Une carte jolie et un repas parfait

Even though I’m directionally challenged, I have always had a thing for maps…

…which is why I was exceedingly happy to go to the Marché aux Puces!  Marché aux Puces is one of the leading flea markets in Paris.  Kelsey, Chrissy and I were a bit concerned at first, for all we saw were creepy vendors selling bootleg designer bags & glasses, weird hats, and bizarre shoes.  We walked through the first set, somewhat amused, and eventually found ourselves among a huge section of beautiful antiques stores.  We ooh-ed and ahh-ed at this and that, marveled at some of the crazy prices, and discussed what we would be buying if we had an endless budget.

We eventually happened upon un magasin d’affiches (a poster store), which had old fashion magazines, maps from around the world, and other pretty Parisian images.  I was drawn to the map section, and ended up finding a beautiful, pastel-shaded map that depicted France in 1789.  I was incredibly excited about it, and knew that I simply had to buy it, get it mounted & framed, and hang it on my wall next year, so that I always have a little piece of Paris with me.

After an hour and a half of walking around, we stopped in a café called Le Voltaire for some café crème (espresso with milk) and warmth.  Realizing we were hungry, we finished up our coffees pretty quickly and went to a nearby crêpe stand, where I bought a sugar & cinnamon one.

We were pretty tired by this point, so we left the flea market and went back to our respective apartments.  I only got a few hours of sleep because I went out last night.  We actually didn’t end up going to the stock market bar (long story), but we went to the Moose again to celebrate a girl from BC’s 21st birthday.  I’m still obsessed with that bar; the cute Australian bartender was giving us free drinks every once in a while, which was a good treat.

Anyways, Kelsey and I decided to make some dinner this evening.  We went to two grocery stores, Carrefour and Monoprix, to pick up what we needed for a nice little feast.  We made a whole roast chicken, green beans with pine nuts, and Kelsey made the most delicious noodle kugel!  The chicken was quite an experience; it was my first time sticking my hand in a bird (woohoo!), and it turned out to be not nearly as gross as I thought and also ten times more delicious than a regular chicken leg or breast.  We used a Martha Stewart recipe, which called for lemon, garlic, some type of herb (we used herbes de provence), butter, salt & pepper.  Everything was just absolutely delicious.

I’m starting to get excited for tonight, too; Simone, Kelsey, Melanie and I have tickets to the Sciences Po rugby gala, and the boys rugby team from Columbia University will be visiting, too.  WOO, have to get ready!