Last night was the annual Nuit Blanche in Paris. Nuit Blanche is an all-night music and arts festival- everyone is out, restaurants are open, and most of the metro runs all night. We were told upon arrival in Paris not to plan to go away or anything for the weekend of the 4th/5th- I’m glad I stayed around!
We left the hotel around 11 and took the metro up to Hôtel de Ville. There was a longgg line outside so we walked up to Centre Georges Pompidou. I’ve been pretty much living there this semester- half of it is a library, half is a museum. I’m very familiar with the library half- this was my first time to the museum.
We got to the top floor at about midnight. The Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour on the hour so we got there just in time… however, it was raining. And we were inside. Can you spot it?
These next photos were taken inside of the
museum.
This map started in 700BC? The map progressed one year every
second. Each color represents an empire/dynasty/I don’t know what the right
word is for this. Through the years it shows colonization and independence
movements around the world.
We were at the museum for about an hour and I only saw about
a fourth of what was on display- there are a lot of really interesting pieces. I
spent 20-30 minutes watching a film about 9/11. I just got sucked in.
After leaving we to the area outside of Hôtel de Ville and got some food. There was also an installation of sorts- all of these balloons/balls with LED lights inside. There was a tent right next to it where you could play with the Samsung equivalent of an iPad and change the colors.
La vie en bleu
We then walked across the island with Notre Dame on it (Ile
de la Cité) and walked up to the area around the Parthenon. This was inside a
library- this interactive installation was put together by Pakistani artist
Imran Qureshi.
Everyone was given a poster-sized piece of paper. Most people crumpled it up and added to the pile. Some people sat down and made origami, or folded it up nicely- I didn’t even notice until after I had thrown mine. I don’t think most people did.
The first Sunday of every month is free museum day in Paris. I went back to Pompidou because there was a lot more to see. I was under the impression that the museum closed at 10, but it actually closed at 9, so I didn't get to see that much. I did stop into the Marcel Duchamp exhibit for a minute.
L.H.O.O.Q. - Mona Lisa with a moustache and beard.
My next post is going to be an angry rant, but I'm leaving you with this happy one for now :)
