April 12, 2010 10:47 AM

Last night in Budapest, Attila sang The Soul Continues with me as we had done in Oslo. It was good to see him again and also Szandra, the caterer who is the same woman who catered the 2009 Budapest show. I have a head cold now and cannot breathe freely through my nose. Here I am in a rock club in Vienna with ashtrays on the bar. This is a classic rock club/bar and I am hoping it is the last one I ever step inside. Truly visualizing Italy's venue as something better because after Bologna, the two remaining shows are festivals and AIR FLOW. I must remember to specify to booking agents for any performance I give for the rest of my career that I cannot perform in venues that allow cigarette smoking. In the U.S., smoking is banned in more and more cities and so when you tour Europe, it is good to be reminded that they are seriously behind in the smoking laws. Smoke and trying to sing do not go together. I am hoping to live to see the day when smoking is a thing of the past - like lead paint for the face is now when it was once commonplace in Europe to apply it to your skin to appear alabaster white complexioned. Oh and to make matters worse, we drive all night to Bologna right after the show in the cramped van with 7 people in it. 350 miles. 7 hours. The tour was booked for a bus that has beds such that you can sleep while the bus takes you to the next country. When the engine blew up in that bus and they moved us into a small van, these long drives (one was 14 hours) became utterly miserable. As I am not putting myself through this particular sort of absurd travel and (certain) venue experience again, I am doing my best to try and endure this head cold and the last 4 shows of this tour. Hoping my ears are not clogged on 17 April when I get on two jets to come back to the United States.