Maxine took a special tour of the reception rooms at the Hotel de Ville. This is the Paris City Hall but, its much more elaborate than the usual city hall in a U.S. city.
An excuse to stay up all night sponsored by the City of Paris. We don't actually understand French modern art. Or maybe we don't understand anyone's modern art... One night a year the city of Paris runs the event called Nuit Blanche, which I (Tom) attended 12 years ago and we've been looking forward to since before we arrived. We accept that we don't "get it". But, that's ok. It's fun. And one of the areas where they were concentrating this year was less than a mile away. But, first, lunch. We picked up sandwiches and macarons at what had been one of our favorite bakeries in 2006 when we lived down the street. With the weather remaining great, we had a picnic in Luxembourg Gardens. Now, Nuit Blanche... Nothing says French Art like outdoor roller ball Or tall women posing next to statues of DeGaulle Or soccer under black light in glow-in-the-dark, neon rain jackets. But, Paris at...
We had tickets for Friday night, balcony seats. Buying them last December was the tangible start of our planning for this trip. But we were caught up in the enthusiasm from all the Facebook posts from others who had come to Paris and ended up getting tickets for a second night. 7th row center! "Tailgating" is at the "island" median in the road. The French don't seem to know what to make of all of it.... And there was a picnic with music and 70 or so fans. Emmy wandered the group making friends. One last photo from the concert -- 1000 seat venue! Having seen him many times before at concert spaces, it was an amazing experience to do it in this small a venue!
We feel like we're finally hitting our stride -- after being here over seven weeks. The stages of a long-stay trip like this might be something like: 1) All this stuff to do!; 2) It's changed and we've seen it all...; 3) Wow, we remember what we like about Paris!; 4) OK, we're ready to go home...; and 5) But when will we get here next? Walking around on this, the first Sunday of the month. Very limited car traffic -- Mayor Hidalgo has prohibited most non-commercial traffic. Saw a guy playing a 10' didgeridoo on the sidewalk in the Marais District. Saw a Chinese kid with dreadlocks at Notre Dame. Purple dreadlocks. Continue to see WAY more people than this same time 4 years ago. Continue to notice WAY more empty store fronts and wonder why? Continue to notice how "boutique" experiences (chocolates, breads, etc.) have become chains and wonder about the French having discovered American commercialism. Is Paris becoming Disneyland (or Venice, It...
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