Amabile's Trip to Thessaloniki 2004

Sarah Cook

In the morning on Friday 7th October, Amabile Girls' Choir arrived in Thessaloniki. We were all extremely tired from the long journey but very happy to be there. The first thing we did was check in at our hotel, where we were greeted with bags of interesting books and posters. These were very generous gifts from the council of Thessaloniki. Then we all went to our rooms and slept to make sure we were all ready for the exciting concert that night.

When we arrived at the National Theatre of Northern Greece, we realised just how big and important this concert was going to be! The building was huge and there were even banners of the choir up outside the theatre. We weren't disappointed when we got inside either. We all had dressing rooms (which was very exciting for us!) and the concert hall was stunning.

The concert that night went really well and we all really enjoyed it, the audience were very appreciative. They especially seemed to like the Greek song that we performed (complete with actions) - "Psaropoula".

It was very late when the concert was finished, but no-one was tired, we were all full of energy and excitement at the thought of the weekend ahead of us!

We had some extremely interesting guided tours of the city and historical sites, we went swimming in a natural hot spa, there was even time for some shopping. The highlight of the weekend, though, was the Greek meal that was put on for us on Saturday night. There was even traditional Greek dancing. It was very fun, especially as we all got to join in with the dancing.

This was a wonderful trip for the choir, and I am extremely grateful to the council of Thessaloniki and the Aggidis family for organising this trip. I had a great time and enjoyed everything. It was brilliant!