Deep South Road Trip #3

Monday 16th April

We took our time getting up and enjoyed breakfast on the cabin porch.  We eventually packed up and left at about 10am and set the SatNav for the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.  The drive wasn’t too bad and after two hours we started to see rockets looming into the sky as we approached.  This museum was Mia’s choice being a bit of a sci-fi fan but I think I probably enjoyed it just as much.  The first exhibitions were more to do with climate change and the history of the center itself.  We had a trip on a flight simulator (haven’t been on one of those for decades!) and grabbed lunch, then headed to the main event.  The Rocket park has 27 rockets and missiles including Saturn I.  From there we entered the Saturn V hall which includes one of only 3 Saturn V rockets in the world.  It was suspended horizontally which gave much more of a sense of the size and scale than the vertical rockets outside.  I think being inside made it seem even more massive - I actually gasped when I first walked in!  The hall detailed the full story of the Apollo missions from Werner over Braun’s beginnings developing the V2 Rocket for Germany in World War 2 to his progression to creating rockets that could send men to the Moon.  Among the artefacts were a chance to sit in the shuttle cockpit (it’s rather snug) and the Airstream that was used to quarantine astronauts on their return from the Moon.  The whole place was fascinating and really gave me a completely new perspective and understanding of the missions and the people behind them.

Before we left we walked around the Shuttle Park which includes the world’s only fully-stacked Space Transportation System that includes two solid rocket boosters, genuine space shuttle main engine nozzles and a genuine external tank.  This probably fascinated me most as it’s the style from the 80s and therefore how I often visualise a space rocket.  The shuttle park itself is a tribute to the Challenger disaster of 1986, one of my earliest “news” memories.

The drive onto Nashville was fairly easy although seemed to take us more on single lane roads rather than the Interstate.  Once we got into our apartment and settled in it was 8pm so we followed our hosts top choice for dinner at Taco Mamacita.  It was a great choice and only 10 minutes walk away.  Our apartment was nice – the bathroom needs some love but there were two very comfy double beds and it was nice not to have to make up a sofa bed for a change!

Tuesday 17th April

We hadn’t had the chance to pick up anything for breakfast so 20 minutes walk away was the highly recommended Pancake Pantry.  About time I had bacon and syrup pancakes!  There was a bit of a queue but it was worth the wait.  We then took the bus into Downtown.  This is where we noticed how poor the bus information was here.  Very nondescript bus stops with no timetables or any detail of what buses would stop there.  The bus station was near the Musicians Hall Of Fame which was my only must-do in Nashville so we went to tick it off.

The Musicians Hall Of Fame has two sections.  The first takes you through the histories of some of the big music centres of the USA.  In addition to Nashville it profiles Memphis and Detroit.  I really liked that they didn’t just focus on the big stars but profiled the session musicians who played on hundreds of hit records from the major labels of Sun, Stax and Motown.  There are lots of artefacts and instruments with information of what songs they appeared on.

The second part is the Grammy Museum Gallery which was a huge amount of fun.  As well as information on the history of the Grammys this was mostly an interactive experience.  There were opportunities to play guitars, keyboards and sing, simulations of recording studios and DJing.  There are video interviews with top performers and producers which give a fantastic insight into the work that goes into creating a record.

From the Hall Of Fame we took a walk along the Cumberland River towards Broadway.  We came through Fort Nashborough, a replica of a fort that stood nearby during the American Civil War.  The sun was shining and it was nice to stroll along the river but we were definitely ready for a drink when we reached Broadway.  This is the main drag of bars in Nashville with live music pouring out of every open window.  We took to a rooftop bar for a beer and some fries – it was very windy and I was worried that even my pint would blow over!  We continued our walk down Broadway and then took a left towards the Country Music Hall of Fame and Walk of Fame.  We wouldn’t have time for the Hall of Fame itself but had a look at all the stars so we could at least tick it off!

Back to Broadway we stopped at Rippy’s for some ribs and a terrific acoustic duo.  We then walked back towards the bus station and the War Memorial Auditorium as we had tickets to see Weird Al Yankovic as part of the Nashville Comedy Festival.  Emo Phillips was a very funny opening act.  Weird Al was brilliant too although as a lot of the humour is lyrical we sometimes found it difficult to hear the words.  He closed with a medley of his spoof covers and a full version of his Star Wars inspired version of American Pie.  Post show we waited an age for a bus home but eventually made it back.

Wednesday 18th April

We had breakfast at the Pancake Pantry again – I don’t generally like to go to the same place twice but surely it doesn’t count if you eat something different?  We decided to stroll around the south of Nashville today.  Firstly we headed to Belmont Mansion.  As the next tour wasn’t due to start for 20 minutes we walked around Belmont University first which stand on the what used to be the grounds of the mansion.  It’s a very beautiful and I can imagine an inspiring place to study.  The mansion was built by Adelicia Acklen who was a wealthy widow after her first marriage.  It was built during her second marriage (she eventually married three times and outlived her third husband too).  The house was used as a school after Adelicia’s death and many of the lavish decorations were destroyed and artworks were sold or passed onto Adelicia’s family.  Painstaking work and effort has been put into renovating the house as closely as possible to how it would have been in Adelicia’s day.  Sadly the stairs were being repaired and we couldn’t see the upstairs rooms but they showed us a video of the bedrooms so we didn’t completely miss out.  It’s a project of real care and passion and our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgable.

Our next destination was to walk to Centennial Park which contains a full size version of the Parthenon.  The park was nice enough, we spent a little time lazing and listening to a violinist who was practicing across the lake from us but it was quite windy and a bit chilly.  We finally found a supermarket and grabbed a few supplies (sadly no tea for Mia though!) and returned back to our apartment to rest for a while and get ready for a night out on Broadway.

We took the bus into town and hit the first bar we came to.  The drinks here are really strong – doubles in small glasses with just a splash of mixer.  I’ve definitely got a taste for Jack and Coke (if anything it’s just dead easy to order).  Food was needed and it was raining so we went next door to Jack’s BBQ.  The queue wasn’t quite out the door but it was very busy and we met with someone who used to work there so we figured it must be good.  It operates like a fast food joint, you collect the food then find a table.  We took our food upstairs to view the passers by and both went for brisket which was delicious (I don’t think we’ve actually had any bad food yet!).  After food we crossed the road and took in a bar with a band who were just finishing, then onto a karaoke bar.  Karaoke had to be done at some point!  It was very quiet so we got plenty of songs in and we tried to choose songs that reflected the trip (Proud Mary, Black Velvet, Run Baby Run and Mia even took on some country).  Then we went all disco with a duet of Enough Is Enough.  We got chatting to a group of guys who were in Nashville on business and joined them on stage for Don’t Stop Believing.  Even thought it wasn’t very busy we had a great time and unsurprisingly we were there until it shut!

We went back to Rippy’s mainly because we had their Wifi code and could order an Uber from there.  I couldn’t get Uber working though so I quickly downloaded and registered with Lyft instead.  Our Lyft was already outside and very friendly – a great first experience!

Deep South Road Trip #2

Thursday 12th April

We awoke early – I slept fitfully and I think Mia slept a little better despite having the less comfortable bed.  Mia had chosen the option of the downstairs sofabed so she wouldn’t have to climb the spiral stairs after a late night although I don’t think she considered the fact that the bathroom was also upstairs!  I was very happy with this however as it gave me the chance to unpack.  Once we felt more settled in we took a walk down into the French Quarter and the Festival.

We didn’t choose the most scenic route and ended up walking alongside a 6 lane highway and under a massive underpass (called the Basin, definitely not somewhere to stray late at night).  However we did walk right through the middle of the French Quarter and down Royal St, past many art shops (I could spend a fortune here!).  We chose Pere Antoine’s for breakfast where we both had eggs, bacon and toast.  Mia chose the more sensible accompaniment of fried potatoes whereas I thought I’d better try the local “grits” at least once.  Definitely a one off.  I don’t really feel the need to eat wallpaper paste again!  The rest of the food however was delicious, the service excellent and we sat watching people start to mill around for the parade that marked the start of the festival.

We walked up St Ann St to find a good position on the parade route.  It wasn’t too busy and the parade wasn’t due to arrive for a while so we popped into Boutique de Vampyre, a shop with special interest to Mia who loves stories of the undead.  The hostess was very lovely, explaining that a lot of the articles were made specifically for the shop.  Some of the items were simple and fun but made with care and love.  I bought a small votive which contains a charm and Mia bought a hand carved small leather notebook (fully expecting to return for further shopping on our last day!)

We could hear the Second Line parade in the distance when we came out.  The streets still weren’t overly busy – plenty of people around for atmosphere but we could get a front row spot.  This was largely brass bands marching through the short distance along Bourbon St and then down St Ann St to Jackson Square.  There were also quite a few of the local hotels in the line.  The whole French Quarter Festival is heavily sponsored by local businesses and international chains to keep it free entry.  The festival was started to try to encourage more tourism outside of Mardi Gras season and to support local bands and musicians and is now in it’s 35th year.  We really enjoyed and felt it showed a lot of the heart and soul of New Orleans.

Once the parade had passed we tried to circumvent it by walking to Jackson Square a different way but we didn’t quite achieve it!  The parade arrived at the same time as us and the square was very busy so we ducked into St Louis Cathedral for a quick look around.  It had some nice touches but I often find modern cathedrals less interesting than older ones.  They are certainly less opulent as a rule although his one did have a blinged up statue of the Madonna and Child which seemed to just have two sparkly crowns plonked on their heads!

The streets were a little quieter when we came out.  Jackson Square is surrounded by local artists selling their wares so we walked around to do some window shopping while listening to the music coming from the stage inside the square.  We both would love to take an original piece home as a souvenir.  We then went into the square and started on the frozen cocktails that would keep us inebriated for the next few days!  We watched the Preservation All Stars, gradually making our way closer to the stage.  There were quite a lot of chairs around (my fellow Glastonbury goers will know how irritating that can be!). The atmosphere was terrific though and plenty of people were dancing to the jazz band and cheering the elongated solos.

Once the band finished Mia needed another cocktail and I decided to start on the incredible range of food on offer.  This was brilliant for me as I was getting the chance to try lots of dishes from lots of local restaurants.  It was time to be brave and sample shrimp and alligator cheesecake.  “Cheesecake” turned out to be similar to quiche and alligator, unsurprisingly, tastes a bit like chicken.  I also had a pineapple snoball – shaved ice drenched in pineapple syrup.  We got chatting to a couple from Chicago who, like us had booked a trip without realising the festival was on.

There was a lot more to explore so we headed out of Jackson Square towards the Mississippi.  Near the river we got chatting to a pair of guys from Boston, Shane and Hunter.  We had a great conversation about language and they walked with us towards one of the riverfront stages but we felt they were getting perhaps a little too close from comfort and left them to watch another band while we went to the bar.  I made the executive decision that we should get the refillable bottles – they make great momentoes and they also worked well as water bottles (honest!)  I was grazing food again (a shrimp Po-Boy, the New Orleans equivilant of a sub sandwich).  Again we got chatting, this time to some locals which was brilliant.  The guy had toured the world singing gospel and his daughter had just joined the Navy but it was her friend who did most of the talking and insisted on getting a photo with us.  We knew people would hook onto our accent – we keep being told that people love our accent and I always say that I loooove their accent too!

None of the music was particularly taking our fancy so we walked back along the river towards the French Market.  We were still getting our bearings in the new city and as it was the first day of the festival there was still only a limited amount on.  From the French Market we walked all the way back up Esplanade Avenue (about 30 minutes) to our cottage.

We showered and changed and then headed back out for a night on Bourbon St.  Quick and cheap eats were the order of the evening.  Willie’s Chicken Shack is a bit of a chain but does great fried chicken along with frozen cocktails.  We hit a couple of bars but were starting to feel the effects of a long day in the sun drinking sugary cocktails.  First up was a bar with a soul band with terrible sound levels (loud backing vocals never sound good).  Upstairs was a bar playing more dance music but we mainly went up to get some photos from the balcony!  We called it a relatively early night getting the 10:30pm bus back but as that wasn’t for 20 minutes we very briefly stopped at Famous Door where a rock band were playing.  Much more our style!

Friday 13th April

We had a restaurant booked for lunch so headed towards the Garden District to take in a different part of the city.  Our bus could have taken us all the way but when I found out there was a Felicity St here I had to stop for a few snaps!  We strolled down Jackson and Saint Charles Avenues towards LaFayette Cemetery No.1.  You can see where the Mardi Gras parades come down Saint Charles because there are strings of beads hanging from the trees (it is a tradition for those on the floats to throw the beads to the spectators).  It’s a beautiful tree-lined street with some gorgeous houses and the classic streetcar running through the middle.

The cemetery itself was interesting enough.  I always like to imagine the stories behind the graves, especially as many of these are family graves.  Many movies and TV series have been filmed here but there didn’t appear to be anyone particularly famous.  We still had some time before our lunch appointment so we had a browse around a local photo gallery.

Lunch was at Commander’s Palace, famous for it’s 25c martinis.  The food was fantastic (Mia had beef and cheesecake, I had lamb and soufflé).  However the service sometimes felt a little bit rushed and I was slightly disappointed that our martinis didn’t come in martini glasses.

We had to take the streetcar at least once so we took the oldest running one all the way down St Charles Avenue to Canal St (kind of an equivilant of Oxford St in London).  From here we made our way back to the cottage on the bus to change for the evening.  It’s not too often I’ll find myself dressing up for the day and then dressing down for the evening!

Back out and down to the Riverfront for more of the festival.  More alcoholic slushies and an excellent soul / funk band called Chocolate Milk.  They were clearly a local favourite as the crowd knew a lot of the words and were very excitedly singing along.  However the locals obviously also know of the nightmare of leaving after the show has finished and gradually filtered out towards the end.  Great news for us – we got closer and closer to the front!!!

Chocolate Milk finished around 9pm and we started off planning on NOT going to the tourist trap of Bourbon.  We had a drink in another French Quarter bar but were drawn back into the seedy side.  I think we both knew that Famous Door from night before was worth spending more time in and we were right.  As we arrived they started on Proud Mary (so excited to have heard that in New Orleans!).  The band were tight with a couple of fantastic vocalists and very talented musicians all round.  We had foolishly imagined we would get the last bus and did almost leave at one point but What’s Up by Four Non Blondes hooked us in for another couple of hours.  We left at around 2am, grabbed a slice of pizza (which many passers by spied enviously!). and walked all the way back to our digs.

Saturday 14th April

We knew from the weather forecast that this was not going to be a great day.  We had expected rain but it was just grey and humid when we left the cottage.  We had booked onto a 9:30am tour of St Louis Cemetery #1 and when we arrived at our meeting point our guide Elizabeth told us that the whole Southern area was on tornado watch and that sadly the festival had been cancelled for the day. However the tour would go on and she hoped to have it completed before the rain started.

The tour was a terrific insight into a lot of New Orleans and Louisiana history.  Elizabeth is a native New Orleanian and speaks passionately about her city.  We saw two possible sites where the remains of voodoo queen Marie Laveau may lie.  The Italian monument is very beautiful – much more so than Nicholas Cage’s pyramid shaped monstrosity (let’s just say he’s clearly compensating for something).  The detail of how bodies are placed in the above ground tombs, how quickly they decompose and how they are “bagged and tagged” when the tomb is opened for the next incumbent were morbidly fascinating.  It was also amazing to see the wall tombs and how they marked the way the ground is sinking by about 3 inches every 100 years – the bottom row was half submerged.

As we left the tour the wind was starting to whip up and the rain was just starting to fall.  I sensibly brought my waterproof jacket with me but Mia only had her leather jacket to protect her so we spent most of the rest of the day skipping under as many of the balconies as possible.  We had to try the world renowned beignets at Café du Monde.  There was a queue but it moved forward quickly.  We were shown to a table that hadn’t been cleared and then seemed to wait an age for the table to be cleared and someone to serve us.  The first part almost certainly more time consuming than the first; the mountains of powdered sugar on the beignets gets everywhere!  It was worth the wait though.  The beignets – kind of the original “cronut”, a puff pastry donut – were warm and delicious.

It was becoming clear that today was not going to be worth “waiting for the rain to ease” (I believe about 3-4 inches fell during the day).  It was definitely a day for museums!  First up was the 1850 house.  Set in one of the Pontalba buildings that flank Jackson Square, this is decorated and furnished in an authentic 19th century style and would have been one of 16 apartments on each side of the square.  You could also see the servants quarters and kitchen area and there were brief histories of three of it’s former residents.

After a nosey in the shop we moved round to the Presbytere.  Built next door to St Louis Cathedral, this was originally intended to house the priests but it was never completed to serve that purpose.  Eventually the US government completed the building and it was used as the Louisiana state court for a time before becoming a museum.  It houses two exhibitions.  We started with “Living With Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond”.  The stories of how the storm built, how people evacuated and survived in the immediate aftermath were harrowing but tempered with the inspiring acts of heroism as people with any sort of boat rallied to save as many people from their roofs as possible.  The rebuilding process is still ongoing even 13 years on.

The other exhibition in the museum is about the famous Mardi Gras.  I don’t know if it was tiredness (largely in my feet!) but I found this one oddly a bit muted.  It didn’t really seem to convey the joy and spirit of the festival but it had some interesting information about the origins of the parades, krewes and balls.

We needed something to eat.  We intended to have a snack but I really wanted to try Johnny’s Po Boys, supposedly the best in town and, if I’m honest, I knew it would be a full meal in one.  This tiny place makes the submarine sandwiches fresh and has a small seating area.  I ordered Johnny’s Special which had roast beef and ham and Mia opted for meatballs but we swapped half so we could try both.  It was definitely a 4-napkin sandwich!  Delicious and very filling.  In a weird coincidence, one of the guys working there grew up near RAF Lakenheath, very close to where my grandparents lived.  I did a genuine double-take when he asked if Essex was anywhere near Mildenhall!

We weren’t sure what to do with the rest of our day / evening.  The rain was definitely dampening our spirits a little along with our general physical tiredness following three days on our feet.  Although our cottage wasn’t a massively long way away we knew we didn’t want to go back and head back out again.  We were wet and generally just wanted to not be on our feet any more so despite the early hour we took the bus back.  We spent the evening resting, writing the diary and packing for our first real drive tomorrow.

Sunday 15th April

The day dawned clear but a lot cooler.  We finished our packing, tidied up the cottage and checked out around 10am.  Mia was first to drive feeling it would be best for her to get used to the newness while in town on a quiet Sunday morning.  The combination of the bigger, newer car, her first time in an automatic and driving on the “wrong” side of the road made her feel like a learner again!

We both found driving mostly not too difficult and the car is very comfortable.  There’s loads of local radio available to listen to, particularly country and religious stations.  We had one quick loo / changeover stop, then another where we picked up a piece of fried chicken to keep us going – the Indian owners insisted on me also trying a samosa!  Eventually we made a proper stop for some food – we’d become obsessed about finding a Wendy’s!  It was actually pretty good too.

We decided to fill up the car with gas before arriving as we didn’t want to mess around the following day.  It was all rather confusing as I couldn’t use the pay at pump due to it asking for a zip code.  It turned out I needed to pre-pay for the fuel.  Having no idea how much it might be he put a $50 prepay on – it was only $25 in the end so I went back in for a refund.  Mia had her priorities straight and bought a couple of bottles of wine.

We arrived at Meadow Lake Lane in Chelsea around 5pm.  This was a real retreat, no TV, no internet.  There was a distinct chill in the air and our host was bringing some firewood over as we approached.  He was a really lovely man, explaining everything we needed to know.  The cabin was absolutely gorgeous and our host appeared to have thought of everything with notes and instructions everywhere and breakfast ready for us in the fridge.  I was wishing we’d grabbed more snacks at the gas station but we still had some sweets from our flight so we decided against going out again (our Wendy burgers had filled us up enough!). Instead we wrapped up warm and went for a brief wander to the lake to take a few photos and breathe in the fresh air.

Back in the cabin we got the fire lit, the wine open and settled in for a game of Trivial Pursuit.  It was clearly an American edition with some questions leaving us baffled even when we had read the answers.  I called it a draw when I was falling asleep chasing a yellow wedge with Mia desperately hoping for an easy green wedge question.  Mia had the main bed in the roof and I had the sofabed this time.  It was lovely to snuggle in for sleep in front of the burning embers of the fire.

Deep South Road Trip #1

Tuesday 10th April

And so began our long journey.  I treated us to one of the airport lounges so we could start in style.  We boarded the plane without issue and were all set for a slightly early take off until they realised there was some luggage still to come.  While waiting for that luggage BA realised there was a fault with the entertainment system and decided to try to fix that too.  90 minutes later (and 90 minutes late) we finally took off.  This was not good news as our connection in Miami was already tight and I had been made aware they we would have to clear immigration, collect our bags and re-check them in.

Still, given as they had taken the time to fix it I watched three movies (Darkest Hour, The Death Of Stalin, How To Marry A Millionaire) and some TV (I always seem to end up watching Family Guy on a plane!).  There was a lot of turbulence coming into Miami.  When we landed we found our flight to New Orleans was delayed and we were given our boarding passes in bright orange “Express Connection” envelopes which we hoped would help us through.  They were useless.  Queue at immigration wasn’t ridiculous but took a good 30 minutes.  Bags were collected quickly.  But Miami airport is very confusing with signs that seem to stop before you get where you’re trying to go.  After a few missteps we found the bag check in with 25 minutes to go and knew we wouldn’t make it.  No matter, another flight in an  hour.  60 minutes later, we get to the front of the queue.  There had been nothing in place to help those on connecting flights.  We were checked into the flight knowing we might not make it through security in time.  As it turns out we were 5 minutes late and now stuck in Miami without any luggage.

Another long American Airlines queue to find out that the two early flights to New Orleans were fully booked and we were checked into the 8pm flight.  The BA desks were now closed and the AA people couldn’t help with compensation but they did book us into a Doubletree which had a shuttle bus.  We would have to pay for everything and claim it back.

Wednesday 11th April

I woke the next morning with a few “coulda woulda shoulda”s (maybe we shouldn’t have tried to make that last flight.  Maybe we should have asked everyone in every queue if we could jump) but finally resolved that instead of spending another day at Miami airport we should see some of the city (or at least the beach!).  Mia had the same thoughts so we showered, put our dirty clothes back on and headed back to the airport.

We had wanted to speak to someone at BA first but the desk didn’t open until midday so we decided instead of wasting any more time we’d leave it.  We took a shuttle into Miami which took about 30 minutes then walked down to the beach.  It was now approaching lunchtime – I had had breakfast but Mia hadn’t.  We quickly popped into a shop to get me a dress and Mia some flip flops then chose one of the Ocean Drive tourist traps.  2 for 1 cocktails.  I’m sure I asked for a regular (at $35!!!) but these were humongous (and pretty strong!  When the bill came it turned out these were $55!!!!!). We both had seafood and fries but basically spent the rest of the afternoon trying to finish our bowls of cocktails.  We didn’t drink enough for them to pull a fast one when they tried to charge us for both cocktails but did leave hoping BA would be feeling generous with their compensation…

We decided not to return to the beach but to wander up Washington Avenue.  We did a couple of tourist shops and stopped for a sobering tea and coffee before catching the bus back to the airport.  We finally had a chance to speak to someone from BA who gave us a generous $72 of meal vouchers.  Immediately back through security – we had plenty of time but were determined not to miss this flight!  After a couple of places refusing to take BA vouchers (I was really starting to hate both this airport and the lack of cohesion between the codeshare airlines) we found a very nice restaurant to spend them.  We were just about sobering up at the point – just as well given one of us would have to drive tonight!

I dozed on the 2 ½ hour flight but got some great night time views of Miami as we departed.  I had been very nervous about whether our luggage made it but it appeared they held it back and it was put on the plane with us – soooo happy to see it!  We picked up the hire car, paying extra for a Sat Nav (we did bring some maps but for in town driving I find it essential).  The car was so new, shiny and like a spaceship it took me ages to work out just how to start it!  It’s incredibly comfortable but the Sat Nav is not very easy to use and we arrived at completely the wrong house at first!

When we did arrive at Creole Cottage we were met by Robert.  An insanely chatty man who insisted on providing stories at a ratio of around 3 per useful piece of information.  We finally managed to walk away with the keys.  It was nearly midnight and all we were bothered about was sleep.  We set up the sofa bed, I gingerly got my suitcase up the spiral stairs and we crashed.

Chile 2017 - Final Blog

San Pedro de Atacama – Day Four (26/05/2017)

The flight back to Santiago wasn’t until the evening so I had the morning to do more meandering around San Pedro de Atacama.  It is very small though and apart from shopping and eating there’s not a lot to do!  I took a walk through the cemetery which was a slightly odd place.  Lots of very simple graves of earth next to much more extravagant small buildings made of breeze blocks to house generations of the same family.  I’m normally ok in graveyards but this one was giving me the creeps.

The archaeological museum was closed for refurbishment but one of our tour guides had recommended the Museum of Meteorites.  It is nothing more than a large dome tent but for a few pounds you got an audio guide and the chance to see and feel some meteorites, including some of the oldest material ever found.  It was ok but the explanations were quite wordy and technical and difficult to follow.

Back in town I had lunch in the plaza and bought myself a final souvenir, a lovely ring of silver and lapis lazuli.  My Aussie and Kiwi companions joined me on the transfer and the flight back to Santiago – they were then connecting back home while I had one final day.  From Santiago airport I took a shared taxi again to my hotel.  The CasaNoble Boutique is a lovely little hotel, right in the centre of quite a decent part of town and it was a bargain!  Jay had recommended a restaurant in the area so I quickly changed and went straight back out to Casa Lastarria.  It was a really nice meal of slow cooked pork ribs that fell off the bone.  After dinner it was time for bed.

Santiago – Final Day (27/05/2017)

I didn’t rush up or out on my final morning but I wished that I’d been a little more speedy!  My breakfast was amazing, best of the whole holiday.  The shower was less so but eventually I headed out with the plan to visit a vineyard towards the south east of the city.  As it was still early and I didn’t fancy drinking before lunchtime I had a walk around the area near the hotel (I think I retraced some of the steps me and Josselyne took but we were too busy chatting for me to take much notice!). I found myself at a metro station, charged up my Bip! card and took two trains to Las Mercedes.  Lots of people visit Concha Y Toro, the famous vineyard behind the Casillero del Diablo brand but our guide at Valle de la Luna had introduced me to the Carmenere which is famously produced at Santa Rita.  A 30 minute bus ride later and I was left at the entrance.

It was a long walk around the vineyard to the visitors centre.  It was a gloriously sunny day and I’m sure it was the quietest place I had been to.  Everywhere else had either the chatter of tourists, the crash of the sea or the hubbub of the city.  All I had to accompany me was birdsong, the babble of a stream and an occasional light aircraft.  In keeping with the rest of the morning I perhaps meandered a little too slowly and consequently missed an English tour at midday by 10 minutes with the next not being until 3pm.  This wasn’t overly appealing as I knew the journey back to my hotel was liable to take 2 hours but I was kindly shown a few things I could look at in the mean time.  I started with lunch in the onsite café (the restaurant was way to pricey!).  Next was a museum – the owner of the vineyard Ricardo Clark has collected a huge amount of Andean and pre-Colombian artefacts and he offers them on display here for free.  There are (as always in these museums) lots of pots but the items that particularly caught my eye were the gold and the weaved materials.  There were some large gold pieces but the intricacy of some of the tiny pieces was a real thing of beauty.

It was already 14:30 when I came out of the museum so I decided that I would take the 3pm tour.  And I was very glad I did as I was the only one and I had a private guide!  The bulk of the tour is not so much around the vines themselves but inside showing the machinery and explaining the process.  The steel vats used for fermentation are vast and there are a huge number of them.  As it was also the weekend we were the only ones in the building so, rather excitedly, he took me up the metal stairs to get an overhead view from the gantry.  Even the guide had never been up here!

The cellars with the barrels of red wine had a really curious and strong aroma to them, the smell of red wine and oak.  There were some huge old wooden barrels that have been replaced by the steel.  I was also shown into the original cellar.  This has been damaged by the earthquakes in the area – unsurprisingly the walls have had to be reinforced as the original structure was held together by egg-whites!  This cellar is now a national monument.  Another cellar at the conclusion of my tour is where 120 patriots sheltered during Chile’s war of independence in 1814 (Santa Rita produced a commercial, easy-drinking wine called 120 in tribute).

This was where my tastings were to happen.  Again, this was really well explain, how to look at the wine and what to look for.  How to smell the wine and finally tasting.  There was a white blend, a red Cabernet blend and a Carminere (of course!).  It was a nice generous amount to taste too and I was sold on the Carminere and bought a bottle (if I had more room in my suitcase I’d have bought more!).  By now it was well past 4pm so I walked round to the entrance in the hope a bus would stop and take me to a metro station (any would do!).  I didn’t wait long but it was a rather nerve-wracking journey not knowing where I was going, where I should get off and just keeping a sharp eye out for the Metro sign.  It definitely took longer than I expected and by the time I got back to my hotel I had less than an hour to change and confirm plans for the evening!

I wanted to see both Josselyne and Marillion fan Nicole again so I suggested all three of us meet up.  There had been a bit of back-and-forth regarding a meeting place.  I knew I was early but Nicole got stuck in traffic and Josselyne was fashionably Latino late – I was starting to think I had been stood up and with no connection I wasn’t sure what was happening!  Both did arrive however and Nicole drove us to her apartment from where we walked to La Nunoa.  We stopped at a bar for terremotos, pisco sour and a bite to eat and chatted about all sorts of things.  It was gone “last metro” time when we decided to leave so Nicole drove us back to my hotel where I had two single beds so Josselyne could stop over as her place was a little further out of town.

Travelling Home (28-29/05/2017)

So I now find myself in Madrid airport with a particularly annoying delay.  Josselyne came with me all the way to Santiago airport and it was lovely to have someone to say goodbye to at the security.  I’m so glad that Jen put us in touch and that I took up the offer of a friend in Santiago.  I was checked into one of the worst seats on the plane – the back row – on a horrible old Airbus rather than the nice Dreamliner I had arrived on.  Fortunately the guy in the middle of three seats managed to get moved so I had a little more space.  It was a very turbulent flight with the seatbelt signs illuminated for most of the journey.  I dozed on and off – the neck cushion I bought made things a little more comfortable but I still couldn’t sleep properly.  However on waking from one doze I noticed that was were to land on Gran Canaria!  I had heard a call for a doctor earlier in the flight and it had been decided to stop to let the passenger get proper medical attention.

This was not looking good for someone with some pretty tight plane changes.  British Airways had been trouble with computer problems over the weekend which was already making my route via Heathrow look tenuous.  And what makes it all so annoying?  My flights via Heathrow are scheduled to be on time but the medical delay meant that I missed the flight from Madrid.  There are plenty of other flights but BA’s backlog means I’ll be 6 hours delayed getting back into Manchester.  It’s almost like I’ve been tempting fate.  I’ve thought with every flight that I would rather my final journey is the one to cause me problems – I think I’ve changed my mind!  Still, the diary for Chile 2017 is complete.

Over and out…

San Pedro de Atacama - Days 2 & 3

San Pedro de Atacama – Day Two (24/05/2017)

As I said our early start wasn’t quite as early as expected – our original pick up time was 5:30am but it had been changed to 6:30am for safety reasons.  It has been unseasonably cold here and there is a lot of snow and ice on some roads making them unsurpassable.  However our trip to Tatio Geysers was still going ahead which we were grateful for!

I knew there was the potential of being a bit cold but hadn’t really grasped the concept of an altitude of 4000m so I put on as many layers as I could including my new alpaca jumper.  We also had additional blankets provided for us in the minibus.  Joining Helen, Kerry and I were four New Zealanders.  The temperature certainly descended as we climbed higher and whether it was due to cold, the thinning of the air or just general tiredness I dozed off on a few occasions.  The landscape was changing from desert browns, gradually greener, then whiter of snow.  At one point when I woke I was surprised to see the view completely white!

Once at our first stop we wrapped up in everything we could (I was very grateful of the blanket which I used as a scarf) and were shown around the geyser field.  At 4300m this is the highest geothermal field in the world.   There are over 80 active geysers making it the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere (a fact somewhat disputed by the Kiwis in the group!) and the third largest in the world.   There are no dramatic spurts of water but the steam rising from the ground is somewhat eerie.  We made a couple of stops to look at various rock formations created by the boiling water and also heard stories of accidents due to tourists trying to get the best photos and falling in (someone recently died from 90% burns).  The different colours in the rocks were rather fascinating.  It was also interesting to see the activity cycle between the different geysers.  Very difficult to get photos at just the right time though, especially with frozen hands!

Due to the early start breakfast was included in the trip which we had in view of the geysers.  Breakfast al fresco at 4300m is a chilly affair and our guide and driver did a great job (I really wish I’d taken a photo!). Copious amounts of toast were provided with butter (rather solid), cheese, ham and dulce de leche.  We had been out for a good few hours by now and I’m not normally one to do anything until I’ve eaten, so with that and the cold I was famished and ate as if I hadn’t been fed for days.  Coffee and hot chocolate were also brewed, best drunk in a mixture of the two.  It felt rather insane to be stood outside the van in the sub-zero temparatures and winds!

On the way back down we stopped a few times to observe the birds and animals native to this part of the world.  I managed to catch a photo of a vicuna (an elegant type of llama) that crossed the road in front of us along with various coots and ducks on a small patch of frozen water (sorry I can’t remember exactly what for the bird fans!). We also stopped at Macucha, a very tiny village which is largely empty apart from tourists for most of the year.  Here I was able to try some llama that had been very nicely barbecued.  Our final stop was a canyon which is particularly green and where there is evidence of human habitation from thousands of years ago.

Our half day tour over and back at the hotel at midday I updated the diary and then went for a venture.  I bought a lovely ice cream from a local shop and walked to the square to try to pick up wifi but it doesn’t seem to have worked at all while I’ve been here.  I then remembered there was a football match on - the Europa League final with my team Manchester Utd playing Ajax of the Netherlands.  Given the events in Manchester over the last few days I particularly felt that I’d like to watch it so I found a table in the only bar in town, grabbed a litre of beer and settled in.  It’s a great little place playing rock music and it was full of English speakers.  Man Utd came out 2-0 winners in a win that felt it was a great tribute to the great city.

Two pints of beer on a relatively empty stomach at high altitude made me rather woozy so I grabbed and empanada at a local store (and rather impressed myself with my Spanish.  Maybe I should just get drunk in these places).  I thought I’d take the opportunity at the warmest part of the day to have a shower and wash my hair.  No water in the shower hot tap.  Reception was visited, a workman called out but it couldn’t be fixed.  They offered me an alternative room but rather than move all my unpacked stuff I asked if I could just borrow the shower in the other room (which is opposite so no major problem).

I met Helen and Kerry for dinner and we opted for Las Delicias de Carmen which had been recommended to both me and Helen by others.  It was ok but not amazing, the portions are huge and we all wished we’d taken the guide’s advice and just ordered two dishes between the three of us.  This place also isn’t cheap, something that the Aussies were struggling with after weeks in Bolivia and Peru!  We didn’t have enough Pesos to cover but fortunately I had enough for mine and they could pay in US dollars.  Nowhere seems to take credit cards here!  A relatively early night reading and a good night’s sleep was in order.

San Pedro de Atacama – Day Three (25/05/2017)

Our final tour was to take us to the salt lakes and the lagoons, however the bad weather was to hit our full day excursion.  We again had a slightly later start than normal.  The 8:30am pick-up meant I could enjoy the hotel breakfast – this hotel is pretty simple but the breakfast was probably my favourite of the trip (so far!).  All pretty standard fare but the crusty bread was fresh, the coffee was excellent, the juice was freshly squeezed and the fried eggs were top quality.  All finished off with cheesecake (well if it’s on offer it would be rude not to!).

Salar de Atacama is just 10km south of San Pedro but we travelled further to Laguna Chaxa.  This was definitely the bit I was looking for most on the “desert” section of the trip – flamingoes!  We took the long path round, enjoying the view and waiting for a large group of noisy Brazilians to move on.  The vastness of the flat is very other-worldly, especially for an islander.  The salt here isn’t white but more coffee-coloured due to many other minerals that also accumulate (lithium is among the mining here).  The pools of water evaporate to leave a brine in which millions of tiny brown shrimp live.  This is what attracts the flamingoes.  It was here more than anywhere that I really wished I had a “proper” camera.  I took lots of iPhone shots, hopefully some are worth keeping.  They were fascinating to watch.  There are three breeds and the Chilean flamingoes in particular turn in tiny steps to throw up more shrimp to feed.  There was something rather balletic about them.  There were also avocets, Andean gulls and plovers which were rather friendly and gave me my best photos!

We could have stayed and watched them for ages but moved on.  We took the road towards the high altitude lagoons of Minique and Miscanti but the road was shut just after Socaire.  This was where we were to take lunch but as it wasn’t yet midday it wasn’t ready yet.  Our guide showed us around a rather uninteresting church and it was around now that Kerry floated the idea that instead of our guide trying to fill time until our scheduled return of 4pm that we would be happy to just go back to San Pedro.  He came up with a few ideas but it was rather cold to be seeing things we weren’t that bothered about.  We agreed to think about it over lunch.

While we waited for lunch they agreed we could visit a hydroponic greenhouse in the village.  It’s obviously quite difficult to grow anything in the land around here due to the harsh and ever-changing conditions so the Chilean government has invested in the project.  Having worked on farms I find this stuff quite interesting.  They have lots of lettuce in various stages of growth.  The most impressive things was how consistent the crops were!  They also have various chards, spinaches and greens, strawberries and sweet peppers and they previously had a crop of fava beans.  It’s an impressive little operation.

Lunch was really good.  Our guide had brought some coca tea which was nice enough (he promised us we wouldn’t see white elephants from drinking it!) and the restaurant provided a vegetable soup, steak, rice, quinoa and salad and a set vanilla cream to finish.  We agreed when we got back to the bus that we were happy to go straight back to San Pedro which was still some distance.  We did make one stop at the road sign declaring the Tropic of Capricorn.  Again I dozed on the way back – as intriguing as the scenery is it’s also a little monotonous in this area.

More diary writing in my room, listening to the winds and rain in the driest desert in the world after seeing Facebook reports of glorious summer in the UK.  Typical!  Then out to do final souvenir shopping (I’ve forgotten what I’ve bought for who now).  The wind had whipped up a lot of dust so I braved a shower despite the cold in the room and the wind whistling through the window in the bathroom.  It was certainly refreshing!  Everything was unpacked and repacked, just leaving the last items for Santiago at the top (I’ve tried to do this as intelligently as I can!).

For my final evening in San Pedro I was meeting up with two Marillion fans who I first met at the weekend and who were in town.  I had passed Jay on the street the day before and Matt was flying in as I packed and got ready!  I met Jay near the one “pub” but it was packed so we found an alternative restaurant.  There’s only one place which doesn’t serve food so we felt a little conspicuous sat just drinking.  The place was nice enough, we sat outside by the fire listening to some live music and catching up.  When Matt finally messaged to say he and his friend Tony were checked in we moved on to La Pica Del Indio which I chose purely because it’s highly rated on TripAdvisor.  It turned out to be a good choice!  I had steak with mushroom sauce and piles of fries but having had a bit to drink and not eaten since lunch I almost finished the lot!  Jay had been out all day and had an early start so left and Tony also left a little earlier.  Matt and I ventured for somewhere else to drink and ended up in Adobe again, sat around the fire.  They said we couldn’t drink without ordering food which was a great excuse for dessert!  I had a chocolate mousse with basil which was stunning.  We were kicked out at closing time of 1am.  Probably a good thing…

Valparaiso / San Pedro de Atacama (Day One)

Valparaiso (22/05/2017)

Lots of guide books and people had recommended taking a trip to Valparaiso, a port city 90 minutes from Santiago.  Malcolm was transferring to the Crowne and by the time I had packed and checked out it was gone 11am.  We took the metro to Pajaritos and then picked up a bus.  The journey was largely uninteresting but it did take us past some vineyards.

Valparaiso – or Valpo as the Chileans call it – has it’s bus station on the opposite end of town to where we really wanted to go but we decided to walk across town as we didn’t have any firm plans.  I’ll be honest, I didn’t much like the place!  It’s all very run down.  You can see that it would have been very pretty in it’s day but everything is covered in graffiti, smashed windows and some are just facades propped up by scaffolding.  This is not just human dereliction – earthquakes have caused a lot of damage and the city, despite being a vital port, never seems able to fully recover it's former glory.

We walked west, stopping for a pizza on the way.  We gazed up the hills surrounding the city, steep streets with multi-coloured houses as far as you could see.  There are many funiculars that transport people up and down.  We made it to the port end and took Ascensor Artilleria.  This gave us a great view of the choreography of the port with trailers and containers weaving around.  The streets up here were a little nicer.

Time was ticking and I think both Malcolm and I were tiring of the place so we embarked on the walk back to the bus station.  It must have taken an hour – it was a long way!  By the time we got back to the Crowne so that I could pick up my luggage it was gone 8pm.  Sadly no time for a final drink.  Back in the metro, suitcase in tow.  Back to Pajaritos for the airport bus.  Then back out from the airport in a shuttle to my airport hotel.

San Pedro de Atacama – Day One (23/05/2017)

The two hour hop to Calama departed at 7am.  Not much comfort in this plane but I dozed and wrote a few words inspired by the sad events back at home in Manchester.  It felt particularly poignant, having travelled so far to go to music concerts and have such carnage take place at an arena I’ve been to so often.

During the 90 minute transfer I got acquainted with two British-born Australians who were to become my buddies for the trip.  They have been in South / Central America for three weeks and this is their last trip.  My hotel is much more basic, especially coming from a Western chain in the city!  And it’s so COLD!  The adobe buildings are far to insulated from the warmth for my liking!  I had plenty of time before the afternoon excursion so a wonder around the town of San Pedro was in order.

It’s not very big, full of hotels and hostels, tour companies, gift shops, restaurants and a bar / café or two but it still has a certain charm.  It’s what I imagine parts of Glastonbury Festival to be like if it were a permanent place.  I had decided I needed extra layers for the early morning trip tomorrow so I bought an alpaca jumper and gloves.  I also scoped the stalls out for more gifts (further shopping to be done on Friday morning!)

When the sun came out it was nice and warm so I sat in the square for a mochaccino and a chicken quesadilla, listening to some terribly cheesy panpipes from around the corner.  I then came back to the hotel and sat around the pool writing some diary.  The pick up for the afternoon / evening tour was 15:30 and we were heading to the Valle de la Luna.

It wasn’t too far to drive and we all agreed to take the walking option rather than the driving.  As the altitude is around 2400m our guide took things slowly – I had already noticed I was getting breathless quite easily.  The landscape is stunning and amazingly very variable, with many different rock formations in view at any time.  You could also see deposits of salt from the Salt Mountains which border these valleys and the salt flats (which I’m visiting on Thursday).  I took a few photos but it was almost impossible to capture the magnificence of the vista.

Back in the van and a drive to Valle de la Muerte.  This was never intended to be the Valley of Death but the Valley of Mars.  The geologist (I think our guide said he was Belgian) who named it was misheard between Muerte and Marte.  This was our spot for sunset and we were told that this would be an unusual one for us as we would be looking east, not west.  Indeed as the light dimmed the colours in the west were constantly changing.  It was stunning.  We then enjoyed some complimentary Chilean wine and cheese as we watched a few stars come out.

We were returned to our hotels around 6pm and told that our pick up time was slightly later than previously planned - only 6:30am!  We were also instructed not to eat too much and to not drink that night.  I arranged to meet my new friends for a light dinner.  After a bit of looking around we chose Adobe which has a nice open fire in the middle.  Taken out guides advice two of us had starters and Helen – who has been a bit poorly for a few days – ordered pasta which we all helped finish.  The wine we’d already drunk was enough in any case!

Marillion Weekend - Days 2 & 3

Marillion Weekend – Day Two (20/05/2017)

I decided to have a somewhat lazy day on Saturday.  It was a little more hassle finding somewhere for breakfast on a weekend – the place from yesterday was shut and McDonalds didn’t deem to have any breakfast.  I found somewhere for some eggs, ham and toast, then returned to my room to write up the previous two days.  A protest or parade of some sort came down the road so I nipped down to take some photos.

At around 2pm cabin fever set in so I crossed the road to Centro Gabriela Mistral, otherwise known as GAM.  This is a huge art centre with galleries, performance and rehearsal spaces along with a bookshop and a wine shop.  I stopped for coffee and cake, then had a look at a couple of galleries, one showcasing Chilean cartoon illustration and another with handmade toys from around South America.  The most striking thing about the centre however was that there were teenage kids dancing EVERYWHERE!  I don’t know if this occurs every weekend or if there was something in particular happening but the courtyard was full of rehearsal and choreography.  There seemed to be one major piece being taught in the middle but all around were other small groups.  The majority were street / RnB style but there was also a duo of tap dancers.  Musically there was an unspoken democracy where no two groups would play at the same time.  I sat in the sunshine at a bar with a Piscola, watching these talented youngsters practising over and over.  It was inspiring and my kind of bliss!

I had to tear myself away to get ready for the evening.  We were meeting at a bar just south of my hotel.  It was a nice little place and  many of my new friends were in attendance.  I grabbed some (proper) food and probably made to leave 3 or 4 times before the last of us walked the mile to the venue.  Teatro Caupolican is a fine concert hall but it is in the middle of an area with no bars and few restaurants.  It’s not the nicest area and not somewhere you want to be hanging around too long.

The Marillion gig tonight comprised of an edited version of Clutching At Straws and a few other Fish-era classics before a full performance of the new album FEAR.  The seats again gave a slightly odd atmosphere although the crowd did stand and dance a little to Incommunicado and Market Square Heroes.  The first three (of five!) songs from the new album are terrific and The Leavers feels particularly poignant at these Weekends.  However for me White Paper is nice enough but has little impact and The New Kings leaves me cold – it’s a rather strange track to end the concert with and it almost felt as if we had to wait 22 hours for the encore.

Another quick run around the venue as the merchandise stalls shut to count and a late night at the Sheraton.  They have some gas fire pit / tables outside and we sat huddled around the flickering flames.  Steve Rothery held court and we chatted with a few people who had taken him and Pete to an observatory during the week.  One guy from the North East of England was particularly easy to talk to and I gratefully accepted some of the wine they had brought (especially given the prices at the bar in the Sheraton!)  The taxi returned me to my hotel around 3am.

Marillion Weekend – Day Three (21/05/2017)

As doors opened at 1pm on Sunday there as little to do beforehand.  I treated myself to the hotel breakfast, watched another protest make it’s way down Alameda and made my own way to the venue (given the area this is not something I would want to do alone after dark).  The afternoon show is always an informal affair.  There is a Q&A with questions submitted by fans beforehand, a photo session for entrants who had put their names in a box during the weekend and then Swap The Band where some musical fans get to perform with the band.  The photo session for me was a little eye-opening.  As someone who has met the band a few times and who gets to see them live very often I forget that for a lot of people that chance to just shake a hand or for a quick hug is priceless.  The reactions of the competition winners reminded me of how lucky I have been down the years and perhaps how much I’ve taken it for granted.

Swap The Band was great as always and I love the enthusiasm that the crowd has for it.  I’m also always a little jealous of the lucky people who get that chance!  The guitarist impressed everyone – he’s only 13 and gave a terrific performance of Sugar Mice.

Kicked out for the afternoon we had four hours to occupy ourselves before the evening show.  As I said before there is nothing in the vicinity of the venue so we (about 50 of us) traipsed back up to the main road, Alameda.  Compounded by it being a Sunday and many places being closed, the Italian restaurant we found looked rather worried at the sight of us all!  However the place was large and there was plenty of space, despite initial protests.  Much pisco was consumed and I had a fantastic stifado with alfredo sauce.

Gradually people made their way back to Caupolican and again I was one of the last to leave.  I’m not a particular fan of support bands but I did catch a little of Sunday night's.  Despite being completely not my sort of thing I rather enjoyed their jazz prog.  The set on Sunday at the UK convention had been, not just my favourite, but possibly one of my favourite Marillion gigs of all time (it was also my 80th!).  It was hard to know how Santiago would measure up.  This show had two points of note; it was a performance in full of 1999’s Marillion.com album and in a very rare departure for the band they had guest musicians on stage.  The string quartet arrangements added a beautiful new level of detail to an album that has many lovely songs but perhaps lacks a little in cohesion.
My most emotional moment of the weekend was Go!, a song that I’ve always held dear.  In the UK to a plan had been hatched fr the fans to surprise the band by lighting tiny LEDs at a specific point towards the end of the song.  The worked fantastically and was an amazing moment but I think the excitement of it perhaps led to me not immersing myself in the song so much.  This time it took me over completely and the strings made it soar.  “It only takes a fraction of a second to turn your life upside down”.

In response to the UK moment in Go! The Web In Spanish arranged for hundreds of glow-sticks to be dished out to fans as they entered and everyone was instructed to wave them during Enlightened.  This song was written in and about São Paulo so it holds a special place for South America.  It perhaps didn’t have the same impact as in the UK but it was still a beautiful sight (until people threw them at the stage at the end and boy, do they hurt when they hit you!

A saxophonist and trumpet player were also recruited to play parts of the album that are usually triggered samples.  The saxophonist was nowhere near as good as the UK but the song House featuring. Muted trumpet was a wonder to behold.  The interplay between trumpet and guitar in this gentle, unassuming song.  Some people find it dull but I could have listened to it for hours.  I really hope that comes across on the DVD.

The second half of the final night was a selection of songs, some of which utilised the additional musicians.  In particular it was so much nicer to here the saxophone solos from Berlin and This Strange Engine live.  One note on the evening that I will perhaps elaborate on more in my gig review is that the videos are becoming distracting.  King especially (this was noted in the UK too) – the scratch video of stars corrupted by fame, most of them dead, has become more of an obituary reel with the crowd cheering or applauding their favourites.  There’s a certain irony in it and I do wonder how many are actually listening to the song any more.

Post gig and post merch count I was allowed to sneak into the after-gig gathering (no beer though!)  I had lovely warm smiles from both bassist Pete and singer h along with the somewhat inevitable question, “what the bloody hell are you doing here?”  Me and Rita took an Uber back to the Sheraton – unfortunately the bar was shut but I still had good chats with Lucy, drummer Ian and various crew members.

There is a real feeling that this is an end of an era for me.  I will always be a fan of the band but I no longer feel the need to do these ridiculous trips.  My life has already taken a huge change in priorities.  It is possible to have too much of a good thing and having nearly lost it all (at one point I felt I would never see Marillion again) I can now appreciate just having enough.  The last hoorah was pretty special though, so many treasured memories of a wonderful weekend on the other side of the world.

A City United

Halfway around the world
Inspired by music,
Inspired by friendship,
Inspired by a coming together
In pursuit of an experience shared.

Looking back halfway around the world
In a city so close to my adopted home.
Thousands in that same pursuit
Travelling not so far, but seeking the same coming together.
United in joy and a feeling of belonging.

Night after night
In a city landscaped by it's music,
Shaped by the passion and the heart of it's people,
The sounds that define a culture
Note upon note, word upon word
Building a city beyond buildings

No-one imagines they will not return home,
And from halfway around the world
Awaiting another plane,
I feel a lump in my throat
A tear prick my eye,
The thought of a child not returning home,
From a longing to belong,
From a feeling of euphoric togetherness
To lives being blown apart

I visualise the concourse I have walked so many times
Now stained red.
From halfway around the world
I feel a poignant sadness
The horror strikes so close to my home and my heart,
To the places I live and the places I play.

But no sounds of explosions will quieten the city of music,
The screams and the cries will weave their way
Into the fabric of the notes and the words,
It will pause and it will breathe
And it will sing again.
Hate will not tear apart
A City United.