Lucca, Italy...10 July, 2010
Up at 10 this morning after only 4 hours sleep but feeling great. Had some coffee sent to the room then went down for a pounding in the gym, followed by a walk in Roma. I don't know how hot it was, but it was blazing...kind of like Phoenix, Arizona. There are no shortage of outdoor cafes everywhere and you can fall into any one of them and the food will be wonderful. I picked a spot several blocks from the hotel that had a table in the shade, ordered a fantastic pizza and pint of ice cold draft beer which I devoured while enjoying the parade of Romans and tourists. Made my way back to the hotel and sat on the veranda of my room and read in the sun for about 40 minutes 'til I could no longer take the intense heat.
We left for the airport at 5 this afternoon and arrived just outside Lucca around 6:30. Tonight's show was the Lucca Summer Festival in the Piazza Napoleone, a gig we played in 2001, maybe in 2005 as well but can't be sure about that one. An open air town square show with nearly 5,000 in attendance. A great audience but very different and more typical than last night's in that there was a lot of milling for the first few songs and then things settled down. A great gig, one of those that reminds you how lucky we all are to be doing this for a living.
A runner back to Roma leaving Lucca near midnight. It's been a long day with little sleep last night and will turn in early. A day off tomorrow in one of the greatest cities of the world, Rome.
So long,
Richard