky we were to have done the journey and how we had learned not only many new songs but also connected to people we most likely would not have otherwise met. We got invitations for stay in many countries and everyones' kindness will stay with us for a long time.
I am trying to make a little video compilation of the little snippets we filmed on the way so you can get the real feeling from the trip too...and post it soon.
Thank you for travelling with us!


ps. We do have a gig coming up in Toronto the 5th of October at the Tranzac club!
Come by if you can!

x :)
Willow & V

Wednesday and Hornepayne

It is Wednesday already in Ontario and we have played 2 gigs already ... It's 4pm and now stretching legs at Hornepayne. There seems to be very little here but we got nice photo ops and noticed how many people we really have travelled with. Everyone is really smiley and nice. It seems we got a bit of a celebrity status here amongst the ( mostly retiree) passengers. End up posing to photographs and thanking for thank yous and plentiful complements. .. It's been a great trip so far. And hard to believe we'll be at home soon. The rocking of the train has become a quite familiar motion to move along with and to play to.
The weather is like blushing bride and sun shine makes this to feel like a real holiday. 
I been trying to spot a bear. No luck; just get my eyes crossed trying riser the details in a passing by forests... That's about the amount of menace we have on this trip if you don't count the body checking fellow passengers while we rummage past them with our instruments on the way to the car where the gig is... Oh!SWANS!!! I saw nesting swans just now...! Starting to understand why the people in The Festival Express partied so much... Otherwise it really is quite retiree kinda mellow journey. Oh autumn you look so pretty! 

Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Winnipeg stop

 We have arrived in Winnipeg and it's been a fantastic trip, but we haven't had access to wifi, so hence the lack of blog postings... The trip has been so very special. There seems to be a large amount of octogenerians who have recently lost their life partners. Their courage in the extremely bumpy hallways to and from dining, supporting us as audience in the lounge cars and their steadfastly positive attitudes melts my heart. I feel so lucky to have met them. The staff on via (all from Winnipeg it seems!) have been so fun and generous. Today we saw snow geese and bison and yesterday sighted an elk. The train has been such a romantic form of transportation. Some couples have waited all their lives to cros the country like this. It's like going back in time. The rhythm of the rails has been apparent in our playing, which had been so fun. Gotta get back on train now! Stay tuned for now later postings!

In Jasper

An early bird rising after yesterdays rumpus. There are misty clouds hanging everywhere around and above the foresty mountains. And a healthy numbered population of bold eagle is breakfasting by us on the riverbanks. I walked the train from end to end as a morning jog. There are many empty pods and seats. Three sky-decks and one all glass car...and it still looks like the train from "Some like it hot"...almost expect Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn to peek out from behind a curtain... That would be creepy ... But nice too. Our first gig IN .A. TRAIN. Is at 2pm ... Few people already asking for the performances when I walk past. I notice; there is not too much to do in a train...  But somehow it is fun anyways. 

Here the video from Vancouver station: http://youtu.be/YC1eSypTvWs

Now dinner after playing in Jasper... :P

At Vancouver Central Station

Toot Toot! Train leaving!

Today ... Oh ... Today the Vancouver was rainy but oh so lush.
We found our scattered belongings and were sent off to our journey by
The wonderful Steve and Kathleen all the way to the station.
It seems to be such a pilgrimise in the station as there is only one train to go... And we are directed to play for the departure of the people...We can already see who our fans will be...
The train is very much like the train in the film " Some like it Hot" and with many extremely helpful and kind people ... I am warned that the internet connections might be quite...Primitive. My apologies  for the belated  posts if that is  the case... We are in a state of perpetual animation... And wonder...
...grrr : will post the freaking video and links as soon as this google shot interface will start making sense... Grrr.

Here we go!

 Willow and V on aboard of VIA train across Canada from Vancouver to Toronto!

Starting tomorrow evening we play our first set on a Vancouver VIA rail Pacific Central Train station.

..and then it's ON!

Today we have been feverishly ironing our dresses and practising wearing beads... printing lyrics for people to sing along and humming "Echo Beach".

We have enjoyed the lush weather of Vancouver and been spoiled rotten by the hospitality of the most fantastic Bruce and Stephan.

...A question arises: How much wine is enough for a tired musician?!? 

The air is full of anticipation and adventure. 

Come along with us!!!

(Photo by James Dean... pimped up by V)