Yes, the Mrs and I flew to Paris for the weekend just to see Jimmy Buffett. 2 hour flight from Vienna on a Friday evening. Because we only had carry-ons, from CDG we were at our hotel on the left bank in under an hour. Moules-frites for dinner. Our favourite. Next morning we had a leisurely café breakfast and poked around in Shakespeare & Co., which was a treat for us because Vienna doesn't really have a great big English language book store any more. Strolled along the river a bit and then rendezvoused with some friends from London and had lunch at an outdoor café on Boulevard St Germain. Weather was watery sunshine and temps in the low 20s. Not bad for the last weekend in September! Later that afternoon we metroed to Pigalle. Jimmy was playing at La Cigale at 7:30. In the meantime, there was a tailgate party going on on a small, round, traffic island at the intersection of Boulevard de Rochechouart and Rue des Martyrs...
Posted by
OP
Vienna, Austria
517 posts
...The island was named "Saint Somewhere" and a pirate flag was hoisted along with a Conch Republic flag. St Somewhere was taken over by a very international flock of Parrotheads. We met expats who had come in from London, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and even one guy who had flown in from Indonesia. There were also people who had flown in from the east coast and from the mid-west just to see Jimmy in Paris. Of course, all the parrot heads were wearing the usual crazy, tropical clothes and hats. There were a lot of grass skirts, flowered leis and Hawaiian shirts. And the French wine was flowing. The Parisians certainly were scratching their heads. Some brave locals even came over and asked what was going on. La Cigale has a maximum capacity of 1,385. By Buffett standards, it was a very intimate setting. There was not a bad seat in the house and the crowd was friendly. Jimmy put on a great 2 ½ hour show. Did you know the man speaks French and apparently lived in Paris for a time in his early years? When he sang "He went to Paris", the whole place sang along. It was a bit of a home-coming for many of us. Anyway, it was a great time and a treat. Jimmy says he'll be back next year. Sunday afternoon we flew home. A weekend in Paris? Believe me, I know how lucky I am, and I do not take any of it for granted.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32749 posts
sounds like a great weekend. Thanks for reminding me that I should think much more of weekends in Paris!!
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10222 posts
What a great weekend! Paris AND Jimmy Buffett!! He puts on a very entertaining show and it must have been wonderful to see him in such an intimate setting.
Posted by
Happy Valley, PA
672 posts
Thomas: I like JB, but I think your are the most fortunate to be able to live in Vienna. I lived there for one year (sabbatical) and it was absolutely fantastic. There is not enough space (i.e., allowable characters) in this section to describe all of the great places we visited, people we met (still friends 20 years later), events we attended, meals we ate, trips we took, etc. Actually, I didn't want to return to the States when the time came, but then I realized if I didn't I wouldn't have a job and paycheck. We try to get back there when we can, but it is never soon enough!
Posted by
Rochelle, IL
263 posts
Thomas, that would have been a great show. I can't imagine He went to Paris in French....great song. I would imagine it was hard explaining Parrotheads to locals!! He doesn't seem to be "big" over in Europe...maybe that's my wrong perception. What a weekend that would be. Thanks for telling us about it.