The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (Not Necessarily In That Order)

The Amalfi Coast was one of my favorite places of our spectacular trip around the world. Set off walking in any direction, and an adventure of discovery awaits you, with big views of the Mediterranean Sea, mountains, and cliffs, contrasting with an intimate, enchanted world of orchards and gardens, ancient churches, old stone houses, and the ruins of towers, palaces, and monasteries. The people are friendly, generous, and hospitable. At our B&B, for example, our hosts Antonio and Angela took excellent care of us, with scrumptious homemade goodies, maps, transportation assistance, you name it. They loved to hang out with us and talk (and sing), despite the minor obstacle of speaking no English, while we speak no Italian.

Pontone is a very tiny village with only a couple of restaurants. When Karel and I wandered through the open door of one of them at dinnertime, we didn’t realize it was actually closed (I mean, the door was, literally, ajar). No matter. A young man came out and seated us, then apologetically managed to convey that they were closed, it was the chef’s day off, but if we didn’t mind a cook’s choice menu, they would try to feed us. After our own embarrassed apologies for blundering into their private family dinner were very graciously waved off, we were treated to an absolutely delicious, home-cooked meal of ravioli and eggplant, a carafe of wine, dessert, and limoncello, all at a very reasonable price.

All too soon, however, it was time to leave. We had a stopover in Rome on our way to Greece, with one more full day of sightseeing in the city. The drive to the train station was very scenic, and except for some confusion about which platform to use, and problems with the ventilation system on our train car, the trip was uneventful. As we walked with our luggage the several blocks to our accommodations, however, three girls attempted to distract Karel and pick his pocket. Little did they know, my husband knows judo. They were unsuccessful, but this incident did nothing to endear Rome to our hearts.

At the B&B (more like a hostel), Karel, as usual, jumped online to look for jams and other musical happenings in the neighborhood. He discovered that Steve Hackett’s band would be playing in Rome, just a few blocks away, the next evening! For those of you who may not know, Steve Hackett was formerly a member of the legendary band Genesis, along with Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins; it is one of Karel’s favorite bands. I’d been hearing a certain amount of whining —ahem— about all the great concerts and progressive rock festivals we were missing while frittering away our time on a honeymoon around the world – but the Hackett concert was sold out, much to Karel’s despair.

Well, partly as a result of some excellent photographs from the Agents of Mercy (another prog band) concert that he posted on FaceBook last year, Karel is FaceBook friends with Nad Sylvan, who just happened to have recently become the new lead singer of Steve Hackett’s band. Nad very graciously responded to Karel’s plea with a pair of free tickets and a backstage pass! And could we, please, bring the camera along?

The band played many of the classic pieces from the Hackett/Gabriel Genesis era, which was great for me, because I could sing along with all my favorites. The show was fantastic, and we got to meet Nad afterwards. What a treat! We’re so grateful for Nad’s honeymoon gift.

Karel snapped pictures at the concert while I recorded video of some of the highlights. Prog songs tend to be very long, so I didn’t capture “complete” songs. I usually recorded until my finger got a cramp from holding the button. I think Karel got a little carried away in his enthusiasm and included all the footage on this blog post. Enjoy!