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SATURDAY 28th
Travel day today. Yatta, Paul and Aron
ar driving to Barcelona which is about 1500 kms and because the
travel agent wasn't able to get us all on the same flight, Dave,
Pete, Andy and I will arrive there at different times too!
I arrived on time to get to my live interview on Radio Catalunya
but the thing I was most excited about was seeing Monica after nearly
three weeks away!! But that would have to wait a while as Gabriel
and I went straight to the radio interview from the airport.
We were at Radio Catalunya and this was one of the best kinds of
interviews for me… one where the interviewer has done his or
her homework and where there aren't too many of what I can only
call "obvious" questions!! For me it's all about music
and when the interview has the same emphasis then it's fun.
But it felt a bit like being in a goldfish bowl because the studio
was on the ground floor in a corner and even thought the glass was
slightly tinted people stopped and stared as they were passing by…
The other thing that was slightly strange was that Juan was speaking
"Catalan" which is a local variation on Castilian Spanish
which is what we foreigners learn in Spanish lessons at school.
People from the Catalunya region are passionate about being "different"
but I find it a bit confusing really and I can't imagine what happens
to kids who learn this language and then go out into the wide world
outside the relatively small province…
There are other "dialects" too like Valenciana and Basque
but I'm not a big fan of "separatist" thinking and we
all know that it can be highly dangerous too. And think how much
money is wasted writing street signs etc… in two languages
instead of one. It was all rather different before Franco died but,
overall, I like it better now!! United we stand…… etc…
Anyway… soon enough… the interview was over, the autographs
signed and the pictures posed for… and now to the hotel!!!
And yes… there was Mrs. Caca (as she is affectionately known)
checking into the hotel!! I had missed her and we had found it difficult
to be apart so this was a big moment for me. And she had rescued
us from a disastrous hotel situation where the promoter (a really
great guy by the name of Robert Mills who actually lived in St.
Louis at one time!) or rather his travel agent had booked us 15
rooms for the 29th when we never need more than 6!!!
But we had no time to hang around because we had to find the other
hotel (don't ask!) and get the guys checked in for tonight. This
took for ever because Barcelona is so hard to get around but we
all ended up in the same place and settled down for dinner. Soon
enough… time for bed and to get ready for the last show of
this year and the end of an interesting 6 months of touring.
Next day...
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