Royal Albert Hall Night 3

Nick Mason joined in on the encores...

I am very tired so I will just post the pics


RAH GIG 3

RAH GIG 3 page 2

Tomorrow we're getting brunch & flying out of Gatwick airport to Verona!!!

Royal Albert Hall night 2

Awesome.

No David Bowie, but Gilmour was SMOKIN'. This is going to be a GREAT DVD when it comes out!!

RAH Night 2 Page 1 pictures

RAH Night 2 Page 2 pictures

The Pros & Cons of Solo Travel

While bumming around London, I am reminded why I like to travel alone, as opposed to a tour group.

Pros:
You can do what you want, when you want.
You can eat when & where you want.
You can sleep when & as long as you want.
You don't have to wait for members of your party to catch up.
You don't have to make un-necessary bathroom breaks.
You don't have to be on a schedule.
You don't have to look like a tourist if you don't want to.
You don't have to stop at every single crappy souvinier shop.

I thought of another: you can get into almost anywhere, because resturants/concerts/movies can always squeeze in a party of one. :)


Cons:
No one helps you carry things.
Admission to museums and galleries is not paid for.
Food is not paid for.
No one drives you around/no sleeping on a tour bus.

That's all I can think of, really. Simon & I were talking about it last night: how Americans on a whole prefer to book themselves on a tour group as opposed to doing it themselves. Is it a lack of a sense of adventure? Or is it a need to feel secure? Or do people have such lack of confidence in themselves that they would rather pay others to do the thinking for them? Or is it the convenience of chilling out? what do you think? Post a comment! (you weenie people!)

London day 3: the day of sleep

Howdy all.

It's 1pm local time here & Ive just woken up. Simon has gone to see a foot specialist. Last night's concert was great & I'll have to check the papers to see if there was a review. There was a nice article in the Sunday Telegraph previewing the concerts, and they have it online line:

Sunday Telegraph article

I forgot my jacket & I only packed one sweater, so I'll have to pick up a lightweight jacket. It's 60 degrees here, and very windy, much like April weather. Verona should be nice: sunny, no rain & 75 degrees. :)

I'm working on a small essay on travel. Should be good. Going to pull myself together.

Hi Jayme!

Don't forget to leave comments people! :)

Holy Crap: Royal Albert Hall Night 1

Holy Moly.

The Royal Albert Hall is a gorgeous venue. Really amazing. Before the gig, we were to meet up at the Queens Arms pub. However, the offical David Gilmour blog also invited everyone to the very same pub. Although the pubs owner had a 3 legged dog named Floyd, there was no way eating was going to happen. Too crowded, too smoky. We went to the RAH, and there was a resturant inside. I was by myself, so i nicely asked for a table & I had some very nice lamb at the Elgar resturant. I had plenty of time to eat & get to my seat. Normally I wouldn't have cared if I missed the first set, but Gilmour put Breathe/Time/Breathe at the start of the show. Very nice.

The gig was great, the sound was great, Crosby & Nash were there. David Bowie was the huge surprise guest, who came out for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb". Very very nice. Although he sounded like he was calling for "ground control" during numb. :)

Enjoy the pics.

London Gig 1 page 1


London Gig 1 page 2


London Gig 1 page 3

I'm just going to chill tomorrow. :) 'night!

"Are you crazy? It's only pop music!"

Simon met David Gilmour last night in Glasgow. Simon had been on David's radar as Simon provided David some footage which was used on the upcoming PULSE DVD, and Simon distributed footage of David's 60th birthday party on the internet. Since Simon made it to London, it's safe to assume charges will not be pressed. :) it was a brief encounter, lasting about 30 seconds, David asked if Simon had seen the gigs, to which Simon said "yeah I've been to about 16 gigs", to which David exclaimed "Are you crazy? It's only pop music!"

Here are some pictures from yesterday & today. I don't know if I'll be able to take pictures tonight or what... we'll see.

London Pictures day 1 & 2

Sneaker update

Good news!

The Kermit sneakers are cheaper at home! Now I can not buy them and forget all about it. Yay! :D

Day 1

Hola people

Well, I've arrived & it's been a great day. The flight was great & the counter guy in Hartford thought I was cute, so he upgraded me to Economy Plus on the overseas flight. :) yes yes. Lots of Leg room AND United serves Pepsi & Mountian Dew on their flights. :)

The hotel has been a bit of a disappointment- the internet service was not working in the room, and it's not complimentary. They have a terminal in the lobby, but it's £4 for 20 minutes! That's like $7.50! I'm currently at an internet cafe in Leicester Square, near Piccidally Circus (sorta like Times Square). it was £1 for 1 hour!!! Can't beat that!!

It's been great weather- sunny & breezy- a great day for walking around. I am determined not to get sick this trip, so I made sure to sleep this afternoon. I bought a pay-as-you go cell phone & made my first UK cell call today! Simon and the gang are in Glasgow tonight & drive down tomorrow. The first of 3 gigs is tomorrow so it's nice to chill & shake off jet lag.

I saw a pair of Kermit the Frog Adidas today. They are £75.99. That's what, oh, about $141. That's effing nuts. I've never paid over $100 for shoes. I am going to resist. Actually, first I'm going to see if they are available in the states. I'm not going to pay big bucks if I can get them cheaper at home! If not... well, i may be singing "happy feet"!

BTW- i should know better, but the keyboards are getting to me! the " and @ are in reverse places. the # has swapped with £. huh.

David Crosby & Graham Nash are in the UK & have appeared at the last 2 gigs. No doubt they'll hit the Royal Albert Hall, especially since they are taping the shows for a DVD.

Well, I'm going to get some supper & relax! Hope everone is good & I'll be sure to post pictures when I can!

Also- the blog seems to be not updating immediately, but know that I am posting, and the time stamp will be good n all that.

Erin

The $250 Cookie

I hate FWDs. But this FWD is one of the best I've seen in a long time- and you can make cookies too!!

Enjoy.
============

When decent people get screwed over, this is the results!!!

A little background: Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a
very expensive store; i.e., they sell your typical $8.00 T-shirt for
$50.00.

My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in
Dallas, and we decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are
such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus cookie." It
was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe, and the
waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not, but you can buy the
recipe." Well, I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two
fifty-it's a great deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to just add
it to my tab.

Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-Marcus
charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent
$9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the
bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe-$250.00". That was
outrageous!

I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress
said it was "two fifty", which clearly does not mean "two hundred and
fifty dollars" by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase.
Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money
because, according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our
problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not
refund your money at this point." I explained to the Accounting
Department lady the criminal statutes which govern fraud in the state
of Texas. I threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau
and the Texas Attorney General's office for engaging in fraud.

I was basically told, "Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of
how you can get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money
back." I just said, Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to
have $250 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that
every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a
$250 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus...for free. She replied, "I wish
you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, perhaps you should have thought
of that before you ripped me off!" and slammed down the phone. So here it is!

Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think
of. I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make
another penny off of this recipe!

NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)
2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the
butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,
oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey
Bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie
sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies

It gets better

Our seats for Verona. How freakin cool!

Ah Italy...

I must admit- the David Gilmour shows are beginning to fade in my mind as I get ready for the Roger Waters gigs at the Arena in Verona. At first, the Waters shows were an after thought... "Since I was over in London, what's an extra few days?" but now as I learn more about Verona and Italy in general- MAN did I make the right move!

The Arena of Verona was built over 2000 years ago as a Roman amphitheatre and remains to this day one of the biggest and most well conserved examples of Roman architecture. The Arena has always been home to games, tournaments, circuses, only turning into a venue for theatrical performances in the 18th century.

At some point, we're renting a car & driving to Lake Garda for some R & R. This might have been the shooting location for the "Courasant Lakeside retreat" in "Attack of the Clones". Not sure. I'll have to look that up. :)

Acutally, Lake Como is the lake used in the SW saga...

Simon Says

Simon W says I haven't updated my blog. I really don't have much to say!

BUT! check out these before & after pictures of Simon's kitchen! He did all the work himself & it really is quite good.

Although I am tickled that the Red Sox slaughtered the Yankees last night. It doesn't happen often, but man, is it fun to watch!!

Nothing New

Nothing new to report.

I've started a new position at ESPN, and I create content for ESPNTV.com. Very nice indeed. Leaving the ENG Group was a difficult decision- it was fun cutting highlights for SC, Baseball Tonight & all that... but I needed a little bit more.

Even though it seems I just returned from Chicago, I'm set to go to London & Verona, Italy for more concerts. 3 nights with David Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall. Then the "Floyd friends" will migrate to Verona, Italy where Roger Waters will perform Dark Side of the Moon in it's entirety at the Arena in Verona.

I will have internet access while away, so this is the place to check out the pictures & stories from the road.

For now, enjoy some pictures from the US leg of the David Gilmour Tour

Radio City Music Hall 4/5/06

Toronto's Massey Hall 4/9/06

Toronto's Massey Hall night 2 4/10/06

Sightseeing in Chicago 4/12/06

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