A random Tuesday night in the local bar:
Me: I think Green Day are coming this year. I’d love to see them live.
Manfredas: I’d be up for that. When are they coming?
Me: Not sure. Hold on, I’ll check… Aw crap, they’re coming on Thursday! There’s no way I can make that.
Manfredas: (Sad face)
Me: Oh well. Guess I’ll just have to wait until the next time they’re in town. (Sigh)
The next morning, I woke up to a Facebook message:
Manfredas: Do you fancy going to see Green Day in Paris?
Me: ??? Mais oui, bien sûr!
Within the next couple of hours, flights were booked, concert tickets were reserved and an AirBnB apartment in the centre of Paris was found. German efficiency. Stupidly early on the 3rd of February, we were off!
We got to Orly Airport and made our way outside to wait for the Orly Bus to the city. The first one was too full to get on, with passengers’ faces squished against the windows. We managed to squeeze onto the next one, where we stood like sardines the whole way into the city. There was no chance to validate our tickets so it would be a free journey back. Irish rule-shirking.
We navigated the Métro easily and were soon standing in front of our apartment building on a postcard-perfect, cobbled street in Saint-Michel.

We had been sent a list of quite detailed instructions by the owner of the apartment, Julien. Unfortunately, he had failed to include the correct code for the front door. Luckily, another resident was leaving just as we were punching in the wrong code for the fifth time so we finally managed to get in.
After that u have to cross the yard : dont climb the first stairs but the last. The flat is at the 4th floor (without elevator) and it’s the door in front of the stairs, the last possible.
The door is sometimes a bit hard to open.
The lock to open is the lower one. The tip to do it easily is to push the key until the end and to take it back a little. Then turn a quarter round unclockwise and it’s done ;).
I wisely let Manfredas grapple with that.
Please don’t throw anything anormal in the toilets, it’s getting blocked really easily. There is a bin under the bathroom sink.
Poor Manfredas would refuse to poo in the loo for the whole of our time there. He figured, using flawless German logic, that a lady poo would probably be OK but a manly poo might be too much for the delicate French plumbing. It was actually quite hilarious having a German in a French apartment; if he’d had his tool kit, I think he would have spent most of the weekend straightening the crooked shelves and replumbing the entire apartment.
Thankfully he didn’t and it didn’t seem like Julien possessed anything remotely practical so we were able to leave the apartment and start exploring. The narrow, winding streets around the apartment were just so pretty and so French that I may have had a tiny orgasm. We certainly wouldn’t go hungry or thirsty as practically every second building was a bar, restaurant or café. The chances of going broke were far higher.

We managed to find a place that wouldn’t require taking out a loan and enjoyed our first croque monsieur and bottle of wine in Paris. We strolled around for a while, scoped out where the bus to the concert venue went from, and I exclaimed “Sacré bleu!” and “Oh là là” sporadically and for no apparent reason.
After a little rest (and some wine) in the apartment, we made our way to the bus stop. Upon overhearing our conversation on the bus, a lively debate sprang up among the locals about which stop we should get off at. Yeah, the French are soooo unfriendly…
We got off, got half-heartedly frisked on the way in, and made our way to our seats. Manfredas went and got us a couple of beers and then Green Day were on.

Having been a fan for quite a long time, my expectations were high. Green Day surpassed every one of them – they absolutely rocked the house. There was a lot of audience participation and one girl even got to keep the guitar that she played on stage. Manfredas had the added bonus of listening to me roaring along with the band for over two hours. Lucky devil.
We stumbled out of the stadium on a total high, jabbering on about how amazing it had been and how cool it was that we were actually in Paris and had seen Green Day. I wondered if I should hang around and wait for Billie Joe to come out so I could creepily stalk him but decided that a celebratory glass of wine was more important.
Coming across as a complete “Basket Case” probably wouldn’t have endeared me to him much anyway.
Green day was in Las Vegas last weekend! My husband went to see them with our French exchange student! I can’t believe they are so popular! I used to listen to then when I was in high school and that was …. 15 years ago!
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Ha, yeah, the venue was packed! Hope your hubby and exchange student enjoyed the show!
My high school days are even longer ago than that… scary 😉
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I have never eaten anywhere that expensive in Paris! Or… anywhere, really? How’d you even find that place?
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Just walking along! Places were even more expensive on the Champs Elysées. Unbelievable!
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That’s… ridiculous. I did buy a VERY expensive glass of wine in that area, but otherwise all my food was very reasonable…
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OMG I love them. Dookie forever. But when I read this title, I was like, “What the heck is Green Day and what is it celebrating!”
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Organic jam? Or something? Just bought some so it’s top of mind 😉 Dookie forever!
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I was just thinking about when that came out…I think I was in 3rd grade…
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Man, I feel old now!
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And I just heard “When I Come Around” on the radio… Oh, the classics!
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Ugh. Jealous on so many levels. I was just talking to bae about eating snails in Paris yesterday haha. Did you eat snails?
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Ha, no, I’m not that brave!!
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Paris is awesome, and all its idiosyncracies (there are a lot of them)! Glad you enjoyed it.
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More than enjoyed – loved! Can’t wait to go back again 🙂 Thanks for commenting! Linda.
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Green Day are playing in Belfast and Dublin at the end of June if you want to see them again. I’m thinking about it. But an outdoor gig in a park in Belfast, probably in the rain, doesn’t have the same attraction as Paris.
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Ha, yeah, even in June you’re never guaranteed in Ireland! I’m going to see Aerosmith here at the end of May – also outdoors so I’m hoping the weather holds up for that! Should be an awesome show too 🙂
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I’m jeallous: Green Day!!!
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I’m so grateful I got to see them after all! Was really disappointed that I would have missed them in Berlin. And they were playing during the week in every other city. Paris was the only Friday night – lucky that! But I can’t recommend them highly enough! 🙂
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So jealous! What an awesome reason to visit Paris. 🙂 Saw Green Day twice, years ago… still some of the best shows I’ve ever seen. ps~ Billie Joe definitely comes out and signs stuff, no worries about looking like a stalker, haha.
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Merde! Should have hung around after all! He does seem to really respect the fans – loved the way he got people up on stage! And they were amazing – agreed! 🙂 Paris wasn’t too shabby either 😉
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Next show! I’ll have to keep an eye on tour dates… haven’t been to Paris since I was 17, which seems like half a lifetime ago… oh wait, it was. ahhhhhh! 😉
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Ha, same! I don’t even remember when it was it was so long ago! But it was even more beautiful than I remembered – would totally go back! Just hope it doesn’t get any more expensive!
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What fun! I think he’s a sweetheart to take you there (and handy as well, ahem). But oh dear, the prices in Paris…
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Yeah, after Berlin it was a bit of a shocker! It is still possible to find cheap(ish) places though. And the city is just so gorgeous that it’s all worth it! 🙂
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It was a lucky day for Manfredas that your paths crossed, right?
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It’s hard to say who was luckier… 😉
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