World Travelers

Have a good time Thor.

Perhaps a good chance to break some old patterns?

Yes I should especially considering that it's not too far for me to get to. I have been relatively close by before...

St. Guilhem le Desert

Guilhem

All about 2 hour drive from Montpellier, as you can see it's probably all part of the same geographic range.

An interesting point! I've found this with certain nationalities too, Germans, americans ( often more obvious ), English too. Indian friends of mine who have gone to India also tell me that locals immediately spot that they are English Indians.

I'm off to Corsica! A mix of classic hikes, beach walks and little villages, snorkelling, delicious food with chestnut flavour all over the place including the Pietra beer. Lots of wild boar, cheese and fresh fish!

I've been listening to a lot of Corsican music the past months, and some of you might be familiar with A Filetta. They're a group of Corsican polyphonic/a capella singers, very popular on the island. You may have heard them because they collaborate often with Bruno Coulais, most notably in Himalaya, which is a fantastic score. Anyhow, by coincidence, there's a festival in Calvi which they host and got us some tickets. Should be good, and there's a film music connection.

Another favourite is Giramondu by Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses. Love it!

See you later!

Couldn't have said it better.
Oh, and needless to say: we want pictures .

I'm off to Spain, more specifically Malaga. Scoping out the place that my parents bought. And if it's any good, It will become a staging area for future MainTitles meetings with the MT'ers of Spain and Europe, see you soon

don't expect a lot of pictures, but I'll try to provide some

Sounds great!

Can you imagine a MT'ers gathering coupled with a trip to the Alhambra in Granada? Trying to think what I'd listen to...Kingdom of Heaven?

El Cid.
Just El Cid.
Of course.

On a more serious note, your parents are quite brave, investing in real estate in Spain at this time.
I honestly and sincerely hope it works out!!!

If only because I too of course would adore an MT pied-a-terre in the South of Spain.
And Malaga is a great place!

None. I was confused with Crete.

Any place that's the birthplace of Napoleon can do no wrong with me!

I wish I could say I'm a world traveler. I am excited for my trip next week to NYC though!

Have safe travels, Bregt!

This was originally posted in the FSM forum, but I'll post it here as well. It has the gist of the tour:

"OK, so here's my report. Yes, it's LONG! Feel free to skim through.

After a long travel with Nils from Norway, I was deligthted to meet Eugene Iemola at the airport. Nils went on to Beverly Garland while I spent the night with Eugene, his wife Tina and their son in their nice Carson home. Impressive soundtrack collection he has, and some beautiful, restored film posters on the wall. The next day, we went to Jon Davis in the valley -- a guy who restores those selfsame film posters. Then he drove me to Hollywood, where Nils and I were happy to explore most of what the 'tourist magnet' had to offer -- the Walk of Fame, Amoeba Music etc., before we met Henry for lunch at the Hard Rock Café -- something to eat before the magnificent IRIS show in the Dolby Theatre, probably the best live performance I've ever seen (great to hear Elfman's wonderful score in context too); and I kept thinking to myself what other celebrity has been sitting in my chair (this is the Academy Awards venue, after all).

Next day was the Paramount Studios tour, which was nice enough -- even though not as 'spectacular' as other studio tours, I guess. Maybe I'm jaded from being a tour guide for Norway's main broadcaster myself, I don't know. A brief stop at the Forever Cemetery nearby, although the only celebrity grave we found was that of Mel Blanc, who had all those voices in the cartoons of yesteryear. Henry picked us up there for the hike up to the Griffith Observatory, which offered brilliant views of the city in sunset as well as nighttime.

Friday, we explored downtown - Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Bradbury Building (from BLADE RUNNER), the modern cathedral, Little Tokyo, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Then I went straight to Henry's place from there, for the meet'n'greet. What an evening! Meeting so many of the FSM members for the first time (Peter Hackman, Mark Ford, Marshall, sirusjr, Tobias, hermit, manderley...the list goes on), including luminaries Bill Stromberg and Stu Phillips (who humourously greeted me with "Ah, the famous Thor!"). I could have kept going all night, but I had to get up early for the FFM the next day.

The FFM was a real treat. Hanging out with composers like Beltrami, Revell, Sherman etc. in an informal setting. Loved that. I'm not that interested in autographs, so I skipped that part, but I got to take some pics with my favourites -- that's the thing for me! Everything seemed to run smoothly in both segments, even though the FFM banners on the panel table ominously fell to the ground one after the other. And of course meeting even MORE FSM members. Thank you so much to Peter and everyone else who made this thing happen.

Then there was the John Williams concert. Unfortunately, as we got to the Bowl, I discovered that I had not only misplaced my cell phone at my Hollywood motel, but also my brand new camera at the Tula restaurant at Beverly Garland. Geezes, I can be so forgetful sometimes. And on THIS important day, where BOTH were so crucial. Bummed by this, it affected the whole experience somewhat (I was convinced they had been lost forever)...but I tried to take the experience in nonetheless. Even though we were seated about 70-80 meters away from the stage, the view was fine and the concert program excellent. Besides the obvious pleasure of seeing my big musical hero for the first time, the whole Bowl experience was something to behold -- including the waving lightsabers during the STAR WARS music. All of those who had booked tickets through me showed up, except TJ (who we futilly tried to get hold of). Fortunately, both my cell phone and camera showed up the next day -- one in the hotel reception, the other at Tula's. Phew. Saturday was really the day of ups and downs. Nils, James Southall & wife, dogplant and myself finished the evening off with a night cap on Hollywood Boulevard.

On September 2nd, most of the 'gang' went to the Newman concert, while I wanted to see more of LA before I moved on. So I hopped on a bus and went to Santa Monica and Venice. I don't regret it, since Venice -- in particular -- was a hodgepodge of freaks, smells, colours and life. The next day, Eugene picked me up again and drove me to Long Beach where we had a lunch before I went on the Catalina ferry to the island outside LA. I tried to make as much out of the days there as possible (snorkling, hiking up in the mountains), but it's probably a place that is better suited for more people. It can be a bit lonesome during the evenings. Well, that went for most of my post-LA trip, but this place seemed particularly tailored for groups, couples, families and social settings. But the last evening, I did at the very least meet up with Henry, Nancy, Peter and Brian for a nigt cap. That was nice.

Then it was off to San Francisco. Wow, what a city. More than LA, it really FEELS like one, condensed city, with some utterly cool neighbourhoods. First night was a get-together with Bruce Marshall, DavidinBerkely, Basil Wrathbone, Michael Scorefan and riotengine. Rick Mason never showed up. Great group of people all around...it's so refreshing and gratifying to meet longtime members face-to-face. I just hope I didn't scare them with my Norwegian ways! Other than that, I did the hilltop walk (all three city hilltops), Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Bridge and North Beach. My favourite pub was probably Vesuvio, where I spent the last evening with a 60-something existentialist by the bar who worked in the City Lights bookstore. Strange guy, but fun. I also had a long hike in the Marin County -- from Pantoll Station (2 hours bus ride from SF) down to Stinson Beach and back again. Great scenery and I was surprised by my own shape!

Then it was San Diego. I just BARELY caught the flight due to various issues (including faulty public transportation), but once there I got to see most things it has to offer -- downtown, Coronado (which I crossed on foot), Balboa Park, bicycling along Mission Beach, hanging out in the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, Hillcrest, the USS Miday (from the pier, at least). The hotel (hostel, actually) was crap, but I managed. Met sirusjr and his boyfriend, who took me to a small brewery in Hillcrest, but unfortunately I didn't get to meet the other SD'ers -- Josh, Holly, John Archibald and sdtom. Still, not bad in two days.

Back to LA with the Pacific Surfliner, and then Eugene and Tina took me out for a brilliant Japanese dinner my last night before he took me to LAX very early the next morning. After 32 hours without sleep, I finally got a good night tonight, and am ready to write all this.

------------

I have to give a VERY special thanks to Eugene Iemola and his wife Tina, who took me in and made the trip all that easier -- whether it was driving the troublesome stretches, offering me a bed for the night and just letting me hang around his place and listening to his scores. Such a cool guy...has that whole Joe Pesci vibe going on; his Brooklyn roots shine through.

Obviously also special thanks to Henry for hosting the meet'n'greet and showing us some of the city, Peter Hackman for hosting the FFM and my travelling partner Nils who made the LA stay sociable; it's always nice to share these things.

AND....of course, every single FSM member I met during my stay -- the get-togethers, the meals, the concerts, the events. Thanks for allowing me to meet you. Wish I had met Lukas Kendall, whose publication meant so much to me when I discovered it in the 90's, but alas he was nowhere in sight.

I don't know when I will have the money to return to LA, but there's still a lot left in California that I want to see, so I will return at some point. Next year -- depending on various issues -- I want to go to New York and meet the FSM contingent there.

If you're still reading, you're crazy. Go read a book instead!

Pictures available on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= … 7ec8"

Aye, me too (although I probably would have been put off by asll those damn colonials).
Wonderful report, Thor, and a pleasure to read!

Couldn't agree more.
Makes me want to fly over and visit California.

Welcome back, Bregt! Already from that little you wrote, it seemed excellent!

Did you get pics with Tom (sdtom) Thor? Thanks for the report and pictures, what a trip and so many meetings. It's impressive.





Ha! I see you mixed up with Crete. Not familiar with it, but Corse has a great kitchen. Lots of wild boar, veal and porc, and of course sea food (langoustines and tuna). Cheese everywhere in all tastes and as strong as you want (goat!) and salami's. The latter has a wide range of specialities, making me think of our Ardennes region.

Half of the country is covered by trees and a lot of it are chestnut, so many things are flavoured with that. From the popular main beer Pietra to liquor and pie and sauces. It was my first trip with such a focus on good food. Many menus have been passed. Combined with some fantastic scenery, small but impressively defended cities and mountains running from its heart to the sea, it's a spectacular island.


Ha! Sardinia is close by. We saw it when we were in the South (I feel like Palin now-. I must say that I do not like the whole array of polyphonic singing, and the concert was a little disappointing because the quintet that joined them somehow didn't bring the best out of A Filetta. I had hoped for a more filmic experience, but this was more classical. Still, it was a unique experience to have a concert on the stairs of a cathedral inside a citadel with view on the see and the mountains in the back.

Corsica is an odd place though. I read about its unbelievable history with about every nation in the Mediterranean, and about the recent nationalism. It's the most violent region in Europe, with about 20+ murders every year (300000 people). Lots of nationalism, with the FLNC often bombing houses of French rich people having their second home. While we were there, there were 7 super market bombings, triple murder reckoning and a driveby shooting on the offices of the biggest news paper.