The Rolling Stones performed at Heinz Stadium in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on their Zip Code Tour in USA 2015. Then six years later they are back to the same stadium, same city. With fans coming in from Ohio, Philadelphia, and many other areas of the East Coast, this was bound to be a great show. The following are tour and travel memories from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania October 2021.
I was arriving from the previous tour stop in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a short direct flight with American Airlines, one and a half hour. Then an Uber ride from the airport to my hotel near Heinz Stadium. As we got closer to my hotel, traffic got slower and slower. We were stuck for an extra fifteen minutes. There was a baseball game starting at the baseball stadium right next to my hotel. I left the car and walked the remaining blocks from the bridge to my hotel.
At check-in, for the first time on this tour, the staff had no mask. I asked, and she said the city had just decided to get rid of the masks. Ok. People around me were still using masks, inside the hotel building, but outside, and all over, no masks. This was very different from Boston, St. Louis and Charlotte.
I was in Pittsburgh for just three days. My first task was to find a place to eat. Since I can only eat say 2% to 5% of anything on any menu, I headed over the bridge, passed by dozens of places, restaurants, all packed with no mask people, and it did not seem like they had anything I could use. So back over the bridge, I just stumbled across a sports bar called SO HO. It was right next to my hotel, it had lots of space, great service, and more than just one item on the menu I could survive on, without getting a terrible allergic reaction. So I had all my meals at SO HO, and I loved the place, wish there could be more places like that on tour.
Pittsburgh is a city you can easily walk in a few hours. I had a bike last time I visited in 2015, so this time I just wanted to walk the city. One of my goals were to ride the Duquesne Incline, an old steep train ride up the hill next to Monongahela River. To get there, I first had to cross the Allegheny River. Two long bridges crossed, and the steep old train ride, I had an excellent overview of Pittsburgh, as well as Heinz Stadium.
My hotel room was right next to the highway, with multiple lanes just outside my window. Even if I am a heavy sleeper, I could hear the cars and trucks all night, the hotel wasn’t really build at five star quality, it was like having the cars almost into my room at times. Not a pleasant place to stay for relaxing.
Show day, pre-show meal at So Ho at 2pm, then eventually walking the 20 minutes or so over to the stadium. The show, simply amazing. This is just a bit of what I wrote in my report from the show:
… Then the highlight of the show, the last song before the encore moment. Jumping Jack Flash. A great show, some of the greatest, are often those when Keith is peaking, above even the normal high, and tonight was one of those. JJF lasted just about five minutes or so, not as long as it would have been if it was closing the show, but those five minutes were true goose bump time. Those moments you search for when you have seen them many times, you take them for granted, and you don’t know when or where they will peak, but sure it happens, right tonight in Pittsburgh. …
For show reports and pictures see the links below:
This was the second stadium show of the No Filter USA Tour 2021. I am told they have one set of trucks only for this tour, I counted 23 or so trucks in St. Louis, the trucking time from St. Louis MO to Charlotte NC is eleven hours, through Nashville TN (to be visited soon on this tour), while some fans on tour, including myself, used the 1:30pm departure Southwest flight taking just under two hours non-stop.
When I first saw The Rolling Stones live in Charlotte, back in 1997, at Ericsson Stadium, now called Bank of America Stadium, I loved it so much I declared Charlotte one of those cities I just had to return to on every tour. Since then I have been returning to North Carolina on every tour, also, when they played Raleigh North Carolina in 2015, I made it through Charlotte, visiting Grandfather Mountain in the Appalachian Mountains.
Unlike the show in 1999, when the show was at Charlotte Coliseum, way outside the center, this time we were once again to see The Rolling Stones in the Charlotte city center, at Bank of America Stadium, so I booked a hotel right in the center, with 20 minutes walking to the stadium. I was four days in Charlotte. As the show got closer, the city was filling up with fans.
I took the bus from the airport to my hotel. I was the only “tourist” on that bus. You get to see the locals, while I understand most others do arrive by car. As I arrived into the bus station, I did recognize the Burger King and that station, where I have been on past tours, taking the bus, and getting my Big Fish sandwiches.
The Rolling Stones show in Charlotte was with all the energy we got in St. Louis MO, but without the goose bumps and sadness from missing Charlie Watts. For reports and pictures from the show see the links below.
The day after the show Mick Jagger posted a picture on social media where he was having a beer at the nearby “Thirsty Beaver Saloon”. So as a faithful Stones fan, I set off to walk over there. It was a walk of 1.5 miles (2.5 km), and it took me 35 minutes walking each way. As I arrived, I walked in there, and asked for the same beer as Mick had. Then the girl at the bar said: “We are not sure, but we think it is this one”… Then she took one of the many bottles she had in the cooler – “Coors Edge – Non-Alcoholic Beer”. I took my pictures, a selfie or two, and left. Meanwhile, two other fans arrived with the same mission, to pilgrim Mick’s bar, and to make pictures.
There are “live threads” where fans may talk about the shows online on IORR.org. Then there are other topics, like about songs – “Brown Sugar Track Talk” and so on. During the St. Louis show, there were some comments about “Brown Sugar” missing, but most fans expected it to re-appear in Charlotte. It did not.
While I had been at the show in Charlotte, and while I had been enjoying the last bits of the city of Charlotte, including my “Coors Edge” at the Thirsty Beaver Saloon, there was a “Brown Sugar war” online at the IORR forum pages. I was happily unaware of the mess until I arrived back to my hotel room i.e. my “office” late afternoon the day after the show, on October 1. From then on, until the early hours, way after 2am in the morning, I was working on getting rid of hundreds of hostile, angry, offending and racist posts related to Brown Sugar. Why did they not play it? Why should they care about Black Lives Matter? Why should they have any moral standards at all? Wasn’t this the band who gave us “Street Fighting Man”, “Under My Thumb”, and other not so nice songs lyrics wise? The comments were spinning way out of any proportions, and I just had to sort it out, before it took completely over, scaring normal fans not really into all these politics and anger.
I had to implement a complete ban of any mention of the song “Brown Sugar” on IORR.org, in order to survive the editorial part for the next few days. Life is too short, and I do not want to get involved in politics, BLM, song selections, lyrics, and all those special words used by those who still think Mick Jagger should be able to say and sing about anything he likes on stage.
“Brown Sugar” has been the backbone of most Rolling Stones shows since they released the song on the “Sticky Fingers” album in 1971 i.e. fifty years ago. There have been no official comment from the band about set lists or why they do not play this song, or other songs, but it seemed like most fans had their own opinion those 24 or so hours I walked around in Charlotte not knowing almost WW III fan wise was going on in the IORR forum pages.
I had to make a separate statement, about “Brown Sugar”, it was read more than 3,000 times before I took it away a day or so later, as I had arrived into the next city Pittsburgh. This was my statement:
I was contacted by fans who felt unsafe. Many people who post their opinion does not think – or care – about others. They may be macho, they think Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones are timeless, eternal and far above any moral or social standards. Luckily the above post worked. For a while I thought seriously about shutting down the IORR forums completely, but the fans got the message, so IORR is still online with all the discussions about songs, set lists, guitar riffs, new songs, old songs, all the passion is there still.
For show reports and pictures see the links below:
The rescheduled Rolling Stones No Filter Tour USA 2021 was announced July 22, to start officially with a stadium show in St. Louis Missouri on September 26. I arrived from the rehearsals in Boston into St. Louis September 21, and spend a week in St. Louis. These are some memories from the week with The Rolling Stones in St. Louis.
Usually The Rolling Stones do two days of soundcheck and production rehearsals at the first venue of a new tour. I was ready to be there and listen to the songs outside. Unfortunately the Dome in St. Louis is completely closed, with multiple layers of brick and concrete. I was outside at the band entrance, and luckily both Mick and Ronnie was passing by with their car windows down as they arrived those days I was there, but that was all I heard and saw of them before the actual tour start.
While waiting for the tour start I spent time walking around in St. Louis. I lived right next to the Dome, and I was told that was an unsafe area. Sure it was unsafe late hours, like 10pm or so, but I spent most of my walking day time, before it got dark. I had three things on my list here: 1. The Rolling Stones. 2. Budweiser Tour with fresh beer tasting. 3. To see Mississippi River close up.
My one week public transportation pass took me around from and back to the airport, to the Budweiser Brewery, and other places, like The Rolling Stones hotel slightly outside the downtown. My first stop was Budweiser. Every time I go to St. Louis I have to go to their head office right here in St. Louis, where they have their Clydesdale horses, and where you actually may see the production lines with bottles, cans, and at the end of the tour, you get a fresh beer in a bottle, plus a tasking glass of daily fresh brewed beer. Nothing is like tasking day fresh beer, when it comes to beer!
Mississippi River will be on my tour map not just here in St. Louis, but also later on, when The Rolling Stones arrive into Minneapolis in Minnesota. The large rivers used to be the backbone of many cities across the world, so also Missisippi River. I just love to see those great rivers, the bridges, and all I can do is imagine what is was like in the old days, when ships were going up and down the river with all sorts of essential transportation. These days a lot of this is done by trucks I guess.
With the tourist bit done, the main reason for my visit into St. Louis was arriving. Show day Sunday September 26, 2021. The following is the first part of my report from that show. The rest of my and other reports may be seen in the link below.
The show tonight was an emotional roller coaster ride for me. After 35 days away from home, with the goal to see The Rolling Stones live on tour tonight, the day was finally here. So long wait, so many emotions. As I walked to the Dome in St. Louis, a short five minutes walk from my hotel just across 9th Street to the Entrance D on Cole street, my stomack was in big pain, I was hit by a sudden nervous pain I have never experienced before. Then once inside, I met with friends in the VIP lounge, and my pain was gratually going away.
At 7pm I went down to the pit area, Pit 1 i.e. Ronnie side, the place was half empty, but it would fill up during the next hour or so. More friends to meet, the pain was not there anymore. Then at 8:46, the lights went ot, and drums started to sound all over the stadium. It was Charlie drumming, soft, hard, gentle, great pace, just like having Charlie in the venue. Various images of Charlie were on display on the large screens. My emotional roller coaster ride had started, and it would last throughout the show, all the way back to my hotel. The Charlie intro lasted for two minutes. A great tribute, but so sad.
For show reports and pictures see the links below:
The Rolling Stones spend some five weeks in Boston MA USA rehearsing for their No Filter US 2021 tour. They rehearsed some 80-90 songs. I had the great pleasure of being in Boston for two weeks, and got to hear around sixty songs rehearsed. The following is some memories from the Boston 2021 rehearsals.
The rescheduled Rolling Stones tour in USA 2021 was announced July 22. One month later I was in Cancun Mexico, on hold, waiting for 16 days in order to get approval for US entry. See separate report about my Travel to USA for The Rolling Stones Tour 2021. What makes a grown up father and grandfather leave the family for three months, challenging COVID-19, with travel to places where there is ten times more COVID-19 as compared to my home country Norway? The answer is simple, like it has been for the past fifty years for me: The love of The Rolling Stones and their music.
I just love to see and hear The Rolling Stones live performances. And over the years, the same applies for their rehearsals. I have been invited into their rehearsals studio three times over the years. I do never expect anything, I take what they give me, I never ask, I am just Mr Nice Guy, never stalking, just listening, enjoying hearing Memory Motel and Fool To Cry and Connection and Ruby Tuesday and Worried About You again and again and again. They might not play any of these songs during the tour, but I have been enjoying them all still. Even this year in Boston 2021!
The sixteen days in Cancun Mexico were painful. With the sadness of the passing of our dear Charlie Watts, I tried to get home, just gave up on the tour, sitting for hours on the phone line, trying in vain to book a return flight. Then my closest back home told me to sleep on it, give it another day. So I did not go home. I lost two weeks of Boston rehearsals due to the mandatory “outside Shengen/EU” stay in Mexico, but I made it, I was there, right at the studio, listening to the band, waving at Mick, Keith, Ronnie arriving and going home. Sad moments when the 4th car with Charlie did never arrive, I miss Charlie so much, and those moments at the studio, when he did not appear, did not return after rehearsals, did not hit the drums, so painful.
They said there was no point in going to Boston for the rehearsals. You see nothing. You hear nothing. True. And not true. I have been to more than one hundred rehearsals. It has been a habit, or a life style. I just want “more Stones”. There is always a door or a wall or a side entrance or a window or a corner nearby when you may see them, hear them, or both. Soon after I arrived, the crew and the band members gave me a warm welcome. They know me from many rehearsals. They know I will never jump in front of any of the cars, push an album up into the side window for a signature, or try to sneak into a side door, or flash a camera or my mobile phone up on the side window of any of the cars. May be that is why Mick, Keith and Ronnie quite a few times did roll down the window, often when I was alone, said hi to me, up close, smiled, and waved. I felt happy and privileged. I am Mr Nice Guy, it helps a lot with the trust. So they gave me approval for listening as close as possible, right next to the door to the parking, on the premises. I did always have my mask on, whenever someone passed by less than five feet. Covid-19 days, respect, I have to protect the band, the crew, the tour, and myself.
Sixty songs. That’s a great deal of songs. All the big ones of course, including Street Fighting Man, one of my favorites, It’s Only Rock’n’Roll, Paint It Black, and on and on. Midnight Rambler without Charlie Watts, but with the new drummer Steve Jordan. It sounded great from outside. Sure it’s not Charlie, but I want The Rolling Stones to live on, in the spirit of Charlie. The new guy do have a Gretch drum kit, not really exactly like the light brown one Charlie had, but still, Steve Jordan is loyal to the sound and the songs, I will give him a chance. And during my two weeks at the studio, Steve Jordan smiled, behind his mask, saluted me as I was there as they arrived and departed every day.
Wednesday Sept 8 was a favorite of mine. They did Moonlight Mile two takes, then She’s A Rainbow, Worried About You, and later on Sway. How often do you get such a set of songs during an hour or so the same night? I was in Stones paradise.
Play With Fire. So great. They did it many times at the rehearsals in London 2019. It is rarely performed live. Ghost Town. Trouble’s a Coming. Living In The Heart Of Love. And one or two other songs I did not recognize, because it is hard to hear the lyrics through rain, traffic, bird singing, wind and talking from people in the streets.
Far Away Eyes. Monkey Man. Sweet Virginia. Let It Bleed. No Expectations. And one more time Memory Motel. I get Memory Motel every week! Sure I am in Boston, “… back up to Boston”, but this is not for the private show, it is for themselves, and hopefully, please please please, play Memory Motel also live at the shows on this US Tour 2021.
As I write this, it is Saturday evening September 25. I am tired, after having been away from home and my family for more than a month. I miss my family. I miss Charlie. I miss my friends. But tomorrow September 26, I will finally get to see The Rolling Stones right on stage, live, right here in St Louis, Missouri, USA. And more friends, most of them from USA, but a few also from England, The Netherlands, and Argentina. It has been a long wait, but now I am ready!
The Rolling Stones Tour 2021 was announced July 22, 2021. One month later I was in Mexico Cancun, on a long and winding travel that would eventually take me into Stonesland. This is the story about getting there, it is not easy, but it is possible, and you are welcome as a visitor to USA, as long as you follow their current rules.
It took a few days until I realized I had to go on the tour. May be I knew it all the time, because I had booked more than 30 hotels for the entire tour in USA already on July 22. All bookings flexible, so no cost yet. My passport was renewed in July, as it expired in September. I was ready, without knowing anything would happen this year. I have not been on travel by air or outside Norway since I went to London late 2019, to see Ronnie Wood there.
Checking travel rules is essential when you want to visit USA. Rules change, there are separate rules for each country and so on. Norway as an example are completely closed for non-EU visitors, a bit like Australia and New Zealand. So I spent hours and days checking. If you are from EU/Schengen, or UK, or a list of other countries, you are not allowed into USA if you have been in these countries during the 14 days ahead of US entry. This rule do also apply to transit, so there are few options.
Mexico have no rules of entry, except entry form etc. There are a few other options, like Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and a few other places, but as there are very few flights, you do not want to spend a fortune and wait another week to get there. Also, you need a negative Covid-19 PCR test no older than 72 hours on departure to USA. That may be a show stopper if there are delays. I found out Mexico was the safest travel path for me, and as Cancun was closer than Mexico City, I chose Cancun, even if there were more flights from Europe to Mexico City.
Flight booked. Oslo – Zürich – Cancun. A total of 24 hours of travel door to door, an expensive ticket I could, and did, change, and will change more probably. No transit in USA made 80% of all flights by airliners like SAS and Lufthansa useless. I would have been rejected at the airport. Zürich Switzerland by Swizz Air was available for me, with my fully vaccinated status, also, I would just be in transit.
It is 5am early morning at home, mask on, airport train, easy check-in at the airport, waiting time, two hours flight to Zürich, six hours wait, luckily the airport in Zürich do have an outdoor roof area, so I could remove my mask a bit and breath fresh air. Then the long intercontinental flight 10 hours 30 minutes. A smooth flight with Edelweiss Air, part of Swizz, four movies, hardly any sleep. Landing on time, have to drop my tour jacket, it is 29 C / 84 F outside at 10pm in Cancun. I book a taxi inside the Cancun terminal, because outside you have less control of your booking. Then a 20 minutes ride to the hotel. At 10:20pm i.e. more than 24 hours since I left home, I am at the hotel.
As I walk out of my taxi, it is dark. I see the impressive large blue fountain of waterfall in front of the hotel. Inside they welcome me, they are expecting me, personal service, and I am at my room in 10 minutes. I am sleeping within minutes.
The resort was just fantastic. I ended up staying there all my 16 nights and 17 days in Cancun, except for a side trip of two days to Isla Mujeres. For more details about my favorite Cancun hotel see my separate report Sensira Resort – Paradise in Cancun Mexico.
During my stay in Cancun, on Tuesday August 24, just after having lunch at 1pm, I returned to my room, and a close friend is calling me. “Charlie is dead” he says. I don’t understand. He says it one more time. We talk. I go black. I tell him we talk more later. Then I check my messages, lots, even if the news were just out. Before I have time to grief or think my IORR Editor mind kicks in and I have to edit the volume of separate messages and posts and news all over. Then after an hour or two, I can think. I go outside. I am sad and lonely. I go back to my room, and I stay there for hours, trying to find flights home. Lufthansa booking are very helpful, but everything is too late today, and tomorrow the cost is USD 5,000 and up. I want to go home, but I decide to sleep on it. It is hard to sleep. I want to go home.
I call home, sad, lonely, I talk to the friendly hotel staff, but they have no idea of my mind and my worries and my sadness. I eat my food and stay a bit more. I can not work. I can not write. I can not think. All I do is eat, walk on the beach, sleep, eat, wait, think. Then after day two or three, and many phone calls home, I decide to stay. It is painful, but right. I think the tour is on, and I don’t want to be far away from the band now. So I stay.
After some days I pull myself together and make some pages in memory of Charlie Watts. It still hurts, and the pain will be there, but over time I try to remember all the great times I had with Charlie. Some links here:
While the Sensira was just perfect, I was told that there were even better beaches at the little island Isla Mujeres, just half an hour by ferry out from Cancun. So after my first six booked nights at the Sensira, I was on the ferry to Isla Mujeres. I had booked a five star hotel, with direct access to the white sandy north side beach. I boarded the ferry with double masks. The entire trip was a nightmare, with other people dropping their masks dropping, doing unmasked selfies. Then the island, a very busy and noisy place packed with tourists, no masks, drinking a lot, hanging bar side with no shirts, loud, riding around in golf cars, it felt bad, the hotel was nothing like I expected, but at the price, I forced myself into staying there the two nights I had prepaid, and booked my following eight nights in Cancun at the “old” favorite hotel Sensira almost immediately after arrival to Isla Mujeres.
Breakfast at 7am, ferry back from Isla Mujeres to Cancun at 8am, then a real good old breakfast at the Sensira at 9am. I know what I do, I know what I like. More on the separate Sensira report.
My plan was to leave after staying 15 nights in Cancun. The rules do say 14 days, so I wanted to avoid any discussions by adding another night. The requirement of US entry for non-USA residents is a complete negative PCR Covid-19 test. Normally they take up to 72 hours from test to result. I took my test early morning at 8am, day before departure USA, and was promised the result by 11pm in the evening of the test day, just in time for upload to the flight pages. The cost was usd 150, if you pay usd 100 it might take longer, up to 72 hours, and then you are close to the limit of 72h.
I got my test result at 9pm, so it took just 13 hours from the test. That would be very important later on. Next day I checked out, went to Cancun Airport, presented my papers and passport to the United check-in desk. It took a while, he counted days on his fingers, again and again, then he asked his colleague to count, they both agreed, I was missing a day. I was not ready to fly. He told me they do not count arrival day and departure day. I told them politely I still had 14 nights in Mexico. With no luck. Then I was so lucky, both of my United tickets to Houston, and the other four hours domestic US flight, were rebooked for next day at no extra cost – by the same check-in staff. I paid a lot for flexibility initially. So next morning at 8am I should be all set for finally getting to USA.
Out of the Cancun Terminal, I feel lonely, but I must stay calm, looking for an airport hotel, in sight or on Google Maps, do not see any hotels nearby. Then I get a taxi, and ask them to drive me back to my favorite place Sensira. One more night. I enjoyed the extra day, nice sunny weather, patiently, packed my little bag, went to bed, slept 2.5 hours, woke up at 2am, worked 2.5 hours with a lot of mess on the IORR Tour 2021 rehearsals thread and other threads. Then at 4:30am I walk down to the lobby. At 5am I am in the taxi, and 20 minutes later I am once more at the check-in desk.
This time check in was easier, no counting of days, just asking a lot for papers, documentation, and mind you, my PCR test was again uploaded to my new flight by me to United last night, it was still valid, but for many, a delay of 24 hours may make the test invalid. There are no exceptions. After half an hour at the check-in desk, I got both of my boarding cards. Next was pre-security medical covid-19 papers and an app form to be filled out, quite a special thing that took half an hour ahead of security. Then finally I was at my gate 40 minutes ahead of boarding. Make sure you do have plenty of time if you want to travel internationally these days.
The rest of the travel was smooth and easy. Two hours to Houston TX USA. I got a warm welcome from the US Immigration Officer. When asked about why I visited USA, I told him I was going to see The Rolling Stones on tour. Big friendly smile on his face, stamp in my passport, I was in USA. Then another flight of four hours, and I was all settled in, ready to follow The Rolling Stones on Tour in USA 2021.
Finally, some advices. If you plan to travel to USA, from abroad, then make sure you check all the rules. You do need flexibility, a lot of time, and it will cost you. Many ask me if I think USA will open up. I don’t know, but I can’t see why, knowing the numbers go up and they are busy handling the pandemic.
Some links and more information about the rules as of today:
With specific exceptions, several Presidential proclamations suspend and limit entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of noncitizens who were physically present within the following countries during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. For a full list of exceptions, please refer to the relevant proclamations in the links below.
Sensira Resort & Spa Riviera Maya was my choice of hotel when I was going to Cancun Mexico for two weeks, in order to get access for further travel to USA. I booked just six nights initially, but I stayed at the Sensira for two weeks. It turned out to be paradise for me. I needed a home away from home, and I got all of that.
Cancun Mexico was a stop over for me when I went from Los Angeles USA via Mexico City to Havana Cuba some twentyone years ago, for a short side-trip with friends. Since then, I thought of Cancun Mexico as a place tourists from USA travel to, because it is just two hours flying south of Houston Texas, also less than two hours flight south of Miami and the other southern parts of USA.
I knew I had to stay for two weeks in Cancun, as part of my travel from Norway to USA, for the Rolling Stones US Tour 2021. Mexico City was an option too, but then I would have a longer travel from Europe, also a longer travel up to the East Coast of USA, so Cancun was my choice.
How do you find a safe and great place to stay in Cancun Mexico? I use hotels.com for checking hotels, then I look at ratings. If a hotel is ranked high, and also is high priced, it means it must be great. Some cheap hotels are ranked high simply because people feel they get a lot for a small amount of money, so I always look at the total.
Sensira Resort & Spa Riviera Maya came up on my hotels.com searches with a ranking of 9.2. Meaning Superb. Very few hotels do get 9 and above. The best ones do have 8.0 and up. Then I browsed through all the pictures on the web sites. I needed many restaurants outside, due to Covid-19 safety, also, I needed lots of space for walking and moving around, a large hotel, and finally, I needed a hotel with on-site Covid-19 testing, high quality testing with full PCR test, on site, because it is required for US entry.
I booked six nights at the Sensira Resort & Spa Riviera Maya initially, as I did not know if the place was as expected. Some times it looks better in pictures than for real. When I arrived into the hotel just after 10pm, following my 24 hours long travel from home in Norway to Mexico, I had no idea about how this place was. I was so tired. I was impressed by the large blue water fountain at the entrance, and the large lobby area, but I was sleeping just minutes after I was settled into my room.
The next days of my stay at the Sensira Resort & Spa Riviera Maya was simply amazing. It is a large modern hotel of some 350 rooms, right on the Caribbean sea of Mexico, but at the time I was there, probably due to Covid-19, also out of season, very few guests were there. Perfect for me, as I needed to stay with a distance from all other guests, I needed space. Later on in September, I am told they are fully booked, but if you are planning to travel in October and on, try them out, they are the best!
Breakfast at 7am. Lots of great fresh food. Papaya and all sorts of other fruits. Bread. Hot food. Everything you do expect from a four star hotel. I have extensive dietary requirements, but breakfast was no problem, I found what I needed in the buffet breakfast.
The Sensira is an all-inclusive non-smoking hotel. Perfect for me, I never paid or signed for any food or drinks, it was all in my pre-paid hotel stay bill. Also, I get sick from cigarette and cigar smoke, so in two weeks I had absolutely no worries about people smoking near me, due to the non-smoking policy.
Lunch and dinner were my worries ahead of arrival. The lunch buffet was massive, even with the few guests booked, but as I have very special dietary requirements, I ordered fresh fish made for me every lunch and dinner. The chefs and the waiters at lunch and dinner were just seamless, perfect. I am usually sick 3-4 out of seven days per week on travel, from food allergy and intolerance. Meat, onion, milk, butter, grain, garlic, spices, seasoning, broccoli, bread, eggs, almost any normal food will make me bad for 12-18 hours, but at Sensira, they took care of me in a perfect way, seamless, with all the chefs and waiters I was in touch with. Thank you so much to Hever, Federico, Alexander, Christian, and all the others who took care of me. Also, thanks to Nataniel, Carlos, Ana, and all the others who served me during early mornings, lunches, by the pool, at the coffee and sweets area, whick I liked a lot, and at dinner.
Once I was in Cancun, I asked about Cozumel, an island 1-2 hours south of Cancun, because I was thinking about one tourist trip during my stay, if it was safe for Covid-19. Then I was told there was a smaller and more beautiful island just nearby, called Isla Mujeres, half an hour ferry trip east of Cancun. I checked on the web, booked two nights there, following my first six Sansira days. The sand and the five star hotels on the north side of Isla Mujeres looked terrific on the web pages, so I said goodbye to the friendly staff at Sensira, packed my bag, and told them, may be I stay up there at Isla Mujeres for nine days, if they are great, otherwise I come back for one more week at the Sensira.
Isla Mujeres turned out to be a nightmare. See my report in the Travel to USA for The Rolling Stones Tour 2021 pages. So two days later I was back at the Sensira, enjoying every day, every minute, of seamless five star quality of this resort hotel. And due to the airport check-in rejection after my 15 days stay, I came back to the Sensira for one more final day and night.
The staff at Sensira asked me if I had been to Mexico before. Yes, I said. I have been to Mexico every time The Rolling Stones have been performing in Mexico. I love Mexico, people are friendly, the food is fresh and great. During these Covid-19 days I was so happy to see that all of the hotel staff were having face masks at all times. The few guests at the hotel were 50% Spanish spoken and 50% English spoken, so it was very different from the “hotel area” of Cancun and Isla Mujeres, where few had masks of the tourists.
As a Stones fans, I got the sad news about the passing of Charlie Watts during my stay at the Sensira. For the rest of my life I will remember the very moment my close friend from London England calling me in my room at the Sensira, as I was briefly up there after lunch at 1pm locally on Tuesday August 24. The hotel staff had no way of understanding my grief and sadness, but they made my many sad moments less painful through their excellent and friendly service.
One special moment will also be in my memory forever. As I had such special requirements for food, one day the chef brough out all of his staff in front of my table, as I got my dinner meal at around 7pm one evening. They all lined up in front of me, 10-12 chefs and staff, thanking me for challenging them and their proffesional skills. I told them I was the one who should be thankful, having no pain or trouble throughout my entire stay. Then on the last day, for dinner, five of them came out for a picture, this time I wanted to take a picture, as seen below. Thank you chef Christian, number two from the right, and Hever, number one from the right, also the waiter Hever on the other picture serving me red wine and water. Seamless service. That means no matter who is serving you, they all know you, they all know what you need, you don’t have to tell them again and again and again and again. Thank you Sensira!
Charlie Watts, drummer of The Rolling Stones since 1963, sadly died in London Tuesday August 24, 2021. The Rolling Stones and their band members have been an important part of my life for fifty years, since I got their album Sticky Fingers in August 1971. Like so many other fans across the world, I can not find words. Still, I will try my best here, in memory of Charlie Watts. The first picture here is Charlie pointing my way during the final bow in Mexico City 2016.
I was a kid age 16 when I got into The Rolling Stones. They became an obsession for me. Once I am hooked, I never do anything 90%. I got all their records from 1963 and on that fall back in 1971. I was a drummer myself in the local school brass band, and I soon became a big fan of Charlie Watts. I thought Charlie was the coolest guy, and I called myself Charlie. All my notebooks from school that year do have “Charlie” scribbled all over them, front pages, inside, everywhere. Two years later, in October 1973, I went to Gothenburg Sweden to see The Rolling Stones with Charlie Watts live for the first time, and since them, many, many times. The Rolling Stones and their band members feels like my 2nd family.
Charlie was never a rock star in the normal way others look at that term. I have met Charlie many times, every time he was so surprised people were interested in him and his band. I think he loved it best in the background, with Keith Richards next to him for most of the shows. Others could take the spotlights and the interviews. When Mick Jagger pointed the microphone to Charlie during presentations, or press conferences, the typical comment from Charlie would be a single word, like “Yes”. Then Mick would say – with a smile: “He speaks!”
The tears keep coming to my eyes. It is like I have lost a close friend, even if I never really spoke that much with Charlie. As a fan, I have always been shy, and respected their privacy. Just being in the same room, or being next to Charlie, was all I needed, and expected. The shows, the press conferences, meeting Charlie in the streets, in the VIP Lounges, at his own Jazz gigs, or wherever I ended up close by Charlie, it felt like I was sort of family. I guess that is like being a fan, you love the band and their members, and you feel part of a bigger family.
The picture below was taken by me in New York City August 18, 1997, during the Bridges To Babylon Press Conference. I may be shy, but that day, like some other days, I was not that shy. Even if we arrived late, with one of the record company coaches from the Times Square area, I aimed for the front, and I ended upon row one with Jane Rose on my one side and the Sprint Manager (tour sponsor) on my other side. I took the pictures up front with my little pocket camera, and when I look at all the pictures I took, I see the Charlie Watts I have always known – a man of many faces, smiling, wondering, thinking, well dressed, still a rock star in my mind.
Charlie did not have any personal security, not until recent years, when they just grew mega big, and insurance probably demanded security also for Charlie. Charlie was able to take care of himself, and most people would not even bother him. I remember meeting Charlie walking on the Chicago sidewalk between the two shows, on September 24, 1997. I was with tour pal Paul. We had a great chat with Charlie, who was a bit surprised about meeting fans as usual. We told him how much we loved the opening show of the tour last night. Then we told him we were looking forward to the next show tomorrow. He was so surprised, he could not really understand why we would go and see another show, since we had seen the show already… That was how Charlie was to me, he was always a gentleman, polite, still surprised about the fact that some of us just had to see him and his band again and again.
For a private person like Charlie Watts, the way I got to know him, I am so impressed the way he met us all polite and respectful. Thank you Charlie Watts for all the many years with great music and memories.
Below some pictures I took during the final show with Charlie Watts and The Rolling Stones, live at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Florida USA, Friday August 30, 2019. Then the last two pictures are taken by Jim Pietryga, also from the Miami show, the final bow with Charlie, and then, Jim’s final picture from that show, Charlie in the pouring rain, smiling!
Miami FL USA – Newark NJ USA – Oslo Norway – Asker Norway. That was my final travel of the No Filter US Tour 2019. One short flight of 3 hours to Newark, then the long intercontinental flight of some 8 hours. I was at home Monday morning September 2 at 10am. As I get home, I see fall colours are coming. There are red and orange, yellow and brown, still mostly green. Sept, Oct an Nov are fall months, and fall is coming. Continue reading “Going home … and … See you soon!”
The Rolling Stones were supposed to start their No Filter US tour 2019 in Miami Florida Saturday April 20. Then the tour got rescheduled, and Miami ended up as the last show, scheduled for Saturday August 31. Five days before the show was supposed to be on, as they were to be be performing the Glendale / Phoenix Arena show Monday August 26, I realized the Miami show might never happen at all. There was another hurrican building up in the south, just like in New Orleans six weeks ago, but this time it was the final show of the tour, and the timing was bad. There might not be a show at all. Continue reading “The Rolling Stones in Miami Florida USA 2019”
News and what is happening day to day locally is an important part of life for me. Wherever I go, I do always read the local news. Ideally I want the news as told in a printed newspaper, which I can read during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Most hotels do offer a free newspaper, and for most of my stays, that happens to be “USA Today”. Continue reading “USA Today – News on tour USA 2019”
