Knowing I’d be out late, I wanted to be comfortable and warm.

Jeans, Joe Fresh
Tee, Old Navy
Hoodie, GAP
Cardi, F21
Watch, Target

We started at the Olympic Stadium / Biodome to see the Penguins Go Free! This was exceptionally disappointing, we saw seconds of a flash of penguin, but mostly the penguin handlers.

We headed down to Place des Spectacles for some hot coffee, and roasted marshmallows on sticks. It was super crowded! The area had set up a ferris wheel (which I rode on Wednesday, and almost died), and a really cool looking slide! The line for this was atrocious.

This was right as they announced the show would not appear on the Bell stage (below) due to inclement weather – it was gorgeous out, they are nuts.

My self-photography skills are somewhat lacking PS – this is Lauren, my bestie, her avon work is linked in the sidebar.

They had these awesome white couchy things set up near the fires & SAQ booths to sit and sip your Cafe Nuit Blanche (which I think had Amarula in it?)

MARSHMALLOWS on STICKS. This is the best thing ever. It’s the only reason fires exist, I’m pretty sure.

We then realized it was pretty cold, so headed indoors to the Museum of Contemporary Art – which was actually far cooler than expected. We saw Valerie Blass (weird, “art” that I don’t understand), Ghada Amer (very, very cool textile / string art), and Wangechi Mutu, which was surreal / terrifying based art.

Then we went up to the Redpath Museum for a flashlight tour, which was pretty great. An adorable, adorable curator (or Uni professor?) gave us a brief history of the museum and then we were allowed to run off and explore. We met Sera, the Triceratops head, and a really cool dino-sawer, and saw mummies and taxidermied animals of all kinds!

On our way toward Old Montreal for the Swing Dancing, we came across art happening in the Eaton Centre:

You can see artists drawing on giant pillar things. I believe these are around until Mid-March.

Unfortunately, the swing dance line was also atrocious. We tried to stop at the Chateau Ramezay, but they were full. Defeated, we got some awesome maple cider, stood by some trees on the way to see ice sculptures, and headed out by midnight.

The Gazette has a twitter roundup of the Nuit Blanche happenings (really, news, twitter?). Overall, I had a good time with my friends, but it was all a little bit disappointing. Too many people, “forced fun” type events, and teenagers everywhere. I love that I live in a city where this kind of thing goes on, but I might be having to retire from it next year.