Rio de Janeiro

Oh my goodness!!!!!! Rio!


The drive to the hotel was a sharp reminder that alongside the affluence is a good deal of poverty. Lots and lots of ramshackle little dwellings and children selling peanuts and other things with no shoes on, in amongst the traffic.
As we drove further towards the coast, the scene changed dramatically, turning into the most glorious vision of blue, green and yellow.
We went past Copacabana and Ipanema, how cool is that!   


The hotel offered the most amazing scenery, a swimming pool sitting alongside a stretch of sandy beach.
We all scattered when we got our room numbers, the man and I were on floor eleven so had a great view of the area.
Later on we gradually gathered into little pockets of 'tour peeps', the hardworking crew and band enjoying this time together, some in the bistro and some by the pool.
There is always lots of laughter at such times.


Whilst a bunch of the guys went up to see the 'Christ The Redeemer' statue way up overlooking the city, Steve and I went to sit on the beach where I actually felt the sand in between my toes and paddled my feet in the water, not that I would have gone in, it was too darned cold for me!


Having said that, I was born by the sea and miss it loads!


Toby and Cesare our tour and stage manager's came strolling by, it was good to see them having a bit of relaxation time, they make this tour happen and that is not always an easy job!  Despite some of the glamorous places that get visited, this much traveling and organizing is exhausting for everybody.


We had a meal which my man shared with a pretty little stray cat that has found refuge of sorts at the resort, being allowed to be fed by whoever cares enough to bother. 


Enough of all that! On to the show.


What a fantastic crowd turned up, they were so loud and happy to see the boss and his amazing band. They had a great gig and there were some fab Youtube clips to follow, including one of the Hendrix song 'Fire' where my old man now has the black wig planted firmly on his head for his awesome solo.


That's what I love about this tour, there are so many bonuses: the wonderful King of Darkness, an extraordinary line up of musicians behind him, the guillotine, the monster plus the fun. Humor and excellence in one fantastic show. 


And that was Rio: