Ljubljana - Who knew?!

I never heard of Ljubljana before I booked my flight there to meet up with the band to play Metal Days Festival. I arrived 2 days before and hit rehearsals. Having had no sleep leading up to my flight there, my first night was fairly uneventful, and the next day was filled with costume washing, catching up on sleep, and booking future travel plans. I did venture out that night tho to grab something to eat. I of course had checked happycow.com and was pleased to see that Ljubljana had many veggie restaurants, unfortunately, it was late and they all seemed to close pretty early. I wanted to wander a bit anyway so I stopped at reception, grabbed a map and hit the street. 

Wow! What a great little city. Just a short walk from the hotel was the main street leading to the town square. The woman at reception told me "it's beautiful at night and people talk to each other there, face to face!". I laughed at her comment, but it was true that there was a friendly, festive feeling in the air. As I ventured further I noticed a lot of street art, and a cool creative city vibe for a pretty small town. Even better, I also noticed a sign that read "VEGAN" and stepped in to grab some grub. 

Available outside seating was limited to a large table, so when I sat I told the waiter I'd take the table and if anyone wants, they can join me. Minutes later a girl came along, was seated with me and we wound up hanging out the rest of the night. From Finland, she spoke excellent English and was about half my age and traveling alone for the first time. We swapped stories of travel and life, discussed theories regarding gender perception, how people treat each other, and how, if ever, society's deeply rooted thought processes can be altered. I was impressed. Barely in her twenties, she was the most intelligent person I've encountered in a long time. After hours of talking we said goodnight and I realized I never even got her name!

But back to the task at hand… Friday came and it was time to head to the venue. We took shuttle vans 2 and a half hours west, up the mountain to the fest. The ride was windey, bumpy, even a bit car-sickening, but the views were breathtaking. Blue skies over snow capped mountains in the distance; tree covered hills all around. The road followed the river which was a bright green color like no water I've seen before. Were we really headed to a metal show? Upon arrival, it just got better. I addition to the setting I just described, there was a beach where 2 rivers met. The temps were in the upper 80's and plenty of people were taking advantage of the cold water. Standing there on the rocky beach, I also had a metal bar with Testament playing over the PA behind me to my left, and a 24/7 vegan food truck behind me to my right. Could it get any better?! Lastly, back up by the dressing rooms, I watched all day as parachutes filled the sky. One after another parasailers launched from the peak directly behind the stage. At one point I counted 23 in the air. To me this seemed very similar to hangliding which I've always wanted to try. Between that, the great vibe in Ljubljana and everything I was loving about the fest, I pretty much spent all day planning to come back and take full advantage of them all :)

As quickly as we arrived tho it was time to leave. Most of us had early flights in the morning so we had to pack up and start driving right away. Another sleepless night of travel. Sorry fellow flyers for showing up with half my stage makeup still on - probably a pretty confusing sight for many so early in the morning!

I dunno anything about this door but I
want to find out!

Mike Wead hanging out at what is probably the prettiest
hotel terrace ever.

Pretty sweet spot to relax before the bands go on.

Awwwwww yea!

The small stage - saw Candlemass here at the end of the night.
Nothing like rocking out right in the middle of the woods :)

Sunny Days in Catalunya

One of the best parts of being in Catalunya over the break was that Andy and his family were also on vacation just down the road. Whenever I had the chance, I met up with him and his better half, Pernilla for some fun. It was a quite the change of pace swapping stage gear for bathing suits and hitting the beach with my metal family. Highlights - soaking up the sun, warm waves, cold cocktails - pretty much all we needed!

We did also take a drive, along with our guides Jordi and Albert, up to a couple really cool spots in the mountains. The first was to visit an ancient dolmen in the middle of a cork tree forrest. Let me tell you, cork trees make for a really cool forrest. Their twisted limbs and spotty color make for quite a gothic feeling atmosphere - quite magical! I was told to lay in the dolmen to feel the energy of spirits that had passed through, but with a group of people around I wasn't able to relax enough to really get into it. It would be an great spot to go back and hike tho. We also visited one more dolmen at the top of a mountain. The view from the peak was incredible! It was a hazy day but we could still see all of Spain (or close to it :) The ride to the top was also pretty cool - would be super fun on a motorcycle. If you go, just don't go with Albert because he drives like a maniac!

Chillin Platja d'Aro style.

Compliments of the 3rd best gin mixologist in the WORLD!

Cork trees :)

Dolmen de la Cova d'en Daina

At the top of Spain!

My last day on the beach - must get sun!

Quite possibly the best piña colada I've ever had 

- on the beach at Sant Feliu de Guixols.

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Livin It Up at the Hotel... Golf Costa Brava

I have been keeping myself busy in Spain hanging out at Hotel Golf Costa Brava. In exchange for hosting me I have been working on a blog for the hotel. It was so cool of the director, Albert, to let me stay here that I was happy to do whatever I could to get the place some attention. I like supporting good people in their business. I hope by writing the blog for the hotel I'll encourage other people to do the same.

Aside from life at the hotel, I have managed to get around town a bit. Jordi has carted me a few places and invited me along on a couple boat trips. His friend Jan has a small boat one town over in Sant Feliu de Guixols. Jan is a super nice guy who is doing waaaay better at learning a second language that I am. Earlier this year he didn't know a word of English. He went to England for 4 months and can now converse quite well. He was happy to have me to practice with and I was happy I didn't have to try and speak Spanish!

I actually told myself I would study Spanish the whole time I was in Europe. Not only useful in Spain, I decided after I visited Puerto Rico a while back that if I ever want to live anywhere warm, I should learn the language. Turns out, traveling with people who speak Danish, Swedish, French and Polish - and visiting a new country every few days where even other languages are spoken - does NOT make me want to try and concentrate on Spanish! On top of that, here on the East Coat of Spain the main language is Catalan, so my brain could not be more confused. Everyday my friend Carlos, the hotel's chef, tries to chat with me. He speaks Spanish, and while I am grateful for his friendship, our conversations are ridiculous. If it weren't for hand gestures and laughing, we wouldn't have much to communicate at all.

I don't know if the timing was coincidental or not, but the day after the verdict of the Zimmerman trial was announced, Carlos asked me "Philadelphia, mucho violencia?" I responded with "Sí", and it made me very sad. I have been to a lot of towns in the past couple months. The city girl in me is always on the look out for situations and places that don't seem safe. Back in Prague I started to wonder if I was cautious or paranoid. Do people here constantly scan the scene around them? because I keep doing it and finding no threat. Here I was, weeks later, again feeling safe and secure in my surroundings, struggling to chat with my new friend about anything we could understand with our limited common verbal ground, and we met in the middle over the violence in my home town. Don't get me wrong, I know there are far worse places in the world. It's just that when you are used to hearing about cars being broken into, people being robbed, gunfire in the hood, all happening on a daily basis, it becomes somewhat normal. Then when you're away from it for a while, and someone from a different continent points it out, you realize just how obviously abnormal it should be.

Anywhoooo, here are a couple pics of fun in Spain. There will be more coming, but others will be popping up on the hotel's blog over the next 4 months or so. They will be brief posts about the hotel and ventures I took while staying there. You can check it out at HGCBblog.wordpress.com

A blindingly sunny boat ride with Jordi and Jan.

A sweet spot to anchor.

A couple of cuties I had the pleasure of meeting one 

night. I've had almost no time with fuzzy ones in ages... 

was happy when this little guy jumped right in my lap!

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of this 

one's haircut!

Mi amigo Carlos.

CRACK! Ahhhhhh

So before I even got to Spain it was clear to me that Jordi was one of the nicest, most helpful people ever. First he talked to his friend about hosting me, then he offered to pick me up from the airport. Meanwhile, you might remember that not long before I headed to Spain my back went haywire. After some R+R in Brussels I was still in really bad shape. I had to email Jordi and Albert, my host, that I wasn't capable of doing a whole lot at the moment. We hadn't discussed exactly what kind of work I would be doing at the hotel, but I figured it would be some kind of physical labor, which there was no chance my back would agree to.

Albert responded by saying I should show up and consider myself a friend. Sleep in the next day, take it easy. Not only that, when I mentioned I would need to pick up an ice pack, he had one waiting for me when I arrived. I felt like such a jerk. Here was a total stranger doing me all kinds of favors and I was in too much pain to do anything in return. The next day, I said I thought I should see a chiropractor and Albert immediately made a phone call that lead to an appointment in 20 minutes - which, you guessed it, he drove me to.

Now, turned out this person wasn't a chiropractor but a massage therapist. I was doubtful it would be much help but after an hour I got up and walked away feeling a hell of a lot better. I was walking almost normally - it was so exciting! $40 euros well spent! I toured the town, found some seitan at the grocery store, and returned to the hotel with lifted spirits.

Sadly, a lot of my relief wore off by the time I went to bed :( The next day all I could muster the energy for was a walk around the hotel grounds, shooting some photos and a little drawing. Maybe I could contribute some artwork to the hotel...

Andy and his family had gotten to Costa Brava by now and were staying a couple of towns over on the beach. Yet another stroke of mad luck came when Andy told me his brother-in-law is not only a chiropractor, but just happens to be the guy who takes care of the Swedish Olympic Ski Team, and he'd be happy to take a look at my back. Are you kidding me - what are the odds?? As you can imagine, I didn't hesitate to take him up on his offer. Turns out Janne is a genius! He worked on me for about 20 minutes and I felt immediate relief. The best part was he even identified the root of my problem and gave me a stretching routine to keep up on my own. Janne - you rock!

By now, Albert had suggested I could help out with the social media for Hotel Golf Costa Brava. That, I could do! Finally, I had some mobility and a way to contribute. Maybe now I could start enjoying my time in Spain!

Neo, Jordi's puppy. I helped him take Neo to the vet one night...
he weighs 68 kilos. That's 150 pounds. That's somewhere around
40 lbs more than me... Good thing he is a sweet pooch! I have
never seen more slobber in my life!

A day at the beach, a night on the rocks... with Pernilla!

Obama, Elvis Presley... according to the home stores in
Spain - this is where it's at!

Hola España

Wow, I've already been in Spain over a week and the time is flying by.

I came here in quite a round about way. When I realized we would have 

a 3 week break between King Diamond shows my first thought was 

"why go to Philly when I can go to Spain?!" 

Of course, in vacation mode that would be mucho expensive, so I 

started looking at other alternatives. I began poking around the web for woofing opportunities and found a site called workaway.org. I loved it - it listed all kinds of hosts and you could search by country, region, and type of work. The basic idea is a host offers you meals and a place to stay in exchange for about 25 hours of work a week. It's most often in someone's home, or a hostel and the work can be any number of tasks, but a lot revolve around green living, working with natural materials, and building eco retreats. I ran across a lot of listings saying they needed help with art projects as well. The search was on! If I could find everything I wished for it would be working on an art project, living on an eco farm, near the beach! A girl can dream, right?

My search started months before the tour. Some places said they were booked already, some said to get back to them when it was closer to July, and most didn't write back at all. What the hell people - how hard is it to say no thanks? I finally got the go ahead from an artist, living in a tiny town in Valencia, to come stay with her. I started to get really excited. We were chatting along well over email and she sounded fun. My meals would not be included but she was vegetarian and up for splitting the cost of food and cooking together. We were buzzing about making plans when all of a sudden she had to cancel. Due to a family issue that did not sound fun at all, she had to go to Madrid and couldn't say exactly when she'd be back. Pfffffftttt. Now what?

So, for some reason I have never really taken advantage of the fact that I
know a lot of people, many with connections to all kinds of other people.
I think I need to start tapping into my resources more! With about 2 weeks
to go til the break and nowhere to go, I mentioned to Andy that my
accommodations had fallen through. He and the fam were actually headed
to Spain for some of the break too, so we had been saying all along that it
would be cool if we could meet up down there. So low and behold, Andy has
a friend named Jordi, (who I met before in 2006) who has a friend, who has a hotel…
the volunteer for room and board idea was proposed and BAM!
I had a place to stay! I booked my flight to Girona and set my sights on Spain!

Remember kids, you can "Follow" this blog in the upper right of the page so you never miss a beat :)

My Catalonian home away from home. 

Hotel Golf Costa Brava

Cheers to Andy for getting the ball rolling!

Brussels - Not Just a Sprout!

I wish I could say Belgium was awesome, but I spent most of it laying around Ilir's flat, nursing my back. At least he has a great place :) Out back is a sweet yard where fox like to run wild - it's a perfect setting for a morning cup of coffee. I rallied enough to take a short walk every day. The neighborhood where he lives is really nice. I was psyched to find 3 different natural food stores within my range of motion. There is also a forrest that would have been great to go running in, and a lush green park further up the road that I did manage to explore. Brussles seems like a town I would have enjoyed checking out if I had been up to it - damn the luck! All things considered I'm glad a had a chance to get some rest tho. If I had to travel again right away it would have just made things worse.

Ilir did at least drag my butt downtown my last night there so I could get a peek at what I hadn't been able to see on my own. The main square is pretty breathtaking. He actually informed my that in 2010 it was voted the most beautiful square in Europe. I might be slightly partial to Prague, but I agree it's pretty bad ass. We topped the night off in what I think is the coziest bar I've ever been to. Paintings hung overlapping paintings - it was a surprisingly soothing atmosphere despite the visual overload.

While my friends back home kicked off their 4th of July barbecues, I headed to the airport for my departure to Spain. One last Belgian ale and a session of sifting through Belgian chocolates for a dairy-free treat and my visit was complete. Au revoir!

A nice place for a morning cup'a joe.

Don't mess with a Belgian park slug!

This picture is totally not doing the square justice.

A goofy pose always make a mural 

look better.

Random street stuff.

This bar just screamed "drink wine"!

Cheers, Brussels!

A taste of USA on Independence Day. If only I could have
snapped this when Jason Werth was on the screen - would
have made it even more appropriate (even tho Philly boos
him now).

Belgium or Bust!

Things took a downward for for me after the Tuska festival. By the time we got off stage I knew my back was not happy. We left at 4:30 the next morning, and over the course of 34 hours of travel to Dessel, Germany, my condition got dramatically worse. By the time we arrived at Grasspop I couldn't sit, and when I walked I got shooting pains so bad they caused my knees to give out. I had no idea how I would get on stage that night. Our tour manager, Olé Bang got the festival to send over a massage therapist. After about a half hour of working on me she did a couple tests, saw that I couldn't flip myself over without screaming and said "Oh shit, I can't help you. You have a pinched nerve, you need manipulation".

After some chatting with festival production, I was pretty discouraged. It was Sunday and chiropractors usually won't touch you without seeing an X-ray. A phone call was made and all I could do was wait. Meanwhile, I had friends in the audience I couldn't get to, friends backstage I couldn't hang out with, and bands I wanted to see - not to mention, I was in serious pain. A little after 8:00 I finally got word - we found someone who can see you. Let's go!

I went to the office of Erik Gys. He is a doctor in Dessel as well as a local politician, who would have my vote any day. He spent a long time working on me and called his partner, Reinhilde Dirckx, to come and give me an anti-inflammatory injection. With less that 2 hrs to go before show time, I needed the works. When asked about payment, Dr. Gys simply said, "We're going to Grasspop - a couple beers would be cool". Seriously generous people! I can't thank these two enough. Without their help there is no way I would have been able to perform. I also have to give shout out to Akon Garv for helping me out - getting my things, getting me to the doctor. Whenever he is around he is a helping hand, and I was very grateful to have one that day!

Even after a powerful shot, it took one more pill to get me on stage. I was warned that twisting my back would erase the work just done. Crap - all I do is twist myself around up there! I had to make a lot of adjustments. I was nervous, but it went better than I expected. It was certainly a subdued performance on my part (sorry Grasspop!) but I got through it, and was relieved that is went as well as it did. King very kindly told me I did a great job - he knows how it is. The band and crew also checked on me throughout the show. Let it be known - I work with some of the coolest people on the planet :)

To add insult to injury, Iron Maiden played right before us and I didn't get to see any of their set :( Not to mention I was supposed to be stalking Bruce Dickinson all day! I did at least finally get to hook up with my friend from home, Ilir Morina, who is now living in Belgium. 

This is what 4:30 am departure looks like :P

I didn't get to se InFlames play but at least I got to 

catch up with Anders, looking far more lovely than I!

One week to go!

Homeward Bound: A Benefit for PAWS will be up for one more week. The last day day to check out the show at Grindcore House is July 10. All proceeds go to to Philly PAWS so it's a great opportunity to get yourself some artwork and help out the city's homeless fuzzy ones. 

There will also be an adoption drive on Sunday, July 7, from 10 am - 2 pm, at The Dickinson Square Park Farmers Market. It's right around the corner from Grindcore, so in one afternoon you could meet some PAWS pets, buy some art, and even eat one of Gridcore's decadent treats for me! :)

Participating artists:
Carl Auge, Alan Brown, Brittany Buescher, Jodi Cachia, Ryann Casey, Kate Collins, Jeannine D., Paul D'Elia, Kati Driscoll, Sienna Freeman, Heather Gargon, Justin Gray, Leah Greenberg, Joseph Hasenauer, Katie Henry, Darla Jackson, Andrew Johnson-Lally, Alina Josan, Adrienne Langer, Doug LaRocca, Segreto Leah, Jes Mae Lynch, Rach Mojecki, Kathryn Moran, Jaime Morgan, Gabrielle Muller, Alicia Neal, Joslyn Newman, Matt R. Phillips, Mary Price, Paul Romano, Joanna S. Quigley, Josh Robeson, Jen Roder, Clayton Rossner, Colleen Rudolf, Kristin Scholz, Chris Schoonover, Peet Sketches, Jamielynn Storch, Kirsten Teel, Nancy M. Thivierge, Dante Torrieri, Valeriya Volkova, Ketch Wehr, Calyn Williams, Leslie Wood

Urban Journey, for sale at Grindcore House.
Proceeds benefit Philly PAWS

Heloooo Helsinki!

This post will start out sounding kind of ridiculous, but all the details go into the experience of travel... We checked into our hotel in Helsinki and I entered my room. Now, I have never been one to splurge on a hotel room. I think it's a waste - most of the time I'm just going to sleep there and there are so much better ways to spend my money. So this was my first time in business class and now I see what all the fuss is about! Maybe I'm just a sucker for free stuff (I totally am), or maybe it's cause I hadn't had coffee in 2 months but, being greeted by an espresso machine made for a awesome welcome. The room had an electric panel that controlled the lighting, allowing me to set the light according to my mood, extra toiletries in the bathroom including bath salts, chocolate bars (tho sadly not vegan), but what blew my mind was the flat panel tv IN the bathroom mirror! WTF?? I don't even watch tv but you know I had to turn that on. The whole thing just cracked me up. I didn't even realize til later that the main tv was 3D. A 3D tv! Crazy. Seriously tho - the room had the most comfortable bed I think I've ever slept in. Ahhhh. Even better than the room was the business class lounge that had a free happy hour every day from 5-7. Apparently they think BC people are responsible enough to pour their own drinks - Ha! They've obviously never seen me pour a "glass" of wine. Of course, we only had the fancy pants room for 2 days because when we booked our stay they were the only rooms available. After that we moved into regular rooms... but still managed to all sneak in and meet for happy hour ;) 

What was really great tho about having a super swanky room was it inspired me to stay in and get some work done. I'd been sketching out ideas for a logo for Power Theory (Pure Steel Records) and I finally had some uninterrupted time and a place to concentrate and lay down designs. Yay or productivity!

The day before the show the crew and rest of band all arrived and we went to meet some fans at a meet-n-greet. As soon as I saw the promotor's face I was pleasantly surprised - we had a super fun night last time we were in Finland and it was great to see Jouni again! I wound up going to a show with him afterwards and catching some cool bands. It's funny - I haven't missed America one bit, then a band played that had a hardcore/thrash sound that I think of as American metal and I realized THAT was one thing I did miss :P The craziest thing about being at that club… I was sitting on a stool, waiting for the next band, when a girl walked by and our eyes met. In a flash I thought - I know her! and realized that it had been ages since I'd seen her. I met Chrissy Terpeinen probably 15 years ago when she was a shy kid putting out a metal zine. She's still rocking Enslain Magazine, but now married and living in Finland for 5 years. So crazy to run into each other!

The rest of the night was a blur of black t-shirts, park drinking, metal clubs, and dreadlocks. Met some awesome peeps who showed me an excellent time in Finland. Cheers to you all!

Our final day in Helsinki was the grand finale - Tuska Festival. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, but it was strange playing the show in broad daylight. I would have liked to see Amorphis play but they went on right before us, which is when I have to get ready. I did get to listen to them as we waited to hit the stage, which was pretty cool for me :)

This pic got more "likes" than any other I've 

posted on FB. I guess there is something 

to that whole bathroom mirror thing??

Jouni Markkanen, King Foo Entertainment 

and all around cool guy!

Heavy Metal dance chicks

This picture kills me :)

Brightest show ever!