A record store in Paris

We stumbled across a huge record store. It was massive. Each floor was filled with individual music stations where you could preview a selection of CDs. The stations were equipped with nice big headphones that blocked out noise. I could listen to the CDs undistracted by the hum of the crowds around me. And when I choose a song to preview, it was not the first 30 seconds. I could listen to the entire song.

I went from station to station for hours listening to music: discovering new albums, getting energized by familiar songs, and searching for the earworm song from Gandia.

🎵 Please don’t go, please don’t go, please don’t go ….

Success. It was Double You. They released their dance remix of the KC and the Sunshine Band song earlier in 1992 and it was an instant hit. It was probably still playing on a continuous loop in that dance club on Playa Piles.

We were starved for music at this point in our travels. It had been a long time since I was able to listen to my mixed tape. We were strolling leisurely up the Champs de Élysée when the music store beckoned. The Arc de Triumphe could wait.

Musical cravings satisfied, we continued our stroll to the Arc de Triumphe, and all the way up the historic monument to the panoramic terrace. We did most of the typical sites a first-timer to Paris would do, visiting the famous monuments and churches and exploring the characteristic arrondissements. Our agenda even included several museums (the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin, Musée de l’Orangerie). No wonder we needed a music break.

In addition to three full days touring Paris, we took three day trips. We went to Lyon, mainly so we could ride the TGV. Mainly for fun, we went to EuroDisney. Technical difficulties on a classic boat ride around the world meant another catchy song was stuck in our head that day.

🎵 It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all ….

Another day we visited both Versailles and Monet’s beautiful flower gardens at Giverny. I enjoyed wandering admist the scented flower gardens as much as I did surrounded by the large water lily murals in the oval rooms at the Musée de l’Orangerie. Both ethereal scenes are stunning.

Paris is one destination from my backpacking trip I have returned to several times since 1992. I have strolled the same leafy boulevards, traversed the well known bridges across the Seine and returned to many of the historic landmarks and venerable museums. This basic blueprint is largely unchanged.

There is one place I cannot revisit: the mystical record store on the Champs de Élysée.

That is from another era.

This is one entry from my 1992 European backpacking trip with my friend Sarah. If you want to start at the beginning, please check out The journey starts in Nice.