When it’s sunny in Paris it feels like we’re on holiday in the south of France and the Mediterranean is just around the corner. After work on Friday we decided to go to the park to test our brand new football (in French colours). Just kicking around, a dopy-looking dreadlock dude came to us and started to play along. Being the nice people we are we didn’t object and introduced ourselves. Next thing he took the ball and kicked it as hard as he could into a group of people having a pick nick, hitting a girl on the head. They appeared to be his friends. After 2 more minutes of playing, he went back to join his group and called out to invite us to join them. Eager to meet some people in Paris and being in a relaxed mood we sat down with the bunch of beer and vodka drinking, smoking students. They were studying to get a higher degree in ‘sound’ management and welcomed us with open arms. They loved the fact that we were Belgians because (according to these people) Belgium has got the best culture and festivals in the world. One guy in particular could not stop talking about the many times he visited Pukkelpop, Dour festival, Werchter and how he ended up in Ostend one day. Another was eager to learn more about Belgian politics and thought Tom Barman was the cutest guy he had ever seen…
The next day it was the final day of ‘Belgian week’ in Paris. All week long several Belgian artists were performing all around Paris. On Saturday we were hoping to see ‘A Brand’ in the Cité Universitaire and in the evening a whole bunch of promising groups performed at Montmartre. We took the Vélib to go to the Cité Universitaire. Vélib is a bicycle renting service that allows you to borrow a bike for a day at the price of 1 euro. Given that it was sunny and there are Vélib stations all around Paris, it seemed like a fun idea. It was absolutely brilliant. In no time we drove down to the Cité Universitaire whilst enjoying a nice cool breeze on our bikes. We docked our bikes in one of the stations and went in to the impressive Cité where students from around the world live united in different huge buildings by country. The Belgian House looked quite impressive, especially with the stage next to it and a beer and hotdog stand to provide for all needs. In our case: Kriek and Delerium Tremens. Whilst waiting for the next band to start performing, I accidentally spilled a significant part of my beer on the girl sitting next to me. For maximum impact she was wearing open shoes that were now completely soaked in beer. As I apologized we started talking and found out that she was also Belgian, also studied at the same university as we have and actually knew the student association I co-founded when I was a student. Somehow, I had the impression she was not impressed by the reputation of my ‘Moeder Feeste’ (Mother Party) association nor with the fact that I spilled beer over her shoes but somehow I found it funny how the two observations came together.
We had to leave the Cité Universitaire without having seen A Brand because greater things were upon us. We met up with Linne (Belgian), Rafa (French), Jo and Ed (English) for the final gigs. It started off with ‘Balthazar’, a fine rockband from back home that performed solid. The drink of the night was Affligem, a Belgian speciality beer that the French drink as common lager. Louise discovered Ricard pre-prepped in a bottle so soon we were pre-prepped for the next gig: ‘Sold out’. Never heard of it before, being Walloon-Belgian (not Flemish-Belgian), but it was again very good. Very danceable as well and as the French audience sat down at some tables closer to the bar, the Belgian-spirited ones already started to jumping around a bit. The Disko Drunkards were the final gig. A combination of members of Millionaire, Vive la fête, Deus and the Glimmer twins set the night on fire. At first it took getting used to their strange-ish mix of disco, rock and dance (performed live) but finally the whole crowd was going with it. It was a superb night, our first superb night of partying since we moved to Paris. To be repeated. Still enthusiastic about our Vélib bikes we decided to cycle home which was a bit painful in the end, not knowing the area that well but we managed. On Sunday we recovered through sleep and a decent Italian meal at our local restaurant.
And so we are getting more and more settled down in Paris. Returning from work the other day I met our neighbour on the stairwell. He was stoned out of his mind and almost fell down the stairs as he introduced himself. He seemed like an okay guy and I didn’t mind meeting my neighbour so I didn’t object when he said we should go out for a beer one day. Pleased by my positive response, he came to our flat ten minutes later (still stoned) and started telling me about his cat, Wolfie. I kindly said ‘à la prochaine’ and closed the door to go back to my dinner. Another 5 minutes later, the doorbell rang again and there he was again but this time he brought Wolfie, a nice ginger-white cat that looked rather stressed. I declined his request to meet (and kiss as the French do) Louise but I’m sure we’ll meet again soon in less of a high, the four of us.
The next day it was the final day of ‘Belgian week’ in Paris. All week long several Belgian artists were performing all around Paris. On Saturday we were hoping to see ‘A Brand’ in the Cité Universitaire and in the evening a whole bunch of promising groups performed at Montmartre. We took the Vélib to go to the Cité Universitaire. Vélib is a bicycle renting service that allows you to borrow a bike for a day at the price of 1 euro. Given that it was sunny and there are Vélib stations all around Paris, it seemed like a fun idea. It was absolutely brilliant. In no time we drove down to the Cité Universitaire whilst enjoying a nice cool breeze on our bikes. We docked our bikes in one of the stations and went in to the impressive Cité where students from around the world live united in different huge buildings by country. The Belgian House looked quite impressive, especially with the stage next to it and a beer and hotdog stand to provide for all needs. In our case: Kriek and Delerium Tremens. Whilst waiting for the next band to start performing, I accidentally spilled a significant part of my beer on the girl sitting next to me. For maximum impact she was wearing open shoes that were now completely soaked in beer. As I apologized we started talking and found out that she was also Belgian, also studied at the same university as we have and actually knew the student association I co-founded when I was a student. Somehow, I had the impression she was not impressed by the reputation of my ‘Moeder Feeste’ (Mother Party) association nor with the fact that I spilled beer over her shoes but somehow I found it funny how the two observations came together.
We had to leave the Cité Universitaire without having seen A Brand because greater things were upon us. We met up with Linne (Belgian), Rafa (French), Jo and Ed (English) for the final gigs. It started off with ‘Balthazar’, a fine rockband from back home that performed solid. The drink of the night was Affligem, a Belgian speciality beer that the French drink as common lager. Louise discovered Ricard pre-prepped in a bottle so soon we were pre-prepped for the next gig: ‘Sold out’. Never heard of it before, being Walloon-Belgian (not Flemish-Belgian), but it was again very good. Very danceable as well and as the French audience sat down at some tables closer to the bar, the Belgian-spirited ones already started to jumping around a bit. The Disko Drunkards were the final gig. A combination of members of Millionaire, Vive la fête, Deus and the Glimmer twins set the night on fire. At first it took getting used to their strange-ish mix of disco, rock and dance (performed live) but finally the whole crowd was going with it. It was a superb night, our first superb night of partying since we moved to Paris. To be repeated. Still enthusiastic about our Vélib bikes we decided to cycle home which was a bit painful in the end, not knowing the area that well but we managed. On Sunday we recovered through sleep and a decent Italian meal at our local restaurant.
And so we are getting more and more settled down in Paris. Returning from work the other day I met our neighbour on the stairwell. He was stoned out of his mind and almost fell down the stairs as he introduced himself. He seemed like an okay guy and I didn’t mind meeting my neighbour so I didn’t object when he said we should go out for a beer one day. Pleased by my positive response, he came to our flat ten minutes later (still stoned) and started telling me about his cat, Wolfie. I kindly said ‘à la prochaine’ and closed the door to go back to my dinner. Another 5 minutes later, the doorbell rang again and there he was again but this time he brought Wolfie, a nice ginger-white cat that looked rather stressed. I declined his request to meet (and kiss as the French do) Louise but I’m sure we’ll meet again soon in less of a high, the four of us.
