Hail Milano
Back in Italy almost two months after first coming here on the same tour the weather is noticeably warmer. In fact it’s hot. Hot enough for storms to bubble up the afternoon of our day off in Milan, one did. I was at the computer after hitting the gym pretty hard in the morning and heard thunder. With the windows wide open overlooking the Four Seasons courtyard I watched the clouds roll in and it started to rain. The rain got more intense until it became hail. A couple of the guys got caught out in the streets and had to shelter. It was something to behold.
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That evening, an evening meal with Mark and the boys took us back to our favourite restaurant in Milan, Rivello 18. Simply faultless Italian cuisine. We posed, as one does, with the owners.
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Show day required a day trip into Switzerland and the beautiful lakeside town of Locarno on the banks of Lake Maggiore. The drive was estimated at two hours and to break things up a bit, we took the train to Bellinzona and Gunther’s team collected us from the station and drove us into Locarno. The train journey wasn’t quite as luxurious as our trip to Turin earlier in the tour, this train seemed to stop a lot more, was packed, hot and there was no complimentary lunch tray. Oh, and it was running 18 minutes late. It was in fact much more like a train back home in the UK. Nonetheless, with the outside temperature hitting 39ºC, (102ºF) we enjoyed the ride and were happy to get back in the supreme Air conditioning of the Strange Rovers.
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At the venue, as it was on our last visit to the Moon and Stars festival, there was local catering so Dave, Chris and George had what amounted to a day off. George oversaw the offerings which were really quite nice considering nothing was prepared ‘on site’.
Glenn warms up the bass, although I’m not sure she needed warming up. Possibly cooling down.
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John from the stage
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With the huge stage set up next to the Piazza Grande, the festival here lasts all week and has become one of our stops on any European Summer tour. Named the Moon and Stars festival, it’s not hard to see why as the sun sets during showtime. We took to the stage to a packed crowd with the locals hanging out of their balconies watching the show. I even noticed across the square, a couple preparing their rooftop barbecue whilst enjoying a perfect view of the stage. all in all a great night and before we knew what had hit us, we were back in the cars driving back to Milan and enjoying some delicious Chateauneuf Du Pape white wine from the last gig in Nimes. An hour and a half later, we were pulling up at the Four Seasons Milan one last time.
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