Nuit Blanche

Nuit Blanche was ok. Much like Looptopia (well, obviously, since Looptopia was based on Nuit Blanche), it was spread over a large area of the city. Various art installations and supposedly performances (we didn't see any) were around the city, mostly concentrated along the Metro line 14, from 7pm to 7am. Actually, the highlight of the night was when France won the rugby semi-final against New Zealand. Caroline, Laura, and I were wandering along the street, looking for evidence of a Nuit Blanche event (we didn't know you could get maps at the Louvre). The street was lined with sports bars, and all of a sudden, people start screaming and shouting "Allez Bleus!," cars start honking, because there was some great tackle that put France in front. It was awesome. Some guy kept turning out of the sports bar to yell the score to people on the street. If you're interested in rugby, here's the full story: http://www.skysports.com/rugbyunion/World_Cup/Story/0,21043,13175_2785046,00.html

We managed to meet up with a few more people as we followed the crowds to Centre Pompidou, where there was a huge line for free admission to the upper galleries. We went through, and there was a video exhibit that really didn't make sense unless you had time to watch full movies, and a photography exhibit that was amazing. The photographer was Abbas Kiarostami.

Afterwards, we were very hungry and it just seemed like many groups of people our age were buying food and wine from crèperies and having picnics on the cobblestones in front of Pompidou. So, we did the same. I had a Parisian hot dog! They actually put two hot-dog-like sausages in a baguette, and then cover it with melted cheese. It's pretty sweet. Our little picnic was pretty fun, and when we finally got too cold to sit there anymore, we tried to find other events, but a few of us gave up and braved the packed Metro. We were sandwiched in there, though luckily we didn't have to squeeze our way out since ours was the final stop on the line.