Monday, 7/21, We'll have fun fun fun on the Autobahn

Monday started with muesli and coffee in the Hotel Schiller. I might have voted to stay in Frieburg for our extra night as it is unbelievabley cute, and I love the weather. But, we have a 7 hour drive to Toscalino Maderno (near Salo, the final home of Mussolini) so it's better to bite the bullet, drive today, and be refreshed for tomorrow night's show.

We have to again drive through the pedestrian walkway to the club, but no one stares at us today. In fact, there is a lot of car and van traffic because all the shops and restaurants must be serviced by noon, so all the delivery trucks are crowding the tiny walkways. Tom shows up promptly at noon and we do the load out. I haven't mentioned this before but in Europe, bands have to fill out publishing forms telling what songs they played, and who the authors are. It takes a few minutes, but maybe I will see some residual$ (hahaha). Tom has a magazine that had a preview of last nights show. Roughly translated it says: "From California, the most amazing surf band ever. Can you believe this group is coming to Frieburg?" After load out, Lorenzo does an fantastico job snaking around the other vehicles in the tight alley, and we hit the road.

It is a long road day- Jono reads and provides historical data on current locations, Jeremy dozes and takes lots of pictures, Jeff is always optimistic keeps the band smiling. Lorenzo is like an octopus- one hand on the wheel, one on the stick shift, one hand on the cell phone, one on his iPhone, glancing at maps on his laptop, programming the GPS, organizing our tour and the final details of the festival, and always on the lookout for a cup of coffee at the next AutoGrill.

Lots more corn... where is all this corn going? Certainly not on our plates- they just don't serve veggies here. Jono theorizes that the corn is being shipped back to America so we can make fuel and corn syrup.

The most enjoyable part of the drive is coming back through Lucerne, next to the long beatuiful lake with the craggy alps in the background. The tunnels are long and dark, good for taking a nap. Once we crossed back to Italy, the highway slowed and the scenery shifted to more industrial. We had to go around Milan at rush hour, but it wasn't so bad this time. We did see a big rig squashed like an accordion on the other side of the road, and the backup behind the accident was 10km long.

Finally our sexy GPS lady told us to turn towards Lago di Guarda, and the scenery becomes more vivid. The hills near Bresce have been quarried away for thousands of years leaving them with flat bright faces. The stone is sliced into layers at the factories below and shipped around the world, the rubble stays local and used to build bridges, houses, and roads. Coming over the hill you get a spectacular view fo the lake, and start to descend to the water line. What could you compare it to? Perhaps if Sausalito ringed Lake Tahoe, but on a much bigger scale, and with more variety in the flora? I don't know, it's useless to compare it to any place in America, it's Northern Italy! 5 Star Luxury resorts and more modest hotels and motels ring the shore.

Mattea the promoter meets us outside the Hotel Sorriso in Toscalino Maderno, He has arranged to check us in a day early and luckily they have rooms available. When August starts next week, there will be no availability anywhere around here. Our rooms are great, I luck out and get a single (thanks guys!). It is small like a monk's cloister, even having a crucifix over the bed. I don't have a balcony my room overlooks the pool. This is a family place, parents with little kids, and teenagers to young to be on their own, but to old to be seen with their parents. Dreadlocked fuschia bougainvillea climbs the walls, the clear pool is tiled in bright sky blue.

By the time we head out for dinner it is after 9 and I am famished and a little dizzy. There is a restaurant across the street but the consensus is that we should walk around a little bit. We follow signs for a few different bistros and pizzarias down an ancient road, but being Monday night, they are closed. We end up making a big circle and coming back to the first place, which turned out to be just fine. Dinner was accompanied by wine and toasts, and finished of with a shot of Grappa, 75% alcohol and tastes like acetone, guaranteed to burn holes in clothing, sanitize a hospital floor or run a diesel engine if needed.

Back in the Hotel Sorriso, a cool breeze is blowing off the lake but I have to close my windows to keep out the mosquito buzz of the racing Vespas.