Anne & Kirk Woodyard – Music and Markets Tours

We’re imagining where we would be right now, if Covid-19 had not kept us all from traveling…
We’d be in Prague for the annual Spring Festival (online only this year), how about you?
Here are a few memories from a previous Music and Markets Prague journey:

What’s on everybody’s must-see list when they come to Prague? The striking of the town hall clock, of course! So we join the crowd to watch the action (skeletons, Moors, apostles, and all) and, after all that hard work, stop for coffee at the world’s only Cubist Café (Cubism took shape uniquely in architecture in Prague). From the staircase, to the chandeliers, to the coat racks, the interior is adorned with those distinctive diamond patterns and  faceted edges, particular to Cubist design. But the coffee and cakes are pure decadence…Viennese coffee and a Black Forest Cake to share, please – now we’re fortified for some shopping!
And before we know it, it’s time to continue our international cuisine theme with the best Steak-Frites outside of Paris – at the delightful little Café de Paris across the river. Tucked into a cobbled corner of Malta Square, it’s quite popular with the French embassy staffers, who work just around the corner. Four of us can’t finish all of the steak and fries – but oh are they fantastic! And that secret sauce….the best!
There’s more to see on this side of the river – pretty gardens, the many embassies and ministry headquarters, and the Lennon Wall, begun in the 1980s and still going strong, evolving daily.
Back at the hotel, getting ready for tonight’s event, we spy a balloon floating over the old city – what fun that would be!As the sun sets, we complete our day with an interesting Spanish Baroque concert in the Rudolfinum – well, it’s certainly been an international day!
Next year we’ll once again be there in person, enjoying this magical city with our Music and Markets guests.

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The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we’re interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.

We’ve visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with our Music and Markets guests.

Since 2003 we’ve hosted Music and Markets tours in France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, England and Spain, and in 2019 added Wonder Tours with a more intentional concentration on art and architecture, local culture, food and wine, and less time dedicated to concert-going.

We also design and host custom private tours – previous locations include many French, Spanish, British and Italian regions.

Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and the south of France. While both of us have experience in organizing travel and music groups, Kirk’s background is in project management and competitive writing, and Anne is an accomplished pianist with over forty years of teaching and performance experience.