¡Bienvenidos a Monterrey!

First day in Monterrey was pretty straightforward. I woke up early so I'd be sure to have time to eat and warm up for rehearsal. If I hadn't given myself that time, I'd probably be in the hospital trying to have my lips reattached, as I hadn't played since Friday and the first two pieces on the rehearsal were the Overture to Rienzi and Polovetsian Dances. The rest of the repertoire was more forgiving and I limped (figuratively) back to the hotel for lunch (I'll discuss the food in more depth at a later date). The rest of the day was spent practicing gently, exploring the hotel and resting. The city itself is a strange amalgamation of things that appear to me to be completely foreign and things that are familiar. There's a Domino's Pizza across the street from the hotel with a sign in English declaring themselves "The Delivery Experts." I think my favorite thing about the city so far might be the view of the mountain ranges on either side of the city. The drive to the rehearsals sees mountains from literally almost every angle. The houses remain as densely packed as in the center of town all the way up the foothills and in some cases up the base of the mountains themselves. So far, so good, more to come.