This morning, Kelsey and Jill had plans to go to Marché Raspail in search of sweet potato pies and potato latkes, and I decided to join them.  On the short walk over to the beautiful open-air market, we marveled over the warm sunshine and glorious spring weather.  When we arrived, we continued to marvel at the beautiful, organic fruits and vegetables, pastries and bread lining the tables and stalls of the lively market.  I enjoyed being smiled at by the fishmonger and heckled by the nut man, but what I enjoyed most was my delicious galette de pomme de terre, or potato latke.  It was a fried, potato-y piece of deliciousness, complete with cheesy onions.  I don’t have much experience in the realm of latkes, but I sure did enjoy this one!  I also picked up what I thought was a mini-sweet potato pie, but which ended up being a pumpkin pie…not that I’m complaining, it was still pretty good!

After the market, I ended up falling asleep on the couch for an hour, and I just couldn’t seem to get motivated to do anything.  I basked in my laziness, which for me was a nice change.  It really is lovely to sit around with nothing important to do on a Sunday afternoon.  I eventually meandered over to the Jardin du Luxembourg to get some sunshine and to do some reading, and I stayed for a couple of hours before heading back to the apartment.

Kelsey, Simone and I were all in need of a Matt Damon fix, so we decided to see Green Zone at one of the gazillion nearby cinemas.  On the way, we realized that we were a) craving candy and b) candy prices at the theater are absurd.  We therefore decided to run into 8àHuit to pick up some candy.  I was in the mood for gummy bears, but the closest thing I could find was a pack of Schtroumpfs. Don’t know what a Schtroumpf is?  Neither did I, but I learned that it is the French word for Smurf!  I mean, smurf isn’t exactly an English word, so I don’t really know where the French get off making up their own word for the little blue guys.  Either way, my Schtroumpfs gummies were delicious, and the movie (*cough* Matt Damon) was great.  The movie really makes you question a government’s motives for acting a certain way or presenting information in a certain light.  A must-see.

…buuuut, it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside!  Sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, and just a wee bit of a chill (that I actually find quite refreshing!)!

Therefore, I made an executive decision and decided that I’m going to go explore Paris in all its sunshine-y, late winter-y beauty.

Alas, no blogs for the time being.  But fear not!  I have class later on until 9:15, but after that, I will be sitting down with a bottle – I mean glass – of red wine, and blogging the night away :)

*   *   *     several hours later     *   *   *

Okay!  So I am finally in a position to get my life in order!  I had a pretty busy week, what with a paper due on Tuesday, a paper due today, and an exposé today in my Environmental Diplomacy class.  My exposé was on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is the leading scientific and intergovernmental body for the assessment of climate change.  Its job is to provide to the world with accurate scientific, technical and socio-economic information.  The whole point of exposés is to unearth the controversy or questions surrounding your assigned topic, and so I focused on how politics is affecting the IPCC, and whether or not the IPCC will be able to overcome the problems it is currently facing (i.e. conflicts of interest, political fragmentation, political pressures, etc.).  Alright, I suppose that’s enough of an environmental lesson for now.

Moving on!  After I got out of class, I was in an incredibly giddy, adventurous mood, as I said earlier on in today’s entry.  I decided to check out Rue Mouffetard, which is known for its cute stores, cafés, restaurants and markets.  It was such a great, interesting little street!  It took about 10 minutes to get there from my apartment, and then about 20 minutes to walk slowly from one end to the other.  I found a few tiny stores who had cheap shoes, clothing, and accessories (who knew stuff like this existed in Paris?), and saw a Greek restaurant and a sandwich shop I want to try sometime over the next few weeks.

After I reached the end of the street, I sat in a little park where parents were watching their children play.  Little French kiddies are adorable!  One mother was teaching her little girl how to slide down a slide.  Unfortunately for her, the poor girl wasn’t quite grasping the concept, and her mother eventually gave up, laughing.  Another mother and her 1-year old son were sitting next to me on the bench, and he just smiled and giggled when I said bonjour in my little kid voice.  As I was sitting there watching the children play, I realized how quickly life flies by.  Those little kids aren’t going to be little kids for long.  It’s kind of crazy that my own childhood is becoming fuzzy in my memory, and I’m only 10-15 years removed from it.

Anyways, I eventually decided to head back towards my apartment, and as I was passing the Panthéon, I decided to wander in and check it out.  I got in for free (woohoo, Sciences Po ID strikes again!), grabbed my little info booklet, and started walking around.  I saw Foucault’s pendulum, which was pretty cool.  What I thought was more interesting, however, was checking out the cyrpt down below.  I saw the tombs of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Pierre & Marie Curie, Jean Moulin, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas and Emile Zola.  So many famous people!

After my crypt wanderings, I sat on the steps just outside and admired the beauty of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.  I took a few pictures, and then eventually started my long walk home.

I arrived in 3 minutes.  As in 120 seconds.  Man, I just love the location of my apartment.

I also had my second class today, which was a French language class.  I was placed in level 3, which means I have a medium-strong grasp of the language (although at this point I am confident that I most definitely fall in the medium, rather than strong range…).  My professor is an kind, middle-aged man who is  unfortunately a major proponent of oral presentations.  We have to do two of them, ten minutes each, and the two I signed up for happened to be this month on the 16th and 23rd.  I’m not really sure what the topics are at this point, although based on the titles, one will be about how the telling of history changes it and the other will be about ‘Grand Paris’ and city life.  I’m sure I’ll be writing (aka complaining) about them as they draw nearer.

I made another Italian dinner this evening, and it was delicious (if I do say so myself…and I do)!  I have been craving sausage for the past few days, so I finally went out and bought some at Monoprix.  Here’s the recipe I used, because I KNOW you’re just dying for some sausage.

Italian Sausage with Peppers and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 C uncooked, whole-wheat penne
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 links hot sausage, cut into ½ inch thick slices
• 1 red pepper, cut into ½ inch thick squares
• 1 small onion, diced
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce (best with basil, garlic, and oregano)
• ½ t black pepper
• Pre-shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding 1 teaspoon olive oil and a pinch of salt for flavor.  Drain pasta, set aside.
2. While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil.  Add sausage, cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring often.  Add bell pepper and onions, and cook 3 minutes or until hot, stirring often.  Add tomatoes, sauce and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Place pasta in a large bowl.  Add sausage mixture and toss.  Top with cheese, if desired.  Serves 4.

As you can see, I served it with a glass of red wine that I purchased today.  I think I’m well on my way to becoming a sommelier…