giraffeandy

I'm definitely going to Berlin, I won't miss the opportunity if he is only a few hours bus ride away for once!  

25 minutes ago, Hero said:

I remember yours came with a little salad on the side in a glass, with carrot shavings. Didn't you and @giraffeandy have the same? I had smoked salmon, cheese and aubergine. It was massive, I was stuffed. Oh, and the delicious ice cream shakes! 

 

La Crème de Paris Notre Dame 

https://www.lacremedeparis.com/

 

No we're not paid promo. 

I know I had a galette with the salad when I arrived in Paris, for my birthday I had a crepe and a milkshake  

I love the place, nice view and great food, I hope I can visit it again the next time I'm in Paris. (Sorry for the off-topic discussion...but maybe Mika should visit it too to learn the difference between galette and crepe! )

5 hours ago, silver said:

Presumably the festival site hasn't been affected by the weather? (Flooding in the Madrid region).

I read some news about it and it seems that the most affected places are in the region of Madrid but the capital itself hasn't suffered major damages. I've only seen some articles about water in the metro or on the roads but nothing too serious. So I think the festival is fine, the organizers still keep promoting it. But the photos from the affected villages outside of Madrid are indeed horrible. Hopefully there are no more heavy rains.

Btw, the door opens at 16:00 both nights. Will you already be there by that time? 

The timetable for the festival:

Mika will be at the Brava stage from 22:55 to 00:10. It's 15 minutes less than expected but it's still one of the longest sets. 

 I'm still in shock, I was just casually watching Mika's stories and suddenly I see my face... I didn't expect him to repost the video from MFC! 

Nothing extraordinary but when I arrived to Palma de Mallorca this July and got on our transfer bus, they were just playing Grace Kelly (I guess it was the driver's radio). A nice beginning to a great summer holiday! 

19 hours ago, Hero said:

In A Coruña, staggering back to the hotel after the gig, passed a late night bar around 2am with the final lines of "Hurts" playing. 

That's so rare to hear Hurts somewhere, not even Mika sings it live anymore, it's one of my favourite songs! I'd love to hear it live someday. 

20 minutes ago, Hero said:

Might be worth checking taxis and noting contact details before you go. In A Coruña we had planned to get an Uber or a Lyft from the airport, but neither operated in the area. Not sure if it's the same for all Spain, Madrid might be different, but do check beforehand.

Uber does operate in Spain in large cities including Madrid but it doesn't have to be an Uber of course, I just used the word for all similar services...  I would definitely prepare beforehand 

15 minutes ago, mellody said:

 

There are 2 hotels right next to the venue, but they're a bit pricey, so I might go for a hostel in the centre. Takes at least an hour from the airport, and I only arrive very late at night on Thursday (and surely also on Friday after the show), so I'll see if I can find some nightlife area where it feels safe at night. I've never been to Madrid either, and I have the Friday morning (not planning to queue early) and the Saturday for sightseeing, as my flight home only leaves in the evening.

Yes, I was looking for hostels near Gran Vía, there are a lot of cheap and nice looking options with good ratings and the area is very busy with a lot of traffic so I guess there will be people on the street even at night (especially in Spain where people go for dinner almost at midnight ). Tbh, that's another reason why I prefer city centre, it usually feels safer at night than some outskirt areas. And there is a metro station right in front of the venue (even though I might take an uber after the gig, the metro only runs to 1.30 a.m.) 

On 8/7/2023 at 3:46 PM, mellody said:

Just booked my flights.  Found one for half the price that I saw the last few weeks, I just need to fly from Frankfurt instead of Munich on the way to Madrid.

 

Are you all staying near the venue, or rather near the city centre?

I am staying near the city centre, actually in the city centre. I was looking for options near the venue too but I didn't find anything nearby and when it was closer to the venue, it took the same time to get there by the metro because it was a different line. So I thought I will enjoy the city, I've never been to Madrid before and I want to visit some places before (and after) the festival. 

I'm going to Madrid 

So I finally booked a room, it's in the district San Giovanni, not too far away from the station and quite close to the Colosseo. If anyone is staying nearby, let me know!  

It's the area near the central station recommendable? I'm just asking because in most cities, the area of the central station is full of homeless people etc. and generally a bit unplesant, especially in the evening. I'm also looking for something nearby because the transfer from the airport ends there I think (and I was also thinking about a trip to Anzio on Sunday by train) but I thought it's maybe better to stay away from the station itself... 

I already booked my flight, I'm arriving on Friday (30th) and leaving on Wednesday (5th). It's my first time in Rome so I want to enjoy the city as well. I just haven't booked my accommodation yet, I'd prefer to stay somewhere with other Mfc members (or at least nearby, in the same street/area) so I can join someone after the gig and travel with them. Where do you stay, any tips? 

To be honest, I am usually not a fan of Mika's collabs and this one probably won't be an exception...  It sounds more like a Baby K song (which is fair, since Mika is just the feature artist) but I don't even like his part in the song that much (it's not bad but it doesn't make the song that much better for me, it feels a bit overproduced...). I'll give it a few more listenings but I guess this song just isn't for me. 

I'm still not the biggest fan of Yoyo but I have to say that the Indeed performance was probably my favourite so far. It's definitely a song that shines more live and could be fun at concerts, even though I won't listen to it much otherwise.

I have to say I like this song more than Yoyo! Today in the morning I had the urge to listen to the song and that's exactly the feeling I was missing with Yoyo. 

On 6/13/2022 at 10:51 PM, dcdeb said:

I've been up and down spinning 'round

Yo-yo never hit the ground

It's just the name of the game

 

You can tell me once, tell me twice

Go and take my own advice

I got no one to blame

This part in the very beginning is SO catchy, I wish there would be another part like that in the song. 

I know it's a sad song but to me it feels somehow comforting. I really like his voice in it. This song definitely gives me the Mika vibes I'm still missing in Yoyo.

I had to laugh when he said in the interview something like "don't blame me if I mix up the lyrics, it's the first time I'm performing this song"... YES MIKA, OBVIOUSLY, YOU WOULD NEVER MIX UP THE LYRICS OF YOUR OLD SONGS! 

8 hours ago, Prisca said:

The Migros at the main station are open until 10pm. Migros at other places normally until 8pm. So, to go buy food there after Mika's gig would have been too late.

I'm also really sorry for the off-topic, so this is my last reply - I don't know about festivals (ha, we are back to the main topic!) but at gigs you usually can't bring your own drinks or food at all so sometimes you are forced to buy things late at night for the extremely expensive Swiss prices anyway...  And that was my whole point, I know that as a local you know where to buy things to save money, but as a "gig tourist" you find yourself in situations where you don't have as many options. 

36 minutes ago, Prisca said:

Yes, it depends on what you measure it by. Hotels are also extremely expensive in Paris. Restaurants, however, are cheaper in Paris than in Zurich. I didn't find the supermarkets cheaper in Paris than in Switzerland (and after all, I lived there for 6 months). The assumption that McDonald's is always the cheapest everywhere is wrong. It is extremely expensive in Switzerland. It depends on the supermarket, but you can also buy hot food there and it costs a lot less than McDonald's (or you get a lot more for the money).

Even though I wouldn't call it cheap, I didn't find my hotel in Paris extremely expensive. But I didn't stay in a hotel in Zurich so I can't compare.  I believe you that there are cheaper options regarding food in Zurich, but when you are in the city center (especially as a tourist who doesn't know the city at all), you don't have many other options than fast food, supermarkets are usually rather on the outskirts. 

16 minutes ago, Prisca said:

You could have bought a bottle of water and a roll for that in the supermarket.

The small supermarket at the train station (the only one that was still open after the gig, I think it was migrolino) was of course a bit more expensive so not even there I could find something for that price... 

On 5/31/2022 at 6:35 PM, Prisca said:

The ten most expensive cities in the world

 

 

Okay, I've noticed that New York is expensive. I wasn't in Los Angeles long enough. Where is London?

Interesting, tbh at least as a tourist I found Paris way cheaper than Zürich. Actually I was quite surprised that Paris wasn't as expensive as I thought, especially compared to the south of France (which was the last place in France where I have been before going to Paris last year). There were still affordable restaurants with almost the same prices as in my city, whereas in Zürich even McDonald's seemed expensive to me.  But I guess the ranking is based on something else... 

Anyway, Prisca's post about Switzerland also reminded me of the 1,40 CHF I was trying to spend in Zürich... As I was staying just for the day of the gig, I only brought my card and a few euros. But my mum had 1,40 CHF from our last trip to Switzerland. She said I could spend it for the toilet or something like that... Long story short, I didn't succeed and brought the money back home. There was nothing so cheap in the supermarket and even the toilet at the train station was more expensive... It was literally worthless. 

6 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

But as I recall during rehearsal of Mika and Laura - she made at least two mistakes in "Fragile". At the live concert everything was perfect.

I read it only about the finale, someone wrote Måneskin also didn't sing live. But I really don't know if the information is true. 

@Prisca Reading this thread, I really hope you're a better taxi driver than Mika... 

17 minutes ago, PYZ_Moustache said:

We don't have to be such reluctant to admit that he lip-synched in the final live. Comparing the jury show and the live show, his vocals are literally the same. He may have recorded it in the studio or on stage before this, but for his tiredness (he even went hoarse when talking in the semi-final) and such a huge and popular show, and the purpose of his performance here - not to participate in this contest, but to promote her own music and share his message of love, it isn't a shame or sth at all to admit this fact. 

btw listen to Space Kelly if you haven't yet! I've sticked to it lol "We gave a big hug to Mika~ 200 million people saw~ (That's a lot of people~)"

I've read that apparently all the guest performances used recordings from the rehearsals... 

58 minutes ago, silver said:

Ukraine's song was one of the favourites even before the war began; I thought it was a good song anyway.  And people wanted to show their support.

 

Disappointed for the Czech song, as I thought it was better than many that finished higher (and it was the Czech song I was humming to myself this morning).

 

Baffled by the huge public vote for Moldova.

 I agree with all your points, exactly my feelings and thoughts!