To my friends

As many may know, it was gay pride day in a few major cities, including NYC and Paris.  And NY state passed laws okaying gay marriage, woo! So of course that all means the pride parade here in Paris was insane, as were the post-parade festivities.  Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the parade today, just the after parties.  I met up with a bunch of NYU people to celebrate: we had dinner and roamed around the Marais, where most of the the gay clubs and bars are in Paris.

It was COMPLETELY NUTS.  I can't even describe how packed the streets were.  I have a few pictures to give a general idea:

These are streets where normally cars have no trouble.  At one point a small car tried to get by and people mobbed it, pushing it from side to side and pouring beer over it.  (They didn't actually mean to turn it over, they were being typically Parisian, and the guys inside couldn't stop laughing).  We even ran into one of the visiting NYU professors!  It was like being in a very packed club, except it was a whole street!  It was a ton of fun - the people were super friendly, the police let people take beer out onto the streets, people were singing, dancing, playing drums.  My closest friend in the program and I went out afterwards to a few bars and the atmosphere was just great; it was the biggest, most lively celebration I've ever been to. 

I took a video but it doesn't really do justice - and Blogger doesn't seem to want to upload it.  I was trying to get the drum circle but you mostly hear the music blasting from the bars, anyway. 

Then of course came the bane of my Parisian existence: the Metro closes around 2am.  We left around that time and so had to walk home.  Google tells me it was a bit over 3 km.  Now, I know parents, grandparents, etc, are going to be scandalized that I walked home from the Marais at 2am but let me tell you, I am a pro, and I would NEVER do that in NYC.  I used my patented NYC walk (super fast, no eye contact, angry look on the face) and I only had one guy exclaiming after me, excusez-moi, excusez-moi!  It's a "no one will mess with me" walk, and I am good at it.  I got home safe and sound; the biggest challenge was unlocking my apartment door (many will testify that opening doors is one of my major problems in life).  My feet are sore, I'm sweaty and gross, but it was completely worth it!  I had a great time.

On the walk home I attempted to capture a few landmarks in their magical nighttime splendor.  Anyone who has walked Paris and night can tell you there is something special about places like Notre Dame and the Seine bridges when everything else is dark.  The pictures don't give you a very good idea.  Here is the Tour de Saint Jacques, described by one of my friends as "a Lord of the Rings-looking thing"

From the Notre Dame bridge looking east:

And, of course, Notre Dame at night:

I don't know if you can tell, but there was a light on in the north tower (and fire-eaters still performing in the square).  I liked to imagine it was Quasimodo, getting the bells ready for Sunday mass.

And now it's almost 3:30am so I'll get to bed.  To the market in the morning!