Iron Maiden adventures (also Paris stuff but mostly Iron Maiden)
- Sheri Johnson, RD
- Aug 19, 2025
- 7 min read
About a year ago when Sheri and I really started planning our future lifestyle, Iron Maiden announced they would be embarking on a 50th anniversary tour. I immediately looked up the tour dates and discovered they would be in Europe while we were as well. The timing just happened to work out such that as we were leaving Balestrand the boys (and Eddie pictured above) would be in Paris. I bought the tickets (a bit of a challenge navigating the French Ticketmaster website, but I would not be denied) and we found a gorgeous apartment in the heart of the city.
This was more a vacation than nomading. We only spent a week in Paris and did many of the touristy things you do when you visit one of the worlds great cities for the first time. We were joined by our dear friends Xave and Tasha. After a long day of travel on boats, planes, and cars to get to our final destination it was wonderful to be greeted by friends ready for adventure.
So before we get to the rock gods we must first slog through world famous landmarks, masterpieces of art, impressive architecture, countless topless dancers and a bit of French history.
Landmarks
The iconic Eiffel Tower was a short walk from where we were staying. We would end up seeing this landmark from all angles as we wandered about the city. The monument that really caught me off guard however, was the Arc de Triomphe. To stand in its presence is so much different than seeing a picture in a book. It was absolutely imposing and way bigger than I imagined. It was without a doubt my favorite landmark.
There are countless streets that spoke off of the roundabout that encircles the Arc and the most famous of these is of course the Champs Elysees. Americans would be proud of this street as it is an homage to capitalistic excess. The Louis Vuitton building is in the shape of one of their overpriced pieces of luggage.
Finally, there was Notre Dame. This is a magnificent structure. It contains the most photographed gargoyle who is resting with his head in his hands. The line was too long to go inside. I am always amazed at the amount of resources and energy that goes into creating these glorious churches that are used to indoctrinate and subdue the masses. I can't help but wonder what would be the result if instead we used these assets towards helping our fellow man through education, research or simply providing more to the poor.
Art
There is a somewhat well known art museum in Paris that goes by the name the Louvre. Millions of people from all over the world flock to this museum each year to see the countless masterpieces that lie within. So naturally, we went to the Musée d'Orsay. This museum also houses great works of art. It was incredibly crowded, so I can't imagine what the Louvre would have been like. We wandered around the five stories of artwork. We saw an early version of Starry Night by Van Gogh and a couple more impressionist paintings that I recognized. The painting of the two creepy children will be something I won't soon forget. Eddie himself would be terrified of these two.
My favorite painting was Dante and Virgil. From Wikipedia: "The painting depicts a scene from Dante's Devine Comedy, which narrates a journey through Hell by Dante and his guide Virgil. In the scene the author and his guide are looking on as two damned souls are entwined in eternal combat. One of the souls is an alchemist and heretic named Capocchio. He is being bitten on the neck by the trickster Gianni Schicchi, who had used fraud to claim another man's inheritance."
We spent a lovely afternoon at Renoir's garden. It was here that many of the artists of the day would work and find inspiration. Sheri was able to recreate the famous picture The Swing by Renoir.
The Moulin Rouge (or more accurately, wow that's a lot of boobs)
Next up was a trip to the Moulin Rouge. It began with an eventful cab ride to the venue. The highlight was navigating the roundabout encircling the Arc de Triomphe. This just appears to be a free for all with no rules and I was very glad I was not the one driving. We all applauded our driver when he successfully exited the traffic circle. We got some pictures of the outside of the theatre but no pictures were allowed inside the venue. My friend Matthew took one of the pictures and had some fun with it and I thought it was too good not to share.
The show itself was a series of dance routines interspersed with a few novelty acts. My favorite specialty act was the juggler who actually could juggle with his feet. Despite the obvious assets of the female dancers the routines were somewhat repetitive, and I am not sure if there was a story or theme running throughout the show. The cancan routine was the highlight and was full of energy. While I am super glad I saw the show I would not go again given its cost and I leave it up to each of you if you think it is worth it.
eBike Tour
One of our favorite things to do in any city is to take an eBike tour. This one was slightly different as we stayed in the densely populated city the entire time. Navigating the busy Paris streets with 15 people on bikes felt quite hazardous at times. Sheri and I were the only two adults in our group that wore helmets which I found amazing. Our guide was a young Swedish college history student. He had glorious hair, and I am upset with myself for not getting a picture of him. Glorious Swedish hair must be common as we would be treated to additional astounding examples at the Iron Maiden show but more on that later. Despite my Swedish ancestry, I was not fortunate to inherit this trait.
We traversed the city and stopped at various important landmarks and buildings. We focused mostly on King Louis XIV, XV and XVI followed by the French revolution and Napoleon. King Louis XIV was known as the Sun King, XV as the Fun King (he spent lavishly on parties, wine and women) and XVI was the last king. So collectively they are known as Sun, Fun and Done.
We stopped outside the Louvre and got some pictures. The pyramid structure outside is universally despised by the locals. There were massive crowds milling about. We will have to return during the winter when, hopefully, it will be more manageable and we can actually go inside. On one of the buildings of the Louvre is a statue which is the first Statue of Liberty. It was this statue that Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi took his inspiration for the now rendered ironic statue that resides in New York Harbor.
Other Stuff
Other random things we did. Sheri is now obsessed with the sabich sandwich which she discovered in Amsterdam. We went looking for it in Paris and found a place that made it. While not as good as the Amsterdam version, Tasha and Sheri still enjoyed it.
Sheri and Xave did a 3D puzzle of the Eiffel tower that was in our apartment. They are clearly very proud of their handy work. It even had a light to illuminate it from the inside. We would use it as a night light for the rest of our stay.
Xave and Tasha attached a lock with their initials on it to one of the railings. There were many places throughout the city where this was done. I hope it means they will come back some day.
Tasha had some fun with various art supplies that also came with our apartment. She made the paper chain link which says "Bon Moments" meaning "Good Times". Indeed they were.
Finally there is a picture of Xave and Tasha looking way too cute.
Each night starting at 10 pm until 1 am for five minutes on the hour the Eiffel tower is lit up with twinkling lights. They used to have the lights going non stop but this proved to be too expensive and it was decided to cut the electric bill by only having the lights twinkle for five minutes each hour.
UP THE IRONS!!!!
Finally what we all came here for! Iron Maiden has been a constant presence in my life since I got the Piece of Mind album in 1983. As a 14 year old I just liked the dark themes and imagery. As i got older I began to realize there was so much more there. They are gifted musicians who love to tell stories from history. I do not have many pictures from the event as I like to be in the moment and not just look through my phone's camera lens all night.
We took the train to Paris La Défense Arena where Sheri and I were joined by 44,998 other fans. I cannot count how many times I have seen Iron Maiden live, but to get to see them in Paris felt very special to me. Each time I see them I always worry it will be the last time but the boys can still bring it so I see no reason for them to stop any time soon. Our seats were fantastic with no one blocking our view.
A Swedish band named Avatar was the opening act and were quite entertaining. They took part in some old school head banging and boy was the hair flying. They were quite entertaining but of course we were there for the main event.
Maiden puts on a very theatrical show with tons of stunning visuals (yes even better than the visuals at the Moulin Rouge...how disappointed my 15 year old self would be of me today), but it is the music that really matters. They worked their way through songs from their first 9 albums. The highlights (and there are many) were Number of the Beast about a nightmare the bassist Steve Harris had, Run to the Hills detailing the treatment of Native Americans, Aces High extolling the heroic actions of the Royal Air force during WWII and one of my absolute favorites Hallowed be Thy Name recounting the last thoughts of a condemned man.
One of their most well known songs is The Trooper. This is a song I love to sing to Sheri. You can imagine how much she enjoys that! It tells the story of the charge of the light brigade. An absolute banger!
As the final notes of Wasted Years faded out and the band took its bows I was a very happy man. We then had to work our way out of the arena which proved quite challenging. It took a while to get to the train station where I assumed the train would be packed and we would have to wait for several more to come, but surprisingly we got right on and made our way home easily.
It was a great night!
Onwards
We say goodbye to Paris for now but will return for a longer stay at some point. I am overwhelmed by how much of the world there is to see. Next up: Wales!
Brad and Sheri
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