When you are hopping around town for excitement, it’s always good idea to try to read the billboards. You may actually see something of interest! On their way to God knows where, one glance at a pole with advertisement doesn’t seem to be something to warrant more attention. However, when you see the iconic Sting of the Police, that kind of grabs your eye especially if you are and were, a die hard fan of The Police & of Sting. Yep plastered right there on a large pole was a picture of Sting and the words ”Sting & Shaggy” in bold letters. Seeing the advertisement once prior it just so happened that one Travel Hog actually stopped to try and interpret it. Turns out it was a FREE live concert! Free? Live? Sting? They had her at hello! Excited and hardly able to speak, knowing the concert was only 3 days away, she shouted! OMG! STING IN CONCERT! I HAVE TO GO! Knowing that there would be thousands of people in the icy cold weather did not deter the decision. A childhood dream coming true almost 40 years later!
This had to be a bucket list item!
The night of the concert, there was rain expected with dropping temperatures. The Hogz went to dinner and the cold and rain wasn’t making the evening too pleasant. Still strong willed and ready to see a childhood heart throb, there was no such thing as rain on her agenda. Rain or not, She would be somewhere near Hero’s Square catching the tunes of the coveted concert. After dinner they walked towards the concert as hundreds of people seemed to be heading in the same direction. The rain became a little heavier with each passing block. No Umbrella or parka, they journeyed on.
The closer they got to the impacted crowd, they could hear the announcer muttering in Hungarian in a boxing ring announcer kind of voice a few words and then “STTIIIIINNNG & SHHHHAAAAGGGGYYYY!” The music wailed through the sky as the big screen T.V.’s became more and more visible with every step. Dripping wet from drizzling rain they found refuge under a nearby food stand awning. Dancing from the sound of loud base acoustics and the sound of Sting’s voice, the Travel Hog was floating on cloud nine. What were the odds of seeing this, over 6500 miles away from home and almost 40 years later. What a memorable night!
A clip from a moment in time - Sting & Shaggy - Budapest