Nuit Blanche-White Night

In 2002, the tradition of "Nuit Blanche" or  white night (in english) began in Paris.  This event is once a year and takes place throughout the city of Paris in different rail stations (Gare de Nord, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Bercy etc) as well as other places throughout the city.  The purpose of this event is to display different art forms (photography, abstract art, music etc.) for people in the city of Paris to enjoy from 7pm to 7 am (hence the term "Nuit Blanche").

The only difficulty with Nuit Blanche is, you have to start early and if you plan on staying out late, you must have a cab number in your phone, be able to speak rapid french and be ready to shell out a hefty amount of euros (getting a cab in Paris is more difficult than finding a parking spot in Manhattan). We thought we started out early, but next thing we knew it was 1:15 am and the metro stations here close at 2 a.m, meaning you have to be at the train station by 1:30 a.m if you expect to get home (there is nothing worse than being in the train station at 1:45 a.m, with 3 minutes flashing on the metro board, only to see them turn to dots and an empty metro riding past you, only to then see the driver waving his hands in a very taunting manner to let you know it's just not happening tonight)

Although we called it an early night, we were able to see some of the nights festivities in Bercy, right by the Orangerie museum and behind Bercy Omnisport.  One thing that I saw, which was quite perplexing, is the duck pond above.  There were rubber duckies floating in a pond with French flags, European flags and some unidentifiable flags, sticking out of them with the sound of ducks quacking (which came out of nowhere).  The jury is still out on what that means.  

Bisou Bisou,

Jennifer Pauline