We met in the lobby of our hotel at 9am and set off for a day of travel. The Spanish promoter who had been looking after us took us to the airport and we boarded a flight to Madrid. Once in Madrid, we returned to the same mile-long terminal where we’d been 2 days previous and ate lunch at the same coffee shop!
From Madrid airport we got a plane to Rome, landed at 7pm and were met by one of Simone’s students, Gabrielli (Simone’s job, when not touring, is teaching sound engineering at a college in Rome). Gabrielli picked us up in a tour van… complete with table! We got in the van and Simone drove us to our hotel. They dropped us at the hotel at 8pm and Simone and Gabrielli left to pick up the band’s Italian amps and drum kit for our next gig; in Hungary, in a city called Paks, not far from Budapest. Whilst Carl, Stuart and myself were relaxing and eating at the hotel, Simone and Gabrielli were embarking on a gruelling journey; taking our gear, by van, to Hungary. The two drove through the night; a 15 hour journey, whilst we thought we had it tough having to set our alarms for 4.15 in order to get our taxi to the airport, where we would take a flight to Budapest.
