New Album(s)/Tour Legs in 2010

U2 started a tour break on October 29, 2009 that will last until summer 2010. They are expected to release a new album called Songs of Ascent, thought to be a counterpart to the current album, No Line On The Horizon (released in March 2009). However, there is other talk of releasing a "real" album as they claim to have enough material to do so, but they won't release it unless they feel it's perfect. One album or the other is expected in June!

Click HERE for the official schedule for the rest of the tour. The third leg starts in North America, June-July. The fourth leg is in Europe in August-early October.

RUMORS
A fifth leg could go to South America, Australia, New Zealand, and possibly other countries in later October-November.

I have tickets for Oakland and will probably go to Anaheim too (CA shows) and would go to Vegas if they play there. As for the rest of the U.S., I am hoping to make it to cities I haven't seen them play in, like Miami and Boston, but a lot depends on getting a job or jobs, how much I am making, and if I can take time off. I didn't think I might go abroad again but I am considering going to Russia since Natalie is from there!

PASADENA

Please remember to scroll down within each entry (city) and read in REVERSE chron order. In the photo with me is Cathal, author of Me & U2.

SUNDAY 10/25: As many times before, we had aimed to be at the venue early but decided it wasn't that important and decided to take our time. We had the complimentary continental breakfast at the hotel and then did a little shopping to prepare for being in line all day. My friend Dana was already at the venue, thinking I would already be there, and texted me that there was only one couple in the Red Zone 1 line. Nick and I had Red Zone 2 tickets (Adam side). We were thrilled to find NO LINE ON THE HORIZON for our line--so happy to be the first ones. And no one showed up for at least an hour. We found some shade, and blew up our air mattress. I read my book for awhile while Nick checked out the General Admission line.

Then a couple, Eden & Mike, joined us in line. They were kind enough to allow me and Nick to wander around so Nick took me to see the GA line. The line was long and thick, fans nicely spread out on grass with their lounge chairs and coolers. Met up with Dana, Natalie, Brad, and recognized other friends. Back in our Red Zone line Kevin (Nick's best friend) and his girlfriend Larissa who has the EXACT same birthday (1/25/69) as me(!) visited us. It was such a BEAUTIFUL DAY weather wise and Kevin brought me a Corona. At around 4pm, we decided to pack up and start the actual line at the gate. We were irritated with the repetitious announcements coming from the stadium and also watching countless fans walk up to security asking where to go and them telling them NOT to get in our line but to get in the GA line to the left of us. Nick video'd the line a bit. At one point the crowd of fans right behind us cheered for him. The scanner lady behind one of the gates seemed more excited than us. But would you believe, the guy scanning our tickets...his scanner wasn't working. Luckily Eden & Mike got through the gate on time and were kind enough to save us spots in the front row corner of the Red Zone. They offered us spots 1 & 2 but we refused, so we were 3 & 4 from the corner. Nick went to buy me a beer and I was getting a bunch of texts from friends. At one point I slammed down my hands on the rail and said loudly, "I LOVE THIS SHIT!!"

I had a shirt made (see Photos below) that has the U2 lyric "women of the future hold the big revelations" on the chest with a big "U2" on the stomach. I was going to change into it during Get On Your Boots, but I decided I liked the lacy top I was wearing and instead I put the U2 shirt over the rail just so the U2 showed! And during songs I held the shirt up and out over the rail. During I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, I was holding it out as Adam was walking by on the catwalk. Nick screamed Adam's name until he got his attention. Then Adam just stood there right in front of me, smiling and being his flirtatious self. I was jumping up and down! Nick took my fly shades off my face for me, and this just added to the little flame going on with Adam. How I wish that part would show up on the DVD. You can see my purple shirt hanging in the air (lower left of screen) in this VIDEO at the 2:00 minute mark.

As we were walking out of the Red Zone, Nick spotted Stacey and Lisa, so we got to say hi to them. Then Nick and I decided to sit and talk in the rental car while the crazy traffic in the parking lot subsided. We didn't turn on the engine until 1am! So much for Adamesque's after-party in downtown LA.

When we got back to the hotel room, we watched a little of the webcast. But we were too tired to watch it all. We flew out of LA the next day, Mon 10/26, at 1:10p. Nick was nice enough to drive me (without me even asking) from SFO to JFK in Berkeley so I could participate in the Public Interest Certificate Ceremony.

U2 LA (the last U.S. show on this leg)
(Brono #74, Nick #45)
PHOTOS
VIDEO (short due to concert being professionally filmed)
WEBCAST (I think the full webcast is down now; if someone finds it again please let me know. Update 3/20: DVD announced! More info to come.)

SATURDAY 10/24: We flew out of Vegas at noon. Got another rental car and drove about an hour to Pasadena. We decided to check out the Rose Bowl before going to our hotel. We found friends (Alli & Brad) in line, of course. Word was that the line had started since the day before the Vegas show but no one was allowed to spend the night and as a result the line order was getting shuffled a lot. We were happy to find that will-call was open so we got our concert tickets a day early plus a parking pass so we wouldn't have to deal with any of that the next day. Then we checked into the Comfort Inn. We considered seeing Echo & The Bunnymen accompanied by an orchestra in concert but decided it was better not to drive back and forth to downtown LA (an hour each way) and risk staying up too late since we were aiming to be at the venue by 8am. Instead we took a Jacuzzi. Nick briefly met a lady to whom he sold extra tickets, and then the two of us just relaxed in the room with the door open since the weather was so nice.

VEGAS

FRIDAY 10/23: We had to be up at 4am, pick up Brad at 5:15am, and wanted to be back in the line by 5:30am, a half hour earlier than we were expected. We had packed sleeping bags, a tent, and an air mattress, which we brought with us to the venue. While it was still dark, we gathered in the same area as yesterday, waiting for security to let us line up at the actual venue across the street. At about 6:30am we got the word, crossed the street with all our stuff, and lined up temporarily. Then we got word to go ahead and walk to gates 10 & 11. Several security guards smiled at us weirdly as 100+ fans dragged bedding in the dark. Brad walking around in a blanket acting and talking like Moses--too funny.

The sun quickly rose but it was still chilly in the early hours of the morning, but we were cozy with two sleeping bags and the air mattress Nick blew up, plus a fan loaned us their blanket. We didn't need the tent we brought. I read my new Half the Sky book and then we napped. This one gal who was separated from her friends in line and only had one blanket said, "I want to cuddle with them!"

Later Nick was checking out the line and spotted Christine and Spot, our Zoo Station fan friends from Petaluma. He took a picture and brought it to me. My reaction was, "Where is Bono!?" because Spot looks so much like Bono sometimes! So we decided to go find them again and take photos. Spot put in a vodka-and-beer order with Nick. Around 9am Nick and I left the line temporarily (leaving our stuff). We got lunch to go and then Nick dropped me off at the hotel so I could rest as I was feeling a garden variety upper respiratory infection (URI) coming on. Then he went to the airport to pick up Jovita. She had decided to come to the Vegas show last minute, got an earlier flight than expected, and needed to get to the venue to get a number and establish a place in line.

Right about 3pm we got a text from Jovita that security wanted fans to clear the line of stuff. But we didn't have to clear the area for awhile. So we visited with friends, using umbrellas for protection from the hot sun. At one point I was walking past Christine & Spot and noticed they were about to be interviewed for the news! So I got to watch that live.

ARTICLE
NEWS VIDEO

Once the line was let in, Nick ran ahead, as usual, thankfully, and saved me a spot inside the circle, front row Edge! Christine & Spot were in the second row right behind us at first, but then someone motioned for them to go a little further down but let Christine in the front row, so we were only a couple people away from each other. I cried during most of the show, just a personal thing from being in the moment.

U2 VEGAS (be sure to read about the famous people in attendance!)
(Brono #73, Nick #44)
PHOTOS
VIDEO

THURSDAY 10/22: It was 85 degrees as weather.com predicted. Just as we drove away from Bally's, we got a text from our U2 friend, Matilde. She had news that the General Admission line had started at Sam Boyd Stadium, so we decided to drive straight there. We saw our friends Joe and Vik (who were organizing the line) and others on this pseudo-sidewalk. So we got our numbers on our hands (27 & 28) and put our names on the General Admission list. We waited in line for awhile and then decided to drive down the street to check into the Siena Suites and get some lunch.

We went back to the line, met new friends, and awaited an announcement from security expected around 3pm. By 4pm, we found out that it was okay to leave the line, as long as we were all back by 6:00 the next morning for roll call. Roll call for a U2 line--as many U2 lines as I've been in, I just love those two words! So Nick and Joe and I took off for the New York New York Hotel where a U2 Interference party was starting at 5pm at the Nine Fine Irishmen pub. (Nick and I liked this pub when we saw The Police in Vegas in summer 2007.) We sat at this long bench table with other fans and had Guinnesses and a cheese dip with Irish country bread. A few hours later we drove Joe and his gal pal Anu to the airport so Joe could pick up a rental car along with some incoming friends.

We drove back to the line yet again and picked up our friend Brad and went back to the pub! Now they were charging a $5 cover. Argh. We went back outside to the same table and met our Facebook friend Elsha and her family who live in Utah. Elsha sold us handmade xmas cards. She is donating the proceeds to children in Africa. We left the pub by 11pm but didn't get to sleep until midnight.

WEDNESDAY 10/21: Nick and I flew to Las Vegas at 4:20pm (ha), got our rental car, and drove to Bally's. We were mad that neither of us thought to pack CDs for the rental car! When we checked in to Bally's, Nick told me the only room left in the hotel was the size of a broom closet. As I opened the door, I couldn't even see any beds...it was that BIG! We ended up getting a free upgrade to a suite...it was like 1930 Grand Hotel room meets Pretty Woman!!

Donny & Marie
We walked across the street and saw Donny & Marie Live at the Flamingo Hotel! Our seats were in the first row of booths, the booth furthest to stage left. At the beginning of the show, Nick wanted me to run up with him to the stage to greet Donny. I hesitated and hesitated but Nick waited for me and I finally followed. Donny did this fluttery-finger motion back and forth with me pretending to shake my hand but not. It was great! Nick and I ordered margaritas in these great hot pink keepsake glasses that are curvy and say "Donny & Marie Flamingo Las Vegas" on them. To think we used watch their TV show religiously 30+ years ago. We had a lady next to us take a great photo of us and Nick filmed parts of the show. Unfortunately at the end of the show, security confiscated the film card, even though it said nothing about photography rules on the tickets or anywhere in the venue. Luckily no U2 was on the film card!

ANOTHER BLAST FROM THE PAST (Elevation Tour 2001)

PHOTOS

Now, I just found my little notebook from U2's Elevation Tour 2001, a time when blogs didn't exist (or at least I didn't use them yet). It's the same notebook I used to type up my 2005 diary (see first Blast from the Past link under July on this blog). Here's what it says. These are the exact words! Note, my second favorite U2 show ever was 8/19/01.

U2 ELEVATION TOUR

London, England
Slane, Ireland
August 2001

California, U.S., November 2001
(April 2001 not recorded--all time favorite show 4/20/01 San Jose)

Fri 8/17/01

Flying from SF to Toronto, I met a gal named Aislinn (same as Edge's ex-wife) who has sisters named Bronwen(!) and Kaylan (the middle name of my daughter if I would have children. Not.).

LONDON

Sat 8/18/01 U2 #22 (Elevation #7)

• solid wristband = neon green (heart), purple (standing)
• checkered wristband = red

-Got in front of line with Wayne (guy who sold me and Valerie, whom I met online, tickets to Slane)
-Second row; cried first 3 songs; upset re pushed to 3rd row; Val in 2nd
-Went to bar playing U2

Sun 8/19/01 U2 #23 (Elevation #8)

• solid wristband = red (heart), no. 152, black (standing)
• checkered wristband = turquoise blue

-Got wristbands during the day and queued
-Second row; cried intermittently; next to Rolla and Bard; negativity from 1st row but not as bad as 1st night
-Saw Nikki (from Anaheim)

Mon 8/20/01

• slept until 2pm (except getting up for breakfast)
• got dressed up to go to central London; noticed queue at box office and got tix for 8/21 & 8/22 instead :)
  
• went to Italian restaurant then to bed early for queue in a.m.

Tue 8/21/01 U2 #24 (Elevation #9)

• up at 3:30a; took pillow + blanket to queue
• number 20 written on my hand by Val's friends (first in line); all stood up to move up for 1st wristbands only to wait
• 3:00p - still no wristbands; only one wristband to be given. Rumors of Bono's father passing. True 4pm :(

• solid wristband = neon green
• checkered wristband = neon orange (only 3:45p)
• speculation on band canceling show due to Bob Hewson's death but show went on :)
  

Wed 8/22/01 U2 #25 (Elevation #10)

• chose to sleep until 1pm and take time getting ready (it's 3pm now :)
• sick of waiting in line and not making it to 1st row; so juvenile & negative some of these people and my Highly Sensitive Person trait is kicking in
• MET LARRY, U2's drummer; autograph, photograph!!

IRELAND

Thu 8/23/01

• flew to Dublin, Ireland w/Heather McCorkindale, who I've known since 2nd grade, from London airport
  
• as I was saying to her, "All that you can't leave behind" (U2's current album title) in reference to our luggage, Chris Starr heard me! So we bumped into him + met Patrick (Pat)
  
• I decided to stay with Chris + Pat in the Temple University dorm!
• went to our first Ireland pub

Fri 8/24/01

• went to Temple Bar area w/Chris + Pat to meet Heather + Frankie (whom she and I met during the Popmart Tour 1997)
• just as I really started to stress about getting my Slane ticket from Valerie, I ran into her + burst into happy tears
• went to a pub; Heather cried w/joy; I saw London fans outside

Sat 8/25/01 U2 #26 (Elevation #11)

• took bus to Slane w/Pat + Chris around noon
• Got there around 2pm
• t-shirts already sold out @ 3pm!
• put on different wristbands and got into VIP Slane Castle area! Stayed and drank all day until U2 came on
• ran thru/tripping over the crowd (threw things at us) + got in the heart :):)

Sun 8/26/01

• last night stayed in hotel instead of dorm, found out Aaliyah died yesterday
• was supposed to meet Val, etc @ The Kitchen (U2's bar) but Chris + Pat flaked and I didn't feel like venturing out alone; had a meltdown in my separate dorm bedroom :(
  

Mon 8/27/01

(RETURN HOME)

• met U2concerts.com employee! [see 11/15 below]

Mon 11/12/01 U2 #27 (Elevation #12)

• rented a car and drove to L.A. (in the pouring rain for the first half)
• saw show with Heather, Chris, etc.
• Courtney (Captive from "Exit") got on stage to play guitar! We waived at each other.

Tue 11/13/01 U2 #28 (Elevation #13)

• went to second show w/Chris w/o tix. He introduced me to his friend, Dana.
  
• Dana walked up to a stranger asking if he had extra tix for sale. He turned out to be the President of Vegas.com and gave us SIX luxury suite tix for FREE!!!
• a guy in the parking lot w/a neon U2 sign on his car gave me a bunch of small laminated U2 posters

Wed 11/14/01

• drove home from L.A. w/Chris

Thu 11/15/01 U2 #29 (Elevation #14)

• hosted U2concerts.com pre-party @ The Field in North Beach/SF and saw show w/Lori, Chris, Nikos

Fri 11/16/01 U2 #30 (Elevation #15)

• hosted U2concerts.com pre-party @ The Irish Bank in downtown SF and saw show w/Annie, Alex, Chris
• after No Doubt opened, Gwen Stefani was in the heart and patted Annie's 7-mo pregnant belly

Sun 11/18/01 U2 #31 (Elevation #16)

• hosted U2concerts.com pre-party @ The Field in North Beach/SF and saw show w/Lori, Chris, Nikos

Mon 11/19/01 U2 #32 (Elevation #17)

• rented another car and drove back to L.A. w/Chris and saw show

Tue 11/20/01 U2 #33 (Elevation #18)

• rented a different car and drove alone to Sacto and saw show w/Lori, Gail, and also Kent + Todd
  

SECOND LEG

U2 came to North America, starting in Chicago, on 9/12/09. We are seeing U2 in Vegas and Los Angeles at the end of October. (We sold our tickets for Vancouver, the finale, deciding that part of the trip was too expensive for only one show.)

ENGLAND (ending)/New York

SUNDAY 8/16: Up at 4:30a. Leave hotel at 5:45a. Cab to airport. Just before walking inside I say "BYE BYE EUROPE!" Go to Costa Cafe in airport to have the advertised Gingerbread Latte (soooooooo good!), plus a handmade free-range egg sandwich. Nick has a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Nick and I are in tears, laughing about this pic I took of him where he looks like a mole (living in a hole, digging up my soul now, going down, excavation....)!

On airplane from Lon to NY, I put the headphones on to listen to an 80s station and "London Calling" by The Clash plays first!

In NY, we have a 3-hour layover and decide to tram to downtown Manhattan, expecting it will take an hour there, we'll have an hour there, and an hour to get back. Then we realize we are on the subway for nearly 90 minutes and not yet in downtown Manhattan, so we get out and wait on the other side to go back. It's 90 degrees and even hotter at the subway stop. At one point a train on the original side stopped and the driver tried telling us something. I nudged Nick that she was saying something, which I couldn't hear, but he couldn't hear me either. As others started walking away, we spot a sign that says a certain line is not running this weekend. We have to exit, take the Uptown to a Brooklyn Bridge stop, and transfer to the J and then back to the A and back to the airport tram. Everyone and their grandmother was going to Rockaway Beach. We could not believe how crowded it was! All I could think was that I do NOT get the hoopla about NY! Of course our flight was departing from the last terminal (number 8). Our flight was scheduled to depart at 3:10p. We went through security, ran, and arrived just at that time, but the plane was gone. Fortunately, we made the standby for a flight a few hours later.

SATURDAY 8/15: Up at 4:00a. In line by 6:00a. We have to get numbers in both lines (because we can't pick up our tickets at will-call until 11:00a which indicate where to enter the stadium) and separate temporarily, Nick staying in one line, me staying in the other. We're numbers 14 & 15 in the F line and numbers 42 & 43 in the B/C line. I talked to a security guy named Fez! First I asked him if he knew there is a song on U2's current album called Fez - Being Born although they don't play it live? He did not know. Found out that the B/C line is bigger because the entrance has a 9,000 capacity whereas the F line entrance has only a 6,000 capacity. At 10:00a Nick leaves for the will-call queue, will-call opening at 11:00a again. We are disappointed to find out our tickets are for the B/C line, and I move out of the F line around 11:15a, along with some other fans in the same predicament, saying goodbye to some nice fans I met. One woman is an attorney with the Global Fund and shows me this incredible photo of herself with Bono in Rwanda! Luckily, I have been passing out my U2 "business cards" left and right--it makes it easier to say goodbye.

In the new line, I hold our place while Nick checks out of Wembley Plaza and into Hotel Ibis next door, since the Plaza's rates went up too high for that Saturday night. As I wait, I notice the clouds drifting by in the sky...something I love to do as an in-the-moment check on vacation. Luckily, Nick's friend Tom is in line with me. They met at the Tokyo shows, which I could not go to due to my first semester in law school on the 2006 tour. Ironically, it was just before the Hawaii show (which was just after the Tokyo shows) when Nick and I started dating. Our friend Z is there too, and also Lana. Later, Nick and I take separate hotel room breaks to change and freshen up for the show.

U2 LON 2
(Brono #72, Nick #43 - to match his number in line :)
PHOTOS
VIDEO including Bono singing to us
Bono-only video below

Being further in line than yesterday is frustrating with people lining up too close as the stadium doors open. We start to run and realize we have to go back for pitch wristbands, which we did not need yesterday. Security is plentiful and slow but we finally run to the front row of the outer rail, for which we were aiming. But, we end up more Edge side than Bono than I wanted to be, and I start to cry. I realize I am spoiled, tired, and partly my tears are about our trip ending and this being our last summer show.

We end up standing next to these French fans half our age, a gal and two guys. Laetitia is crying at the same time I am. I ask her what is wrong and she replies, "It's my last show this year!" Nick takes a funny picture of me and her bawling together. The guy (Benjamin) next to her is someone Nick recognizes from a PHOTO he took of Bono at Dublin 3. Ben is the front row guy in glasses. When Nick tells Ben, he is so appreciative! We give Ben our cards, and Ben tells the joke, "What is the difference between God & Bono? Bono exists!" This is now my favorite joke in the world!

Why don't I trust that things are meant to be as they happen? Bono ends up kneeling and singing the intro to BD right in front of us again, just like in Germany, even though it's not the center of the row! VIDEO of Bono singing to us and blip of Vertigo (although the camera never quite lands on me, Nick, or Tom, but you can see Benjamin, Laetitia, and Zbych w/Elmo). Check out this youtube VIDEO called "Highlight Moment" of I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

Laetitia and Ben and Ben's other guy friend are all crying through most of the show! We've seen fans cry before but this is just so touching! I lose it during Where The Streets Have No Name for the first time on this tour. During One, our entire row is arm and arm, swaying to and fro. During the Desmond Tutu speech, our little group tries to follow along with his words, and we end up laughing hysterically. After the ended I embraced Fran for a long period because she kept crying. I told her she reminded me of myself at her age.

Then Tom, Lana, Nick and I go for a post-show beer (thanks Tom!) at our hotel bar, which is packed with U2 fans. It's nice they allow us and other fans to stand outside the bar near the street with the beers. We say goodbye to Lana and Tom as they walk to the Underground together. Nick and I go right to sleep as we have to get up early for our flight home.

FRIDAY 8/14: Went on Internet while Nick slept in. Went to will-call window line at 10:30a with will-call expecting to open at 11:00a. Met Manuel, a U2 fan Nick met online. By 12:30p, we went to the Red Zone 1 doors. We were 1st & 2nd in that line! We had fun meeting others, particularly Tracy and Richard, with whom we did a ticket exchange. Wembley was the first venue to have a self-scanning process for the tickets. It was such a rush running to front row center again.

U2 LON 1
(Brono #71, Nick #42 - to match his age :)
VIDEO
PHOTOS

Bono was ON FIRE! I think he enjoyed the show more than the rest of the band and the audience combined! Nick said he'd never seen Bono work so hard and earlier in the tour Nick was saying Bono seemed tired. Before No Line On The Horizon, he said, "Ali Baba!" which Eleonora said refers to his spouse Ali. Chris Starr calls Ali my new best friend since Nick and I've met her three times. At one point Bono indicated he wanted a flag on stage and like half a dozen were thrown up there. Nick notices that if they play Elevation, Bono first says into the microphone, "Going up!"

THURSDAY 8/13: Breakfast and check out by 7:45a. Walk to bus station across the street and take bus to airport. The bus ride out of town is similarly scenic as the train ride into town. Bye beautiful Ljubljana!

Fly to London. Hour bus ride plus take Underground to Wembley Plaza hotel. Immediately go to stadium, which is right next door, to meet fans Nick met online for ticket exchange at the will-call window. But there are problems and no meetings occur at this time. Go to pub to eat. I have a Caesar salad and Nick has chicken yakitori, plus two Foster's beers. And for once we get a second beer, because of the happy-hour prices.

Take swim in the hotel's lovely heated pool and jacuzzi!! And take a sauna and steam bath!! Sleep like babies. Wait, Nick and I ask...don't babies wake up every few hours? Haha.

Slovenia (only non-U2 stop)

WEDNESDAY 8/12: Breakfast. 11:00a bus to Postojnska Jama, the largest cave in Europe! Have lunch and beer at a cafe there afterward. Go to bus station and see we have a half hour wait. Decide to get ice cream but when we walk in the shop a very young boy tries to pickpocket me! Very shocked, I turn around at him and ask him what he is doing. He looks guilty but I can tell he does not speak English. Nick is not aware of what's going on so I follow Nick to the ice cream freezer. I turn to the boy and sternly say, "Don't do that, ever again" whether he can understand me or not. Then I catch the eye of the man behind the counter who might be his father, who also looks guilty. I decide I am not patronizing their store. I say out loud, "I'm outta here" and I walk out in a huff.

Bus home. Go on the Internet for a few hours. Nick naps. Go out but instead of eating we decide to take a break from each other. I go back to the room, get his camera, walk back and take like 50 pictures of the river at night! I go to bed by 11:30p alone in room. Nick uses Internet in lobby until about 1:00a.

TUESDAY 8/11: Breakfast. Have to ask for the champagne to be opened, again. Decide to rest and take the 1:00p train from Zagreb, Croatia to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Have trouble finding seats but a nice older couple let us have the extra one in their cabin. Nick stands for the first hour and I stand for the second. I sooooo enjoy sticking my head out the window and watching the countryside as we train, sometimes fast, sometimes slowly, through a lush valley with a super cute house here and there. Sometimes the sun is beaming on my face and sometimes there are interesting cloud shadows on the beautiful mountains. In Nick's words in an email to our parents, ". . . passing through gorgeous open fields dotted with well-kept, freshly painted homes with bright red roofs, then continued via a deep gorge as a rainstorm pelted us with refreshing water as I chatted with a retired British school teacher from Dorset who had just come from Romania where he and his spouse helped set up a foster home for all the poor orphans there."

Drinks and dinner at a restaurant called The River on the river. Internet time. I'm to bed around midnight, Nick 1:00a.

CROATIA

PHOTOS
VIDEO

MONDAY 8/10: Intend to get up early again, but don't, again. Have breakfast. This time I have to ask for the champagne to be opened! Use the internet room in the lobby because our room internet is not working. Take nap, intending to go back to The Regent by 3:00p to try and meet U2. We are running late and just as we are leaving our hotel room we get a text from Eleonora that U2 already came out. Apparently U2 signed some autographs except Larry only shook hands and the Croatian crowd, including media, was said to be very pushy. See video of what we missed. (Note, there is a couple with a heart-shaped globe. They also have a U2/Zoo Station sign, so they must be the culprits of hanging those signs at bus stops!)

I become very annoyed that we were so close to meeting them. Twenty five years of following U2 and I only have one autograph--ironically Larry's--who is the hardest to pin down. Nick consoles me as we walk to town for lunch. We decide to treat ourselves to Restaurant Agava, which we spotted the other night (taking a photo because it was so cute) and it has outside tables on two levels. We score a table on the top level which gives a birds-eye view of the old town. I order penne pasta with smoked ham, cherry tomatoes, and cream sauce. Nick orders dalmation stuffed steak with gnocchi. And we get cold beers (not warm like it is sometimes served here). We are SO thrilled with our dishes that we feel like yelling "COME UP HERE!" to all the passers-by who are taking pictures and contemplating whether to eat there.

Back to room to change on our way to the tram.

U2 ZAG 2
(Brono #70, Nick #41)

Get beers. Try just walking in the Inner Circle, past security, and it works! But we decide to leave and get stamped to come back later because the crowd is too pushy and walking back and forth constantly. Before the show, the crowd does a "wave" over and over. The waves before U2 concerts in Europe have been incredible! We enjoy sitting on the Red Zone steps and running down to the Inner Circle only during songs where the band comes to the catwalk at the back and side of the stage.

SUNDAY 8/9: Another complimentary breakfast, this time with champagne! Have a leisure morning since it is super hot. Check the beautiful Regent Hotel for U2 but don't see any fans. Tram to venue to see our friends (Eleonora, Brad, Joe) in line. Tram back to The Regent and this time see a few guys with a video camera. Ask them if they're there to see U2 and they nod and tell us they were a news team. So we decide to stay and try to meet U2. Meet a fan named John who has made an unpublished book of U2 photos. He has made four different books with a different bandmember on the cover and has everyone's autograph except Larry's. See Brad's partner, Jaynie, as they are staying at The Regent. Have a martini with her at the 1925 bar inside The Regent while Nick stays outside in case there is a U2 sighting. No U2 by 6:00p so we give up.

Change at hotel. Tram to venue. Enjoy late-in-the-day crowd. Tram ends at sooner point than usual and the street is closed so fans can walk freely. Bars are blasting U2. Eat quickly at McD's.

U2 ZAG 1
(Brono #69, Nick #40)

U2's first time playing in Croatia! Buy beers at venue. Get let in Inner Circle by security guy who called us over! We are so relieved since we could have waited in line with our friends but skipped it because of the heat and trying to meet U2. During No Line on the Horizon, Nick sticks his tongue in my ear during the lyric "then she put her tongue in my ear, oh ohhhh" which is funny since I usually have ear plugs in. Nick and I feel a bit bored tonight at the show. But at least we got to see Joe after the show while we were all still in the circle. See second to last PIC on Joe's U2 Queue page!

Walk out via street still closed. No tram so have to walk all the way home with everyone. Our feet are killing us, as usual. Go back to The Regent. See too many fans waiting for U2. Decide to leave because we are hungry and tired. See Brad and Jaynie on our way out.

SATURDAY 8/8: HAPPY 48th BIRTHDAY, THE EDGE!

Wake up at 6:00a. Get off train by 7:00a (half hour delay) in Vienna. Cab to other train station. Realize that we could have transferred at another train station without taking a cab! Have seats in cabin with others for 6-hour ride. Toward end of ride, realize a guy (Philippino Joe from Canada) in our cabin is following U2 also. Check out his blog.

Walk to Best Western Premier Astoria two blocks from the train station in Zagreb. Appreciate showering(!) and walk to town. It is hard to find a place which offers more than drinks! Have soup, salad, pizza, and beer. Take romantic walk and kiss in beautiful 30 Celsius (about 85 degrees Fahrenheit). Get ice cream.

Use internet in room. I fall asleep around 11:00p. Nick not to be until about 3:00a.

POLAND

PHOTOS

FRIDAY 8/7: For once we go to breakfast before we shower! Bus to town, then walk to train station, and take 2-hour ride to Krakow (pronounced Kra-kuff). Discover a ticket mishap per the conducter...either we were given the wrong tickets or we're on the wrong train. Luckily, we simply paid for the train we were on and got a refund for the others.

Downtown Krakow is quintessential in what you picture a romantic day in Europe to be. There are horses on carriages (although both Nick and I have issues with that) on the main square. And there are also some weird things going on, like this one really tall man, painted black and he's wearing horns and fur and people are paying him to have their picture taken with me as he growls in their ear. It's really nice (hot/warm) weather. Dinner and beer at patio restaurant (chicken strogonoff for me, which is not what you think, and chicken and rice and peas for Nick). Walk around church and see view of city including a hot air balloon. Train and bus to hotel to get our luggage. Then cab to train station. Leave at 11:50p for an all-night trip to Croatia. We're pleased to find that we have a private cabin with a "couchette" (two bunk beds).

THURSDAY 8/6: Up at 6:00a. Have complimentary breakfast. Bus to Chorzow (pronounced Hor-juff), then train to stadium by 8:00a. Security writes numbers 141 & 142 on our hands. Lots of U2 t-shirts warn by fans. Interesting to hear all the Polish spoken. See some people greeting each other with three kisses. I so love to see the 3-kiss style that exists in Europe. It is a seemingly younger crowd than other cities.

We see Z who was in the second row behind us at A'dam 2. He is in charge of getting the audience to hold red (floor tickets) and white (seats) cards during New Year's Day ("NYD"), a song in part about Poland. He has two phones in his hand when I greet him and cannot believe the amount of calls he is receiving. Later, he runs over to us while we're sitting under a tree to escape the sun and asks if he can borrow us. He says a TV station has interviewed him and now they want to interview foreign fans! Nick and I are interviewed! POLISH NEWS VIDEO (click on second video called U2 Na Stadionie Slaskim to see us--our interview starts around 1 minute, 7 seconds; the first video is our friend Z). The Polish translator drowns out our voices. View the video just below to see the English version :)

We take lots of pix and a few videos of the spirited crowd. Fans and newspaper articles seem to love Bono in particular.

U2 CHO
(Brono #68, Nick #39)
VIDEO of line during day, our news interviews in English, and 2 songs of concert including NYD
VIDEO OF NYD that Nick lured me to Poland with, and it's posted by our new friend Z!

Problems with scanner again but Nick secures front row Adam on the outer rail. I go back out to the Blackberry station to get the free upload of U2's Mobile Album (current one) only to find out it is not available yet, so I have them sign me up online to be notified when it is. On the way back through the tunnel, as more fans are running for their lives, screaming with excitement, I find a bundle of red cards that someone had dropped. I grab it so we can use it during NYD. Meet Grazyna (Regina) and Marcin (Martin) from Warsaw in the front row. There is a full moon during the concert, and the red and white cards held up during NYD make it the most memorable NYD ever.

On the way home we hear U2's Bad blasting from an apartment window with a blue light downtown.

WEDNESDAY 8/5: Fly to Katowice (pronounced Cat-oh-veetz-ay). See smokestacks like in Ireland. Stop at train station to book red-eye train to Croatia for Friday night. Bus to Hotel Campanile. Walk to Town. Beer & dinner. Walk to mall and buy adaptor for laptop. Walk and tram back to hotel. Fall asleep right away.

Holland/GERMANY

TUESDAY 8/4: Enjoy a longer (complimentary) breakfast this morning, bumping into Cathal again. We decide to share a cab. It's really nice weather again today. Take a train to Duesseldorf and arrive at a really nice hotel room. Naps and computer time. Check a salon re a manicure for me but the manicurist is not there. I've broken four nails by now, but have to forge on. Walk through park to a boardwalk. I'm thinking that Germany is my favorite place on this trip so far (besides Ireland which will always have a special place in my heart)! Have beer and dinner. But it's so hot that we decide to go back to the room for another nap. Nick calls his parents to have them call him back and he has me talk to them too. Go back out late for Thai dinner. Take beer out to the steps by the water where people are hanging out, very drunk, singing and playing guitar. Great atmosphere!

MONDAY 8/3: Enjoy breakfast, including Nutella and salami (although not together :) included with our room for once!! During breakfast we hear a U2 contest (and Vertigo) in German on the radio in the restaurant.

About 7am, get in line at stadium, numbers 12 and 13. We hear there are many lines. See our friend Eleonora who is number 23. Nick decides to go back to the room to rest. I hold our spots in line and Eleonora joins me. She gives me back my pen that she borrowed in Amsterdam. Bono used it to sign his autograph for her on her concert ticket! Watch security set up the steel barriers for the line. All day there are annoying wasps flying around us. Nick, feeling better, returns to the line. I go back to the room to drop off our stuff and change--it has become quite hot.

U2 GEL
(Brono #67, Nick #38)
PHOTOS
VIDEO including Bono closeup
(Bono-only video below)

Nick secures front row center spots on the outer rail. It is his first time being there. We meet a young woman named Manja who is holding up a sign reading, "Larry, U Can drop your sticks right HERE." (See pix above to see it.) At the end of Magnificent, Bono kneels right in front of us to dry his face with a towel, drink some water, and compose himself for Beautiful Day ("BD"). Tears stream down my face as he is right there. I reach out of my hand and say "love you" several times. Everyone is pressed up against us and one guy keeps screaming "Bono!" with a funny scratchy voice. Then Bono begins the intro to BD. He sings, "I looooove youuuu" and I, not realizing that this is a specific intro each night, think he's repeating/singing back to what I'm saying to him! As he rises to his feet, he smiles at me before he turns around to walk to the catwalk ladder where he sits down and sings the beginning words of BD. Listen to my funny screaming too! VIDEO of Bono closeup only

After the show, Nick and I see a stand selling tall cold cans of beer. We buy two and realize it is tequila-flavored beer, which is quite good! The traffic exiting the lots is like nothing we've seen in a long time. We happily stroll through all the cars, parked but trying to drive, with our beers on back to our hotel room. Burger King (right outside our hotel) is packed. We laugh at some guys trying to walk up to the drive-thru. We go to our room a bit concerned about the noise but we fall asleep right away, smiling that we are in a bed and those outside are not....

SUNDAY 8/2: Fly back to Amsterdam to connect with a train to Gelsenkirchen. At airport we get in line right behind Courtney, a mutual acquaintance. I met her in a U2 line in London in 2001. Her nickname is Captive and she was The Edge in an all-gal U2 tribute band called Exit, in Los Angeles. Now Exit is doing their own music but still does a few U2 covers each night as I understand it.

Had an hour wait time so we cruised to downtown Amsterdam to take a few pix and visit a cafe, since our photos got accidentally deleted from 7/22 and we didn't make it to a cafe that day because we were so tired.

The train to Germany took 2.5 hours. Can I just say...I LOVE TRAIN RIDES. My first one in Europe was in 2000 in France. There is just nothing like traveling via an old mode of transportation through lush forests and seeing people's backyards, etc.

See paper flowers hanging from the ceiling at the train station! Get in a cab to hear I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Arrive at Arena Hotel. Super cute room with mini bags of mini gummy bears on the bed. Watch The Simpsons in German on TV.

Go to Burger King right outside our hotel room and order beers (with straws) to go! Walk around outside of stadium, mentally preparing for the line the next day. I keep saying to myself, "You're in Germany!"

That night Nick and I enjoy the twin beds that are put together on one mattress spring. We think this is the solution! A way for couples to enjoy sleeping separately yet together!

BLAST FROM THE PAST (photo links 2005)

These links are in my Vertigo Tour Diary but the links are embedded so you might not have noticed them before. Here they are for easy access:

U2 UK 2005 (regular camera)

U2 UK 2005 (camera phone)

Last Day in Dublin 7/24/05

Ireland 7/3/05 (Bono's house and beach below)

U2 Dublin & Live-8 London 2005 (by Lana)

IRELAND

SATURDAY 8/1: Take Day Tours Unplugged bus to the Wicklow Mountains. Hear U2 & Enya on the bus. Find out Enya lives near Bono. Her house was broken into recently, when she wasn't there luckily, so her security is doubled. Stop at Fishing Village. See lots of sheep! Pass through Roundwood, the highest village in Ireland. Much of the land looks like patchwork, like it did as I was looking out the airplane window when I first flew to Ireland in 2001. Stop at a B&B by a river with a beautiful bridge. I'm starting to see the magic I always thought Ireland would be. Arrive in Glendalough (pronounced Glendalock), which means valley of the two lakes. There are some gorgeous old castle-like buildings here. Walk around lake. Have lunch at pub, including Guinness with a new appreciation as we have found out that the color (deep red) of Guinness matches the water in the mountains. (Check out the pictures, coming soon, to see what I mean.) Hear the end of a song from U2's Rattle & Hum but I don't know which one! Also hear U2's Ground Beneath Her Feet.

One last Guinness at our hotel lounge. Then bus to Dublin Airport Hotel.

FRIDAY 7/31: Plan to take bus to Galway (the Irish version of my Scottish last name Galloway, which is actually my paternal grandmother's surname, not my father's) but go to internet cafe and find out it is 'Race Week' and all hotels are booked. Decide to stay in Dublin. Have pint and sandwich at Fitzgerald's Pub. On way to our next excursion we notice that there is an old city wall still up and we realize what Bono sings about in I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Go on Guinness Storehouse tour during the 250th anniversary including free pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar on top which has a 360 view. Hmm...360 view, 250 anniversary...while following U2 on their 360 Tour? Smiles. Back to internet cafe and room for quick break. Then to Mount Temple Comprehensive (high school) where U2 met and where Larry Mullen Jr (U2/drummer) posted a note on the school notice board looking to form a band. Then to Howth (like Sausalito) to see the Presbyterian Church where U2 first played on 3/20/78 as U2, having changed their name from The Hype before they played their last set for the night. Later, we found out that Bono's father's funeral was there on 8/24/01 (and I saw U2 Slane on 8/25/01). It's very drizzly and windy, which makes our visit very atmospheric, almost eerie. On the way home see up close the smokestacks of the Dublin Power Station, seen at the beginning of the Pride (In The Name Of Love) VIDEO and the movie Rattle & Hum. Take DART back, get food, and take a bath.

THURSDAY 7/30: Thankfully, we do laundry at Philip's house, which cures my smelly sweater problem! Say goodbye to Catherine and Austin. Philip drives us to town and holds our luggage in his boot (trunk). McD's for 'Mayo Chickens' and fries. Then buy tix for Open Top Hop On/Hop Off bus around Belfast. Sit on top on left in a two-seater in blazing sun. But just a few minutes later it rains so we go downstairs. Then we go right back up after it stops raining. Find out Belfast is now the no. 2 safest city in the world for tourists; Tokyo being the first. Get off at Shankill (pronounced Shank-ill) Road where several terrorist bombings occurred in pubs in the past and take pix of several memorial sites. Get back on at St. Anne's Cathedral. Get off and have pints of Guinness before meeting Philip in bus station parking lot to get luggage. Bus back to Dublin. Find room at a seemingly historical Ripley Court Hotel (A nod to Lori M's daughter, Riley, since Ripley is my nickname for her!) The hotel was almost right across from the bus station and down the street from the Bonavox Store!

WEDNESDAY 7/29: Take 2.5-hour bus ride from Dublin to Belfast (the same distance from SF to Santa Rosa). Have a pint of Belfast Ale in a private booth at the Crown Bar across the street from the bus station. Philip (who I met online several years ago via his site and he also visited me in SF) picks us up and drives us to his super cute house to meet Catherine, his spouse (they met on U2.com like the couple we met at Dub3!), and Austin, their 7-month-old son, who I adore. Out for Coronas & Mexican food which Catherine is craving, having grown up in Austin, Texas. Sleep very well in their guest room, which is like a room in a B&B.

TUESDAY 7/28: Discover my favorite black sweater is REALLY smelly (like mildew) from washing and drying it in our hotel room. Change because Nick won't sit next to me if I wear the sweater, haha. Bus to town and take Nick to Windmill Lane, where U2's first studio was. Show him wall of graffiti. Buy marker and autograph it. Meet a fan named Claudio from Spain and walk with him to Hanover Quay (pronounced key), U2's current studio, which is set to close down at some point soon. Then take Nick on train to Dalkey & Killiney, where Edge and Bono live respectively but their houses are virtually a 'stone's throw' from each other. Have trouble finding Edge's house again, but I don't think anyone's had luck with that. Then find Bono's house again. Meet two fans, one from Australia, the other from Los Angeles. Take Nick down path to beach below Bono's house. Take great pix and videos. Walk back to train station but stop at Finnegan's first, where Bono frequents, hoping to eat, but they only serve beer (so typical in Ireland!). Get on train, get Asian take-away food and walk home. A REALLY GOOD DAY.

MONDAY 7/27: Leave for Croke Park at about noon. Get lunch to go. Find out where will-call is. Nick goes to pick up our tix while I wait and eat by the Park entrance. A couple sitting there offer me a beer and we laugh at this security 'steward' who is trying to unload the Aung San Suu Kyi masks that Bono wants concertgoers to wear or hold up during Walk On. Nick comes back when I had just opened my beer, so he decides to go on in and get in line. As I'm finishing my beer, I see Jovita and we go to the entrance together. I enter and an older steward calls me 'cutie' in a great Irish accent. Jovita and Nick and I exchange money and tickets. Then Nick and I go back to the line where two guys are saving our place. We hear U2 soundcheck Drowning Man! At 4:00p as we start to go through the turnstiles to get our tickets scanned, the scanner fails! Everyone starts freaking out as some fans are let in and others are held back. We hear security on their walkie-talkies about how there might be a riot so all lines better be held up until all scanners work again. Finally the scanners work again.

U2 DUB 3
(Brono #66, Nick #37)
PHOTOS
VIDEO

We make it inside the pit on the center of the back of the rail, a place we have been curious about. Nick takes a photo (see photo link below) of a double rainbow! It ends up being our best audience experience and we see the visuals that we have missed while being on or closer to the front rail. We meet a really nice guy next to us called Mark, who says he met his spouse on U2.com! Start drinking our 'lunch' juices during With Or Without You, only to freak out when they do the 'shine like stars' coda! In Chris Starr's words, it is the "starry version." Great way for him to exit the U2 tour this summer before heading back to Ohio with our buddy Pat O'Boyle. The three of us did a trip together to see the first of two U2 concerts at Slane Castle in 2001, the day after Bono buried his father! See my blog entry where I include links to photos from that and other U2 trips.

SUNDAY 7/26: Woke up at 9:00a and began working on blog. Nick slept till 1:00p. Draw us a bath! While our legs and feet feel good after a night's sleep, they needed a hot soak. Finally get on bus to downtown. Look for will-call for Monday night's tickets but can't find it and security is no help. See fans lining up overnight already! Walk to O'Connell Street at 5:00p for some Guinness, finally--luckily it's light until like 10p in Europe! Find 2-for-1 Italian restaurant. Get draught Heinekens. Penne with cream sauce for me, spaghetti for Nick. Take Nick to Clarence Hotel, which U2 owns, and order Guinnesses at the Octagon Bar there. Run into Vik, a fan who was in front of us last night, pogo-ing and waving his arm often. Tease him about that. Meet his friends, a married couple named Heather and Nick! Heather graduated from Novato High in 88! Then see Dan and Fiona, friends of Nick from U2-Interference. Then Chris Starr strolls in, looking for me since he doesn't have a cell phone in Europe. Chris, Nick and I go to the Temple Bar and I buy three Guinness. Later I realize that they charged me $14 each!!! Took some great picks while drinking outside (it's allowed and it's so nice)! Then Nick and I walked back to our hotel, like an hour and 15 mins!

SATURDAY 7/25: Wake up to alarm at 6:15a. I think I'm sleeping for a few minutes and suddenly it's 7:30a. Leaving early fails again and we don't get to bus stop until 10:00a. We make it to the back of the second line, less than 500 fans--not bad for late in the morning. At one point I talked to my online boss, Brad Barros, on the phone. He had VIP tickets for the night (didn't end up having a pint with them as I'd hoped). Then Lana joined us in line. Okay now, for all those who give me s--- for following U2 (75 times since 1984 by the end of this October)....................we met a native Dubliner named Martin who has been following U2 since 1979 and has seen them 733 times! I told him I wanted to give him one of my "U2" business cards and he asked for FOUR and I was happy to oblige! Then we see Barbara who Nick and I both met (but he and I didn't know each other yet) on the 2005 tour. She is an anthropology professor doing a dissertation on, would you believe, the subculture of U2 General Admission lines. In trying to find out how many Irish were in the line, she inquired with the first 778 fans. Only 29 were natives in Ireland.

U2 DUB 2
(Brono #65, Nick #36)
PHOTOS
VIDEO

Lana and Nick and I end up second row between Bono and Adam in the Inner Circle. It rained a bit but a hoodie sufficed. We really liked the beginning of the show. Nick loved the version of Beautiful Day, and Mysterious Ways got me crying when Bono brought a Chilean gal with a flag on stage. She's wearing a green shamrock shirt that reads, "Lucky Me." But the rest of the setlist seemed to go downhill after Unknown Caller except Unforgettable Fire, although it was sweet to see Bono cry during Where The Streets Have No Name. I love when he cries!

We find outhouses after the show, thank goodness. We had planned to go for a pint after but we decided we needed to get the bus in case it didn't run late as our legs and feet were killing us!! When we got home we lied on my bed (we have two singles here!) cozily and finally posted some pix.

FRIDAY 7/24: Again we had planned to get up at 5:00a and be in the U2 line at 6:00a, but we decide not to because we need rest and it's raining, plus we heard a line started overnight at 8:00p which didn't happen in Amsterdam. At 3:30p we take a 10-minute bus ride to the stadium. Get food at Subway. As we're about to get in the back of the line on St. James Avenue, we see Chris Starr in the middle of the line and join him. It's Nick and Chris's first time meeting in person but they feel like they've met before since they've been friends on Facebook through me and are huge U2 fans.

U2 DUB 1
(Brono #64, Nick #35)
PHOTOS Be sure to see the first photo, by Nick, which was featured as "Photo of the Day" on Webshots.com on 9/2/09 (Chris's 40th birthday)!
VIDEO

Even that late we still end up in the Inner Circle, about 4th row Edge. It rained a bit but security wouldn't let me use my umbrella. Chris and I have a great time being together at a U2 show for the first time in four years. Nick enjoys hanging with us as the original co-pilots but now we're three musketeers. We also see Eleonora on the Adam side. After the show we buy a soda and hot dog and hamburgers and wait for the bus which doesn't seem to come. We decide to walk but then the bus flies by us while we're walking! Walk on (home). Asleep by 1:15a.

THURSDAY 7/23: Only 3.5 hours sleep. Fly to Dublin at 1:10p. Nick's first time in Ireland! See Claudia and Jovita at the airport. Jovita was kind enough to buy me a new power cord for my laptop and I reimbursed her. Check into Ardmore Hotel in Tolka Valley at 3:00p. We discover that even though I have a new power cord, now Nick's adaptor doesn't work on my computer plug! Walk 45 minutes to town. First we peek into this small computer store and ask if they have an adaptor for my laptop. The gal says we can have the one she has behind the counter for free, as someone left it! Good omen! Then we walk into several pubs only to find all old men! Finally find an empty newer looking pub/restaurant called Red Windmill. Nick likes empty restaurants. I'd rather it be a little crowded but am fine with it at this point. We order two pints of Guinness (which Nick agrees is SO much better in Ireland) and this Cajun Chicken sandwich. THE BEST SANDWICH I HAVE EVER HAD. Fresh long mini baguette, fresh chicken and tomatoes and lettuce, and the best sauce ever!!! On walk home we buy water and snacks for our room. Then a bird shat on me! I ducked and it hit me in the back of my neck including under my bun and felt like a piece of fruit when it hit!!! This is after a bird shat on me at The Fillmore (but that's common, Nick says) on 7/7 before Duran Duran. Then we do some laundry by hand in the bathroom sink and tub.

HOLLAND

PHOTOS

WEDNESDAY 7/22: Claudia and I had our own hot chocolate packets so we went to the bar with mugs from our room and asked for hot water. A U2 medley started playing over the speaker! The only guy there, who was having a beer in the morning, pointed to the speaker and said he just got off work from the last two nights of U2 concerts. We told him how we were following U2, got his name, and said we'd see him in other cities. Then we had breakfast with Nick and Fernando, who dropped me and Nick off closer to downtown. Metro'd the rest of the way. We took a "Lovers" boat cruise for an hour around the canals---it was so lovely. Amsterdam is so much prettier than you think! And we see the slogan "I AMsterdam" everywhere.

Then we walked the dreaded Red Light District but I consider it feminist research. The first couple windows were not right next to each other and the women looked older, almost like SF drag queens, and it looked like they each had a little house. It didn't bother me too much. But then we went down this alley right in the middle of all the shops and it was window to window all these...young-looking girls! I thought the windows would be up high but they were right there on your level! I also thought the women would look sullen or drugged but they were mostly so pretty and confident. My mind started racing as to whether they were really this way or were they going to get beaten at the end of the day if they weren't. I thought my reaction would be anger or an intense interest, but instead I started to tear. I remembered that the U2 "Into the Heart" book on U2's song meanings suggests that the 1983 song Red Light from the War album could be addressed to one of the gals Bono observed in the windows of the flophouses in the Red Light District in Amsterdam! The good thing is that they use condoms and are tested and have a PANIC button! This is why prostitution should be legalized, but there are downsides to it being legalized too.

Nick and I decided it was time for a liter of draught Heineken and toasties at an outdoor cafe called De Haven, right on the canal surrounded by exquisite architecture. We were supposed to go to the Anne Frank museum but the line was too long. We were also supposed to party at a cafe but we decided not to stay since we were already walking around sometimes trying to close our eyes while we walked! Because we were that tired. That night I had a beer in the hotel bar with Claudia because I just needed to have another beer!

TUESDAY 7/21: Walked to U2's hotel, the Intercontinental. Saw Eleanora and met another guy. Waited for the band until 3:15p but then left. At 4:15p we found out that Bono signed his autograph for Eleanora with MY pen!

U2 A'DAM 2
(Brono #63, Nick #34)
VIDEO

Okay, we ended up getting FRONT ROW CENTER (my first time in that exact spot!). We meet Zbycha (who we call Z) and friends from Poland in the second row. When U2 played One, a song I thought I was sick of, I cried from beginning to end (perhaps because it was in the middle of the show instead of the end). Then they went straight into Until The End Of The World (just like on the Achtung Baby album) for this first time this tour, and I was leaning over the rail with my hands over my eyes and tears flying off my face. It was so hot but this nice security guy kept handing me a sponge from a bucket of cold water. U2 also played Bad and Elevation for the first time on this tour, which all made this the best setlist, possibly ever. And Bono during Ultraviolet (Light My Way) was jaw-dropping with his lit jacket and special microphone. At some point I could swear I heard a snippet of Drowning Man but it's not on the U2 Tours link above, yet it is listed on U2 Gigs!

MONDAY 7/20: Up around 8:00a. Nick worked out hotel reservation issues. So much for being in U2 A'dam 1 line at 6:00a! Walked to Amsterdam ArenA (yes, with a capital A at the end) by noon. Miriam from the SouthBay runs over to us! Then Nick and I got in line--we were below 1000 at least (about 3000 are allowed in Inner Circle). Meet up with Eleonora, a fan from Italy, to buy Nick's extra Germany concert ticket. Nick picks up tix for following night at will call and gets some stadium food for us. Then I get text from Lana, a Croatian fan I met in London in 2001 and we visit in line. I then meet a guy named Cathal selling a book called Me & U2. Nick realizes he knows him from U2 Interference! About midday a U2 store suddenly opens up to sell books, CDs, and posters and it's blasting one of U2's greatest hits CDs out to the crowded line.

U2 A'DAM 1
(Brono #62, Nick #33)
VIDEO

We made it in the Inner Circle. First we stood in the corner, front row on the rail behind the stage, to see the band come out. During the show we stood on Edge's side but couldn't see well. Nick only slept two hours and I was tired too but we still enjoyed ourselves. And it was good seeing Miriam again inside the show. We walked back to the hotel...good thing, as the cars were parked on the road. One car was filled with guys screaming all the lyrics to With Or Without You. We loved that!

SUNDAY 7/19 (cont'd): Take train to Central station. Transfer to the Metro. No bus! So walk to Mercure Hotel Aan de Amstel near the stadium in Amsterdam. Nick chivalrously lugs both roller suitcases in tow. Then major problems with check-in, which involved two rooms and four of our friends (Claudia, brothers Fernando and Roberto and their mom). I napped in the lobby while Nick dealt with it. Then we got to go to the computer room and play on the Internet for free while the hotel worked it out. Didn't get into hotel room to sleep until 1:00a. Nick was so worried...that he woke up at 3:00a for awhile which woke me up but then we went back to sleep.

ENGLAND (beginning)

THURSDAY 7/16: Fly to NY. Power cord to laptop (only 1.5 years old) breaks during layover, which will delay posting my blog and Nick's pix and videos. Then fly to London.

FRIDAY 7/17: Arrive 12:30p in London (3:30a PST). Take Underground and walk to Crowne Plaza Hotel. Take post intercontinental flight showers! Have dinner at Old Monk's Pub--goat cheese salad for me, chicken sandwich for Nick. Nick chooses the beers: Sundance (no doubt because we saw the U23D premiere there in 2008) and Peroni, in tall glasses. Shop for snacks--luckily we found Nature Valley Crunchy Granola bars, Canadian Maple Syrup flavor. (They are SO good that they become our sustenance when we don't have other food!) Walk in rain to visit Buckingham Palace which is near our hotel. In bed at 7:30p. Asleep by 8:30p but woke up a few hours each.

SATURDAY 7/18: Sleep till 11:30a! English breakfast (sunny side up eggs, canadian bacon, toast, and tomatoes or beans, and coffee or tea) at cafe. Then walk all over town, just to look--didn't do any rides or tours: Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey, Thames River, London Eye, 10 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Haymarket, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circle, and Oxford Street. Then dinner at a cafe (sandwich for Nick, salad for me, and smoothies). Then walk back to hotel via Hyde Park (where I saw Live-8 four years ago). We stay awake through middle of night.

SUNDAY 7/19: Up late. Breakfast at cute restaurant. Shop before leaving. Walk to Underground. Flight to Amsterdam delayed a bit.

BLAST FROM THE PAST (Vertigo Tour Diary 2005)

Check out my U2 diary from 2005 if you haven't. Details might be boring to some but it's a great record to refer back to. Feel free to give me input on what you like and don't like for that blog and the current one. Tx!

Laptop power cord broke

In New York during our layover, we discovered that my laptop power cord (only 1.5 years old) broke! So, I am having our friend Jovita bring me a new one in Dublin. It's Wednesday almost 2am. We fly to Ireland this Thursday. Once I have my new power cord, I'll update the blog and Nick can upload his pix and videos for which I will post a link.

Following the Tour

* = U2 concert

DEPART SF
THURSDAY JULY 16

July 17 & 18
London, England

July 19-22
Amsterdam, Holland**

July 23-August 2
Dublin, Ireland*** (with close to a week to see the countryside)

August 2-3
Gelsenkirchen, Germany*

August 4
Dusseldorf, Germany

August 5
Chorzow, Poland*

August 6-8
Krakow, Poland

August 9-10
Zagreb, Croatia**

August 11-12
Ljubljana, Slovenia

August 13-16
London, England (Wembley!**)
--We were also going to catch Michael Jackson at the 02 Arena :(

ARRIVE SF
SUNDAY, AUGUST 16

END OF OCTOBER
Aiming for Vegas, Pasadena, and Vancouver. I have to wait and see what my school schedule is, as I do have a few classes to finish up. (Note, U2 does not have a concert scheduled in the Bay Area for this leg.)