Sorry, It's Been A While

Yikes, it's been two weeks since I've posted anything here, and it had been nearly a week between that post and the previous one. In case you were worried, everything has been fine; I've just been pretty busy with school work, which has left me little time to (a) do anything blog-worthy, or (b) blog about the little I have done. But here's a quick update of what I've been up to, with more to come soon, I hope.

• Two weeks ago, I went to see La Rafle with the Tufts group. It tells the story of the round-up of Jews by the French police during WWII, when they were Nazi accomplices. It was a very well-done, but harrowing, look at a dark point in France's past.
• More recently, I saw Shutter Island as part of the annual "Printemps du Cinéma" (Springtime at the Cinema), where all tickets cost 3.50 €. It was a pretty good movie, and well-acted by Leonardo DiCaprio, but it was a weird mix of genres and the ending fell a bit flat for me. I wanted to see more movies at that low price, but ran out of time.
• Last Friday, I went to the Hôtel des Invalides (photo above), which is where Napoleon I is entombed. I would say buried, except it wouldn't really be the right word since his casket is huge and in the middle of the building for everyone to see. The size of it is amazing, and the building as a whole is really cool, with other statues and caskets on display as well.

• The Invalides was just one stop on a 2-hour walk through the city. We stayed primarily in the 7th arrondissement, which is where many of the French ministries are, but it also has some nice shops, the Musée Rodin, and the Eiffel Tower. It was a pretty nice day, so it was good just to get out and walk around in a new part of the city.
• Speaking of weather, it has really turned into springtime the past couple of weeks. It has been in the high 50s probably (not quite sure, since everything is Celsius here), and except for some rain yesterday, has mostly been sunny and warm.
• In terms of school work, I had a 15-minute oral exposé for my History of French Education class, a 5-page commentary on a text for my History of Political Ideas class, and a 6-page "dissertation" for my French Language class. They all went pretty well, I think, but you can see why I've been a bit busy.

Tomorrow, we're going to Reims, a provincial town known for its champagne, for a day trip. Be sure to check back soon to see how it was!