For the third year in a row, here is my report about the Nuit Blanche on October 1st.

It was too hot, it was too crowded, but it was as fascinating as ever.

I just wish that I would not poop out so fast: http://tinyurl.com/62lz2ly

Thanks for doing this so those of us who were too hot and tired to go back out didn't have to. We did see some arches being built for the Nuit Blanche in the courtyard of the Hotel Lamoignon when we walked by the other day, so I guess we did catch a tiny part of the event. The Purple Rain scene looks pretty interesting.

You were up past 2am! I don't call that pooping out early.

I could not look at those black butterflies and not think of bats. Shudder.

Coquelicot said exactly what I was thinking, on both counts.

Did they hand out the umbrellas free or something? Or does everyone in Paris have a clear umbrella?

Another great report, Kerouac!

We went to the one in '06, and saw only a tiny portion of the events, mostly because we didn't know our way around Paris well enough to find the venues. Mostly we just hopefully followed groups of what we assumed were Parisians, hoping they would find something neat for us. Next time we will be armed with iPad apps that will lead us to more of them.

<i>Did they hand out the umbrellas free or something? Or does everyone in Paris have a clear umbrella?</i>

Yes, there was umbrella distribution and return at the entrance -- which was also a very efficient way to calculate how many people to allow inside.

I think it was indeed the 30,000 black butterflies that impressed me the most. I'm still trying to imagine how many people worked to install them, because each one was set in position individually.

You always post the most interesting things...those butterflies were amazing. And (wink, wink), I loved the final piece of "art"!

wow, thanks

Kerouac, merci buttercups. Those "butterflies" looked so real! I have a fear of bats flying in an enclosed space as Coquelicot suggested. Great report....

Great report, K,...as always.
SS

kerouac, I was hoping you would post something about Nuit Blanche. We were staying in the 5th near the Pantheon and because everything was on the right bank (boo hoo) this year I couldn't convince my husband to venture out. I was disappointed that the Hotel de Ville didn't have enough to draw us away, IMO, from our neighborhood during the wee hours of Nuit Blanche. Deborah

Incroyable! marking.

Very interesting.

Amazing! Thanks Kerouac!

Oh, man. This is so cool! Must say that Purple Rain looked like the most fun. I agree that those black butterflies are completely creepy. Even the photo made me shudder.

After the hot and crowded Nuit Blanche last year, we had a nice rainy and cool one this year: http://tinyurl.com/97pjcve

Again thanks for sharing a "slice of life" with us. I am glad that I got to view your images without facing the crowds and without staying up till all hours.

I just missed this evening by one night - I was curious to know about it and surely would have attended if still in town!
Thanks for sharing.

I highly recommend the Lille 3000 event which began on the same night as the Nuit Blanche -- it has a lot of similarity with the Nuit Blanche, but it lasts for 3 months! I have programmed two days in Lille next month specifically for this event.

http://www.fantastic2012.com/

Wow, Kerouac, you really out did us! We hit the street just about 7:00, and were at the Hotel de Ville just about the time you were. We did get those glowing buttons, mostly because the white-wigged girls giving them out were so cute.

The line into the building stretched into infinity in the dark and the rain, so we wandered about, trying to follow the guide and read my map under street lights, but after a couple of hours my 80+ year old bones started sending painful signals that I am no longer 20. Our feet were wet as well.

We eventually wandered across he bridge to the Trois Mailletz, where we snagged a table inside the upstairs bar to have a bite to eat and quite a few drinks while we listened to the piano accompany a Asian lady belting out some classic arias.

We were back in the apartment shortly after 12, so we have to give you credit for having much better navigation skills, as well as more endurance.

Damn, but Paris is a wonderful city!!!! Your wonderful reports make this even more evident.