Finally back!...Another Euro Summer Part 3

Sorry for the extended absence people.  Yes, I'm ok, still alive, etc.

While the memories are getting fuzzy at this point, I'll do my best to pick up where I left off...

We woke up in Cornwall, which is arguably the most beautiful part of England, way down in the southwest corner (and ironically the only place I've ever surfed despite 5 years living on the coast of California).  The festival was a fundraiser for the Lanhydrock house which is an old estate house that's been preserved like a museum.  The festival was in the fields just below the house so we got to take a tour.  It was pretty amazing, mostly the 'backstage' elements like the multi-room kitchen.  They didn't let us take pictures so I can't show you but you can always google it if you care.  The grounds were impressive as well with all the manicured bushes and whatnot.  All in all a nice place to spend the day.

The festival itself was kind of a weird, family-day sort of thing with a bizarre range of acts you've never heard of (except maybe the Hollies who looked about 70).  There were some pretty impressive fireworks at the end of our set.  

We packed it all in and headed back up to London for another festival and a club show.  The festival (Lovebox Weekender) was in Victoria Park.  Because of the layout and concern for preservation of the park, we couldn't bring the bus near the stage.  The geniuses that organized the production for this thing decided that we could move our 4 tons of gear the mile to the stage with a couple golf carts.  Then they couldn't even get us the golf carts until 45 minutes after we were supposed to load-in.  And of course after being repeatedly told it was "physically impossible" to tow our trailer down there, someone with brains (and a tractor) came along and did just that.  After that it was another clusterfucky festival day.  After we finished I wandered to the main stage to watch some of the Flaming Lips set.  Always a good time.  It was Courtney's birthday so there was much merriment.  

Behind the scene with the Lips...

We had a couple days off in London before our club show, one of which I spent running around picking up my Japanese visa and just wandering London.  The other I think I spent in bed.  While I was out wandering for food one day I came across this strange scene.  Just after crossing this street to check out a restaurant, I turned around to see this bike just laying in the middle of the street, not 30 seconds after I had been walking there, with no owner in sight, just a handful of confused looking English folks.  I took a picture and looked at another restaurant and when I looked again, it was gone without a trace.  It felt like I was in some English David Lynch movie.  

We did the show at Shepherd's Bush Empire and headed off to Ireland.  The fun part about taking a bus from England to Ireland is the inevitable early morning ferry ride across the always-placid Irish sea.  It's hard to say what element of the ferry is most appealing...the many, many options for delicious, healthy food...the wonderful people to interact with...or just the peaceful journey itself, which is in no way nausea-inducing.  Nevertheless, we arrived in Galway in time to have most of a day off.  I stayed put in the hotel for most of it, but I wandered thru the touristy madness to try out the "must try" fish & chips place.  It was pretty good, but as expected, overrated.  We closed out the tour with another festival style show, though this one only had 2 bands, us and Ash.  Then it was off to Dublin to catch the 9am flight out.  Another European summer touring adventure had come to an end.  Overall it was one of the better ones...