Apologies...

I realize that I have been doing a pretty poor job of posting current updates, but life has been getting busier and busier here! It's hard to believe how fast the fall is going and I am letting time get away from me! So, please be so kind as to accept a few photos in replace of lengthy descriptions of what I've been up to the past few weeks....

This coming tuesday I will be heading home for a few days in virginia...as thrilled as i am to be seeing family and friends, i must say it does not please me to leave this wonderful city for even a few days. Each day i wake up in Paris is a dream. I have fallen deeper and deeper in love with paris with every moment i'm here! all of that being said, i will see you all soon across the pond!
a bientot,
peep

Sacre Coeur from inside Musee d'Orsay

Samsung Light Display

Nuit Blanche

Ok ok ok, it has been a while since I’ve last written but here goes…

NUIT BlANCHE- one of the most incredible nights Paris has to offer. Needless to say, I highly highly recommend that if possible, one should absolutely visit the city the first Saturday in October to catch it…now allow me to explain…

Translated to ‘white night,’ this is a time when Parisians fully recognize and embrace the spectacular atmosphere that comes when the sun goes down. Slight tangent, Paris is magical during the day, but words cannot begin to describe what the night has to offer here. At the risk of sounding somewhat off, roaming the streets in the dark has been far and away one of my favorite activities since being here. There’s something about the different people you see, the transition from espresso being the drink of choice to wine or champagne, the streets lights that set the mood with a dim glow that compliments the surrounding buildings, I could go on but you understand my point.

Back to nuit blanche, essentially this event takes place between the hours of 7pm through 7am. 12 hours dedicated completely to discovering the city of lights in the dark! Essentially, three different arrondissements of the city are chosen each year. This year, the 19^th (fairly far out) was chosen along with, conveniently, the Latin Quarter and Jardins du Luxembourg (my neighborhood) along with Les Halles, Chatelet, Notre Dame (also very close to me). Selected monuments, museums, gardens, etc. leave their doors open throughout the night. Various contemporary artists are invited to use certain spaces to create an exhibition thereby transforming a well-known and established space into something very new and different.

We started our evening by catching a cab across the river to the Grand Palais which is currently hosting a Renoir exhibition. The exhibit was not only open all night but gratuit (free)! After a bit of cruising through that, we hopped on the metro to Chatelet (making our way back to our neighborhood) and had a very long yet very lovely dinner at a restaurant called Le Chien qui Fume or the Smoking Dog…a restaurant we frequent quite regularly. We rolled out of dinner close to midnight to find the streets absolutely packed with people. It was amazing, there were shows going on everywhere, lights zooming around and an electric atmosphere.

Having hung a giant disco ball in the Luxembourg Gardens, we made our way back home to check it out to no avail. The gardens were so packed we couldn’t even get near the entrance. Somewhat defeated we vowed to take a more American approach on the night and go home to kill a few hours before heading back out into the night. Aftering having passed out in my bed fully dressed with boots still on and all, I rallied again close to 4am and Jen and I set out to explore. We first walked down a block to St. Severin church where we discovered a pretty awesome experience. An artist as taken choral songs performed by various singers and dissected the music. In the middle of the nave of the church we found 40 speakers set up in an oval. A single voice was projected from each speaker, which combined created an extremely powerful effect in a gothic atmosphere. There were all sorts of people from all ages lying down around the floor just listening. It was truly unique.

Next we set off for our second attempt at Luxembourg Gardens. Find it far less crowded, we entered freely to an enormous disco ball hoisted over the central fountain spinning while illuminated by various spotlights. Although a rather simpler concept, it was pretty amazing to see the shimmering speckled light pattern reflected up on the clouds. From the gardens we made our way down to the river to find among other things, giant colorfully illuminated boxes blasting chill house music-esque beats…an exhibit set up by Samsung over a bridge behind Notre Dame. We also visited the Cluny Medieval Museum just down the street from us where an eerie wintery exhibition was installed with haunting music and cold sounds of wind echoing through the already hallow chambers of a medieval castle. It was incredible to see how the artists expanded upon and complimented the overall themes of these monuments and spaces with their work.

We started heading home close to 6 in the morning. While we encountered a few creepers that came out to wander the wee hours of the morning, Jen and I were rather impressed with our level of comfort throughout our late night roaming although I don’t think we will make a habit of it!

Bumping Beats

Hello my dearest family and friends!

So I would like to write a little bit about this phenomenal event that took place through the streets of Paris this past Saturday….the techno parade. That’s write, a whole parade with floats and everything dedicated completely to techno music. While having coffee with my formed TA from the UVA French department the other day, I was informed or warned rather of this event to take place. I somewhat dismissed it having no idea what that meant.

It was a beautiful Saturday in the early afternoon when Jen, the boys and I stepped out for a stroll and a little window shopping on Blvd Saint Germain. After a visit to the Swarovski flagship store, we began to make our way back down St. Germain toward la Bastille and our apartment on Rue Saint Jacques. One can imagine the sheer sensation of excitement that swept over me the minute I felt the vibrations in my toes from subwoofers making their way down the streets. The parade was approaching down blvd Saint Michel, about to round the corner and take over Saint Germain. I should mention at this point the streets were bustling with anticipation. I think the best way to describe the crowds pouring into the street is to imagine a night club emerging from the underground, opening its doors to daylight and releasing all of the dark and dirty happenings that take places in the shadows of the night into the broad sun-filled streets of Paris. Needless to say, excellent people watching!

Having to cross Saint Michel in order to get to Saint Jacques meant having to throw ourselves into the mosh-pit of clubbers jamming out. I should mention the ‘floats’ were simply open-air buses with DJ’s and MC’s on top blasting beats. There were also dancers. Each bus was escorted by the masses rolling along with it. About to make the move to cross saint michel right before a bus was coming down (the buses were moving about 2 feet every 5 mins as they were at the mercy of the crowds before them), I turned to Jen and informed her I’d just meet her at the apartment in the event of separation. What happened next was, I must admit, slightly terrifying. I have never experienced the pull of a rip current in the ocean before but I imagine I have a pretty good idea of how it feels now. The minute I stepped off the curb into the intersection of st. michel and st. germain, I was immediately swept up by the crowd and literally pulled into the mob. There were people getting trampled, people bloody from fights, people tripping on all sorts of drugs (lots of eyes rolling to backs of heads) etc. I did not even have room to turn around and being the shrimper that I am, I could not see out of the crowd and had no idea how long it would take me to get to safety! As they say with rip tides, don’t try to fight it. So, I rolled with it. Looks of panic were mixed with the throngs of people who were absolutely hammered. (I imagined if I had been in the latter, I’d be having a pretty sweet time at the moment) but alas, I had my purse with me and was cradling a Swarovski bag while getting tossed and pushed around by waves of people. (the music sounded pretty good though) After being swept down half of blvd saint germain, I finally made it to an alley and took refuge on the ‘shore.’ I then just sat and watched in amazement has people walked/danced around with handles of liquor, catching a steady aroma of weed wafting through the air…

I eventually found Jen again and we decided to find a nearby bar where we could watch the crowds, have a beer and enjoy the blasting bass. It was a fairly eventful day and I must admit, next year I’d like to voluntarily participate in the event if I happen to be in the Paris area again!

Techno Parade