Novenmber 10th, my dear friend Nancy and I left for Paris. We flew from Dusseldorf Airport and before we knew it we were landing in Paris.
For me this would be the first time of seeing Paris itself. I was looking forward to it, the weather forecast was good and we had 2 lovely cherries on our pie waiting for us there: 30 Seconds to Mars in 'le Zenith'!!! 2 nights in a row people. The second show got announced after we booked everything for the first show, so obviously we had to add Night of the White Shadow to our to-see list ;)
We met up with Mandy at the aiport in Paris, and my brother Jamie arrived the next day. We all went to Pukkelpop earlier this year to rock our socks off with Mars and many many more, when tragidy struck... A day we'll never forget! So when the date(s) in Paris were announced, we all decided we had to go! While I'm writing this, many Echelon are queing for the show they later announced in Antwerp (much closer then Paris) but due to work I won't be able to join them tonight... It sucks! But you can't always win right?
Back to Paris...
The sights were gorgeous! Though people, I found, aren't always too friendly the city itself was a sight worth seeing. Here are some pics of the "touristy" things we did there:
I risked my life, taking that last picture! People drive like idiots in Paris, especially around 'le Arc de Triomphe' But I like living on the edge sometimes... :p
The hotel that we were staying in was okay. The neigbourhood was so-so, but the location was perfect when it comes to the venue! Le Zenith was just a good 10 minutes walk away from our hotel... Perfect!!!
Friday night we had us a baguette avec fromage and got ready for NIGHT ONE! It was crowded at the entry (we walked to the venue the night before and there actually were Echelon sleeping in tents! Crazy!!!) and since we had seated tics we never bothered to get there early. The seats we had were pretty good and we were sitting really close to my good friend Carol, who flew in from London!
That night's setlist was epic!!! Never heard "the Story" live before, so I was in aw when Jared popped up in the crow with his guitar and played it after "Alibi". One of my all time favorite songs is "From Yesterday" and the only time I ever heard that one live was in Amsterdam, 2 years ago! So, needless to say I was going bananas when they also played it full band in Paris! Mixed opinions on "Hurricane the film" being played in the middle of the gig, understandibly, but I liked it! We attempted to wait outside for one of the guys to come and say hi, but honestly, it was crowded, cold and I was tired from walking. So at about 1 am I called it a night, took a shower and catched a few dreams!
It's a bonus to every show really, the great people you've met through this band always pop up worldwide! It's great to catch up after a show! ♪♥♪
The next day, after some more sightseeing, and some more baguettes ;) we had our much anticipated WHITE NIGHT!!! Out of all the themed shows, this was the one I've always hoped for!
We got dressed in, ofcourse, as much white as possible! And after dinner, like the night before, we headed to the venue. Only this time we were able to cut some of the line off and we got in early... Horrible, I know, but you would have done the same! Blame the unwatchful security... :p
After last night, we knew we had to sit near the sounboard to enjoy Jared's accoustic set up close... We sat there front row!!! Nobody in front of us, just the sounboard... Great view (makes you appreciate the lighting during a show even more) and all the space to go crazy during the gig!
Jared did show up right on front of our noses and it was great! Too bad some people go out of their way to scream "Jared I love you" in stead of, if you wanna shout anything "Thank you" perhaps... Anywho... It was kinda fun to see all the 0.o faces, when Jared played "Was it a dream?" and "Echelon"... They're all downloading those songs now, cuz they must've felt pretty stupid not being able to sing along to their favorite band's less known songs. They obviously don't have all 3!!! albums ;)... Anyways, we went crazy during those songs, bless them!
It was beautiful to see everybody in white and the surprise of the night sure was : Alibi" full band! Man, just like in San Jose, it brought a tear to my eye... Gorgeous!
Another night to remember. And, painful as it is, maybe my last night for a long time :'-(. But it sure was an epic 2 years, with perfect music, epic shows and a family that kept getting bigger. It sure made my world bigger and for that alone, I'm forever thankfull to Jared, Shannon and Tomo and everyone else making this music and tour happen! BLESS YOU ALL! ♥♪♥
On sunday we enjoyed our last day of Paris with more sightseeing and flew back home later that night.
Another trip I'll never forget! My life has changed so much over the past 2 years, because of myself and also because of this band... It's hard to believe to some, but it truely has! The way I look at everything, the friends I've made... I can't wait to be old and content someday, look back at my blogs and pictures and with a big smile say: "This is the story of my life..."
