Geneva, Switzerland 15 November, 2011
Up this morning after a just few hours sleep, I tried to get another hour but couldn't and the double espresso delivered to the room insured I'd officially abandoned the idea. The caffeine didn't really clear the cobwebs today and I did little with the morning except update this journal.
With an hour to spare prior to departing and my bags packed, I went out for a sandwich with Bob's longtime bass man Tony Garnier then walked the short distance to Lake Geneva in the crisp, sunshine. Seeing anything more of this peaceful city will have to wait 'til next time.
A general feeling of fatigue has swept us simultaneously, a combination of late hours on the bus, erratic sleeping, a winding down of the tour and several guys fighting a mild cold infection. That didn't stop us having a fantastic little jam session back in the dressing room. Guy who has cracked the clawhammer banjo code, wrote a song on the instrument and has been practising away. I can attest to that as I roomed next to him in Milan! Out came the banjo and before long Mike had his whistle, John his fiddle, Ian a pair of brushes playing a piece of paper on the table, Jim the accordion and my acoustic guitar... all playing Guy's new tune. The sound soon brought Donny Herron from Bob's band around with his fiddle and it really jump started the day.
We took the stage at the Geneva Arena for a stand up audience of 8,000 and every bit of tiredness melted away in the spotlights. Ian and I commenting after the show the miracle of how stepping on a stage and playing music immediately erases any fatigue or sickness, at least for the moment.
We are back to an earlier show time now that we're no long in Italy, 8 o'clock tonight, meaning a quicker get away for the drive to Zurich, putting us there just after 1 a.m. We arrived at the Dolder Grand Hotel, a luxurious resort on the lake and just outside the city. It looked like something out of a Swiss fairytale. I was escorted by one of the hotel staff to my room and gratefully given instructions how to work the somewhat complicated (for me) hand held video remote controller that operated the lights, TV, thermostat and everything else. At this point all I need to know is which switch is the master and press it.
In bed at 2, master switch pressed and gone to the world.
So long,
Richard