Day 6: team L – slowing down

Clare:

Having only arrived in this stunning town the afternoon before the crew were a little disappointed to hear the girls wanted to head off straight away. LiLu seemed blinkered into speeding up through Italy ticking off as many destinations as she could but not experiencing each place fully. With the map of Europe laid out in front of them LiLu and Lindsey discussed the route ahead. It suddenly dawned on them that actually they should be maybe slowing their trip down and appreciating each place a little more. So with this is mind, the decision was made to stay in Alberobello for one more night. Phew.

As the crew re-checked into their hotel the girls spent the afternoon appreciating the local town. With the competition never out of LiLu’s thoughts she was also recce-ing locations for an evening performance. Seeing that they were staying this extra evening both girls wanted to up their game and double the amount they usually earned by playing to as many people as possible. They hadn’t made any money during the day so it was important to make more cash in the evening. More importantly for LiLu she hadn’t played her cello for 24 hours so was really craving being back with her beloved instrument. Lindsey however was anxious her voice was starting to feel struggle with the nomadic lifestyle. She was particularly concerned she wouldn’t be able to perform to the best of her ability for the big concert this evening.

The plan was to perform outside a church at 8pm. As the girls walked through the town they enticed locals to follow them to where they would play. There wasn’t a person on the streets who didn’t know about their gig. Think Pied Piper of Hamelin scene. Lindsey found a local lady to be her translator and she was very happy to do their sales pitch for them to the locals. Lindsey began singing outside the church and a small audience congregated before her but as she was coming to the end of her first piece, LiLu jumped in front of the audience to tell them the concert will continue in the square below.  This second spot was a small square surrounded by local food stalls. There was a group of about 50 men all eating and drinking from a buffet table of local food produce.  LiLu pulled Lindsey amongst the men as she was singing Ave Maria. We weren’t quite sure what was going on in front of us but LiLu’s resourcefulness paid off once more. Before we knew it the girls were being introduced to the Mayor of the town. Food and wine was offered to them and there was a great vibe in the air. Both girls were on top form. Lindsey’s voice survived, in fact she was unstoppable and did a record number of songs. Locals sung along with LiLu’s playing and applauded at the end of the gig with affection.

This wasn’t the concert they had planned and although didn’t make the amount of money they had aimed for, they had loved every minute. With fans from this performance taking them under their wing the night was still young and they weren’t going to finish until their objective was completed.  A couple of hours later they struck gold. With the help of their new best friend, the translator and her husband they found the town square where a talented duo of musicians were playing with amps to the packed restaurants. In true team L style they ambushed the buskers set and lets just say team L’s mission was complete.