ANOTHER BIRTHDAY, ROLLING STONES EUROPE

As long as the Rollings Stones continue performing, I’ll continue going to their concerts. The first time I saw the Stones, it was their second U.S. performance, June 6, 1964, at Teen Fair in San Antonio, Texas. I was there — by myself — to see Bobby Vee and Paul Peterson from the “Donna Reed” show. As far as the Rolling Stones go, you might say I’m a pioneer; one of the first. They changed my life but Paul Peterson? I don’t remember much about him.

This September I’m going to see the Stones again — by myself — only this concert is in Lucca, Italy.

Since I’ll be in Italy anyway, enjoying friends, food and sightseeing, going to the Stones’ concert isn’t as off-the-wall as it might seem. Until an Instagram friend posted a video this week about the “STONES — NO FILTER,” 12 city, European tour, I had no idea they’d be just “down the road” from me in Florence. Kudos to the Stones’s marketing team because their video pushed all of my nostalgic buttons and made me want to “be there or be square.” That said, this was no easy feat to arrange.

Tickets went on sale this morning and sold out in a blink! While the best way to purchase tickets was through a “total package” event site like Viagogo, which sets you up with concert tickets, hotel and transportation, none were booking single ticket orders. Boo! Hello! Single American women travel alone and have money to spend. So I did it the Italian way and got online with throngs of other fans and waited my turn. With each passing second, a counter displayed how many — or should I say how few — tickets remained. When your turn comes to buy tickets, you’re also on a clock and must decide in a hurry or miss out. All of this was happening as Annie and Lulu pulled a folder of loose photographs off my desk and began slip sliding through all of them.

“Pit Floor Standing Tickets” are the majority of Lucca’s Mura Storiche venue. Although I’ll be on my feet the whole time and don’t really need a seat, the standing room only area gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies. I don’t want to be jammed in like sardines, surrounded by a pulsating crowd, hoping there won’t be a stampede. All I know is I’m in “Section Floor A Gold.” Floor… Hmm… Sounds like standing to me. My next challenge was to find a hotel. Concert tickets sold out in a flash, so why wouldn’t hotels?

I spent the morning looking for a place to stay that wasn’t two hours away. Every hotel in Lucca and anywhere near Lucca was already booked. Even hotels and private villas with prices I can’t afford were booked. I even enlisted the help of a travel agent. We were both online, looking at what we thought was the same hotel although “my” hotel was five hours from Lucca and hers was in Greece! LOL! Who knows? Like Blanche Dubois, I may depend on the kindness of strangers.

All I know is the next time the Stones perform, we may all be on walkers, so carpe the “Satisfaction” diem!

PS: Have you heard the Stones last album, “Blue and Lonesome?” If you’re a blues fan, don’t miss it.