DAY 17

(Thank you for all of the birthday wishes, everyone! I though of all of you as I was celebrating in Venice/Vienna :) From, Audrey)

Today we woke up and boarded to coach to head to Vienna. It was a relatively long drive, so there was plenty of time to sleep off the hang over. Once arriving at the hotel, we unloaded our bags and got ready for a classy evening. We had dinner in the Mayors house, or provincial building, which looked more like a castle. We were served a Viennese meal of schnitzel with soup and potatoes in a lovely hall of the building. After dinner we headed to the State Opera House where the Vienna orchestra would perform a Mozart and Strauss concert for us. The room for the concert could only seat about 100 people. The orchestra consisted of a pianist, bass player, viola player, two violinists, a cellist, and a flute player. They all dressed up in ‘Mozart-generation’ clothes. So the women wore ballroom dresses while the men wore traditional tuxedos. An opera singer and/or a pair of dancers accompanied the orchestra for a few of their songs. After the performance of Mozart pieces, and before the Strauss concert, we were invited backstage for a complimentary glass of champagne and a chance to meet the musicians. The entire night was SO COOL and was just perfect for Audrey’s birthday. Once arriving back at the hotel, we ventured out to the nearest bar to celebrate for Ms. 21 yet again. We walked into a club and enjoyed shaking our bon-bons. It was early in the night, but there were still a lot of guys in the club who didn’t seem to pay much attention to our group of girls dancing. After looking around a bit and seeing some male couples flirting, we realized we were in a gay bar. We still had a great time there, and took it a lot easier than the night before. We headed back to the hotel around midnight and rested up for the following day.