La Pluie à Paris!

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening all!

After a whirlwind all-nighter 24h trip to Paris, I'm not actually sure what time of day it is at the moment! ;)

Outside the Musée De Louvre!

Many of us international students flocked to Paris Saturday to scope out la Nuit Blanche ("sleepless night"- apparently we have these in T.O. & Ottawa as well!). The premise is an all-night festival where museums, galleries and venues are free & open to the public. Despite the promising description, Nuit Blanche Paris was a bit of a bummer. Many of the really awesome sites (think: Musées de Louvre or d'Orsay) weren't open and many of the attractions that were open closed early (midnight or 1am, definitely not all night). 



Something else raining on our parade was the weather- it poured the entire time! I'm sure you've see the 1877 oil painting, Paris: A Rainy Day, by French artist Gustave Caillebotte (if not, it's situated à la gauche <--). Unfortunately, Paris isn't nearly this romantic in the rain. But despite this setback, we trekked across the city (with a little help from the metro) and hit all the big tourist attractions. Eiffel Tower! L'Arc de Triomphe! Champs-Elysées! Notre Dame de Paris! Because Paris is so iconic, I found it difficult to know what to expect. However, I was still in awe of everything I saw & can't wait to go back to see everything else! It's surreal to think I hopped on a train and pulled off my first all-nighter in Paris, of all places!

On another note, this weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada, and I'm a bit sad that I'm spending my favourite holiday so far away from my family. As the traditional turkey dinner is evidently not a global phenomenon, the best I could do for a pumpkin pie was a raspberry tart. At the end of the day, I have to remind myself that for everything I'm missing back home, I am having some amazing once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything- not even a Canadian feast of epic proportions. Joyeuse L'Action de Grâce à tous mes canadiens!!! :)   

Z <3