I See London, I See France, I See Perry Como's Underpants

I heard a band today on the radio that reminded me of Perry Como and my honeymoon in Paris. Five years ago Joe and I spent two days in Paris wandering around, riding the metro and eating grilled paninis on the street. One afternoon it was pouring down rain and grey -- we had spent far too many francs on a tiny stupid umbrella and we were soaked -- but we made our way through the storm to see the Eiffel Tower. I highly recommend seeing the Eiffel Tower in the rain when you're in love. Afterward, we found a dark and friendly bar and sat in a booth to dry off and numb ourselves with lots of beer.

We didn't speak a lick of French, but a happy little French song was playing in the bar, and we asked our waitress what band it was. She told us it was Perry Como. Um, really? As in, Perry Como, the American easy-listening sensation whose albums include I Wish It Could Be Christmas Forever, The Songs I Love, and Lightly Latin? There must be some sort of miscommunication. Skeptical, we asked her to write the name down for us to be sure we had heard her correctly through her thick accent. She had been saying Paris Combo! We liked it so much we bought the CD.

And wouldn't you know it, but just TODAY I heard Paris Combo on KUT right here in Austin, Texas.