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Published: July 20th 2008
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When I saw that there was a four day break in this current European tour with my band, I immediately began researching somewhere to visit - that's just how my brain works. Never mind that we haven't had more than two consecutive days off since March, and that I've been globetrotting without rest pretty much the entire year... I was hungry for more adventure. I settled on a short trip to visit my good friends Kate and Eva in Ireland. I had met them at a show in Oslo, Norway in the Spring. They were visiting Norway and I was there on tour. We only hung out briefly in Oslo, but became instant friends, sharing a wonderful connection through our tastes in music, literature and film. They were eager to play host and show me around Ireland for a few days.
After playing a late night set at a festival in Gierle, Belgium, I caught a lift to the Charleroi Airport, about an hour and a half outside of Gierle, for my flight to Dublin. I've only had to "sleep" in an airport once or twice before, and it is never very pleasant. I had about four hours until they
opened the check-in desk, so I found a chilly little corner to stretch out in and managed to get a few winks of often-interrupted sleep. The next morning my flight was delayed several times, and I ended up spending about 9 hours in all at the airport before final taking off for Ireland.
I stepped off the plane sleepily in Dublin and found my way to a bus to the city centre. Kate was waiting for me at the Spire on O'Connell St. After finding a quick bite to eat nearby, she showed me around Temple Bar, a very pretty and hip area with many pubs. Then we headed to Trinity College, a prestigious university founded in the 1500's by the Queen. The grounds and architecture were stunning. Bright green lawns sat in stark contrast to the faded gray buildings and statues. We got in line to check out the Long Room, a unique library housing Ireland's oldest and most important literature and historical works. The room has two floors, and each corner there is a beautiful spiral staircase, and the shelves within contain thousands of dusty old books. The main attraction of the library is the Book Of
Kells - beautifully decorated texts in Latin of the Gospels from the Bible, made by Celtic monks around 800 AD. These ancient books are cased in glass and are really quite amazing to see. Certain parts of the text are intricately painted and ornamented, and the script itself is very elegant. After leaving Trinity College, we strolled through a beautiful park and wandered around a lake with many swans and ducks.
We were staying in Belfast, so after a few hours kicking around in Dublin, we boarded a bus and settled in for the 3-hour ride up to Northern Ireland. I could barely keep my eyes open, and quickly fell asleep, waking every now and then to the green pastures of Ireland passing by. Upon arriving in Belfast, we headed into a park near the city centre with beautiful botanical gardens. It was a perfect afternoon, and we took our time wandering through the park and around the city. The next day we did some more exploring downtown and then ventured out to meet up with Eva at her place. We had a mellow evening resting and catching up.
The following morning we boarded a train up to
the north coast. Kate's hometown, Portstewart, is a lovely small community on the ocean. It had a feel very similar to New England on the east coast of the US, where I grew up. The north coast was cold and damp, but it felt wonderful to be near the ocean. We stayed at Kate's mom's house, which was super cozy and charming. The brisk sea air felt therapeutic and fresh. The next morning we met up with Eva's mom and went on an adventurous journey around the north coast. They thankfully set me up with plenty of rain gear and warm clothes. The air was chilly and it looked like it would be a soggy afternoon. I couldn't believe that this was standard weather for mid-summer. My several years living in Southern California have turned me into a sissy when it comes to cold weather, and I am just not used to being wet! However, the weather suited the scenery perfectly, and I really can't imagine it any other way. The mountains and hills around us were a deep, lush green and the gray skies made the green even more vivid. The coastline was dramatic, lined with cliffs and rocky
outcroppings. We passed by a castle and stopped to take pictures, where we found a deep, dark cave leading to the sea. We stopped for a bit at the Bushmill's whiskey distillery. The main attraction we visited was called the Giant's Causeway. There was a bit of a walk to the Causeway, and the rain was coming down in sheets. Still, many people were out and the walk along the sea was really nice. We stopped along the way to check out tide pools. The Giant's Causeway is a beautiful and interesting natural phenomenon. As the result of ancient volcanic activity, thousands of hexagonal pillars rise up out of the rock, forming stepping stones that lead into the sea. It is hard to believe that it's not man-made, it looks so unnatural. Quite a sight. Kate and I made a wet journey along a steep path to what they call the "pipe organ." Tall hexagonal rocks stretch up into the mountain side - it looks like a line of pipes from afar.
I eventually settled nicely into the feeling of being soggy - I had boots that kept my feet dry, and a soaked rain jacket that managed to
keep my clothes fairly dry. We were having a great time trudging around in the rain. Back at Kate's mom's place it felt like heaven - so nice to be in a cozy, warm house. She had a wonderful vegetable soup prepared for us and we drank hot tea like it was going out of style. Before long we had to head back to Belfast. I had to fly to Paris the next morning, and getting there wasn't going to be easy. We slept for a bit at Eva's in Belfast, but I had to catch a bus to Dublin at 1:30 am. Kate and Eva accompanied me to the bus stop and we bid each other farewell. Although we have only known each other for a very short time, they feel like family to me, and they were absolutely wonderful hosts in Ireland. My journey to Paris was grueling - a 3-hour bus ride to Dublin, the flight to Beauvais (an airport outside of Paris), a bus into Paris, two different Metro trains in the city, and finally another bus to my destination in Orleans, France. About 12 hours in transit overall, with only an hour or two of
sleep.
Yesterday I regrouped with the band and we headed out to the "Garden Nef Party" Festival in Angouleme, France. We were excited to be on the bill with The Hives and Iggy Pop & The Stooges. The festival had a very cool setting on a hilly clearing overlooking the city, and the setup was very professional. We hung out with The Hives in the afternoon - they're very cool guys from Sweden who know Bob & Lisa from the Bellrays well from doing past shows together. Many thousands of people came out to the fest and we all had a really good time. We played a great set around 9pm, immediately followed by a rockin' set by The Hives. We were all backstage to watch Iggy & The Stooges. This man is crazy! 62 years old, he comes out on stage bare-chested and shadow-boxing the air, full of spastic energy. The crowd of around 20,000 absolutely adored him. At one point, he urged people from the audience to break down the stage barriers and join him on stage, which caused a bit of chaos. He pulled a bunch of us from backstage out on the floor with him.
Suddenly, we were jumping around on stage with Iggy Pop in front of 20,000 people!! I tip my hat - he gave a fantastic, riotous, extremely passionate performance and left the audience stunned and hungry for more.
And my adventures continue...
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