- XO Shanti

One day of exploring wasn't quite enough, we need to discover more sights and gelato!! Mmmm the next day we gave our feet a little more rest and took the train to Riomaggora.. I know I'm spelling that wrong but I'm on my phone so well all gave to make due. We walked to the next town... Manarola and found a secret little staircase that led to some of the villages hillside gardens... Before taking the hike we of course had to sample the local Gelato shop!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. That was my cone and hand full of goodness... Yum!
Then, a little hike to a peaceful spot away from the tourists..

Ahhhh the perfect place to enjoy gelato and soak in some sun!

So we made it and hiked the coast..... I'll let this blog entry be more of a visual one. Words won't do it justice..Levanto Trail
The first quarter of the trail was pretty steep... then it leveled off.
Levanto Trail 2
Levanto Trail 3

Apparently my phone can only handle posting about 3-4 photos at a time... So I'll try this again.. This is now my 3rd attempt. :)

Me and my bug-eyes. Obviously Attempting the skillful act of taking a self portrait with an iPhone! Ha. Kepi, reading I think.

Train #2 not as quiet and not as comfy but on time!!

Kepi and I are playing shows and traveling while the 'Souls do their thang... So we hopped on a train headed for warmer weather! Munich to La Spezia! The train from munich was nice, quiet and smooth with comfortable and spacious seats. We even got snacks and tea/coffee service!

Our train #1.

Sideways train snack pack, chocolate, peanuts, hand wipes and a good book!
I didn't actually get to read much because the view was so spectacular!

I don't think I took any photos with my phone on these days but I just got a new camera and I took a bunch with that so I'll post more photos eventually. If I haven't said it yet, I'm so glad to have met Jens our promoter/tour manager and driver on this tour and I'm so happy that I was invited to be part of this great tour. Im so greatful that I met Cat from Missincat she's truly a beautiful soul that makes heartfelt freat music. I hope to know her and keep in touch with her forever! In fact we've already booked another show together in Milan in the end of May!! Yay! So again, thank you Jens for having the vision of this tour and making it all happen. And of course Kepi and Greg, we've been playing together for the last few tours and it just keeps getting better and better. Thank you! I might even become a pretty good bass player by the end of this adventure!
Now... Vienna was gloomy and rainy but it didn't stop us from finding a wonderful meal and a sunshiney day in H and M haha. The show was wonderful, Jens recorded it live, it was bittersweet...

Sorry it's been a few days since I updated. The drive from Italy to Austria was beautiful and rainy.. We stopped at a rest area with some of the best food... I know most of my blog updated include eating... Sorry. Anyway it was cold and rainy so we got some traditional Austrian soup.... I think it was some kind of Potato Leek soup. Mmmmm so perfect for a rainy day. While at our lunch stop we picked up this local magazine with a bunch of funny portraits of local farmers, then the corrosponding dish that is made from their farmed goods... The photos were pretty silly but I guess Austria prides themselves on self sufficiency..(correct me if I'm wrong) I think the provide like 95% of their food market to themselves.. And I think that is pretty damn cool! Of course most if not all of it is grown organically and it's naturally local!! Yay Austria!
So... Besides that... I almost bought part of a traditional Austrian outfit... But I didn't.
Here's a couple shots from the show.

After we arrived in Bologna we loaded in to the venue which was painted the perfect color orange! The room was also round so the acoustics were pretty cool..... Especially when you stood in the middle of the room. :) the light was so perfect that we all decided to have a photoshoot... Haha, it was really fun I'll post photos soon. I think we took like 300 photos.. We are a bunch of posers!
After we soundchecked and worked up an appetite from our photoshoot, we left to have a birthday dinner... Which ended up being soooooooo good!! What a wonderful way to spend my birthday with great new friends, a cozy lovely restaurant and delicious yummy food. Ahhhhh so happy!

After a wonderful meal and desserts, we headed back to play the show!!! Half of the time the sound was in and out and we were really playing "unplugged" but it didn't matter.. We had great fans and a lots of fun anyway.

I got a cake on stage and I had happy birthday sung to me a few times in Italian. I can't wait to come back to Italy and see more... And definitely eat more!

Ciao!
Xoxo
Shanti

I woke up forgetting that it was my birthday , but it wasn't long before the birthday wishes started coming!! Greg went out for a walk real early in the morning to fetch me a sweet italian "Bon Cumpleano" birthday card... Awe.. And a little pastry. Yum. Thanks Greg! Then I got a hand drawn postcard from Kepi signed by everyone on the tour!! Thanks!! We walked to a little place and got some lunch and made our way to Bologna for another show. :) oh yeah... Before getting into the van, Kepi pulled out a guitar and sang happy birthday to me on the street... A lot of Italians, although probably a little uncomfortable.. Seemed charmed and smiled as they passed. Yay for birthdays. :)
Off to bologna.
Oh yeah... And sorry about all of the delayed updates. Internet connection has been very off and on, so I'm writing all of my blogs daily and uploading when I can!!

- XO Shanti

We arrived at the venue in Milano, and had hoped for warmer weather but unfortunately it was very chilly... I guess well have to wait another week or so for Spring. Milano also happens to be Missincats hometown, so it was fun to see her light up with the sense of familiarity.
We all have had a wonderful time playing these shows and getting to know eachother, hopefully we'll tour more together in the future! :). The show was great and the crowd was great. I guess it was a free show and a little "Spring time" event. So the young and the old alike enjoyed the show. It was really great.
Here are a couple of photos I took of the trees in the back of the venue..

There were some pretty cool lights on the back of the stage.... So of course Cat and I had a little photo shoot!