Deux Semaines.

     It seems crazy that I've only been here about two weeks because the last week or so has been a bit of a whirlwind! After my Sunday Funday last week (yes, I did find Laduree, but I went to the kiosk at the Carrousel du Louvre, because why not?)

and the macarons were delicious and worth it. Coconut was probably my favorite, but I haven't tried them all yet, but I have nine more months! After purchasing my macarons, I walked around along the Pont des Arts, saw the love lock bridge where a lovely man was playing the accordion (so Parisian).

   




    I kept wandering to the Luxembourg Gardens to enjoy my treats, the sunshine, and read a good book; my own personal nirvana.



    The next day was my first day at school for orientation. I slept in late and then trekked up to school where I had a tour, got my uniform and supplies, and met some of the girls in my class,(It's mostly females). There are 150 people who started the Basic Patisserie total and in our segment alone there's 37 nationalities represented, with over 65 at the school currently, which is pretty awesome.
     The next day, I had my first class about safety and sanitation, which was a fairly short and to the point session, but it was my first time suiting up in uniform and learning more specifics about the school. It also helped me to get to know some of the girls in my class a little better, and after class we went to lunch and witnessed a lovely scene at a restaurant. Apparently, a woman was displeased for whatever reason, started yelling with the staff, and threw her glass full of water and ice at the bartender (she missed). Viva la France! We all decided that was a good a time as any to head out, and me and one of my new friends trekked to the Champs-Elysses to get our French phones. New friends and a French number, slowly but surely I was figuring this out!
    The next day I had no class to I took advantage by laying low in the morning and then meeting my friend Sara in the 6th for a pastry walk, in the name of "research." We're dedicated students, what can we say? Sara found a great route online, some of the places were closed but we enjoyed the stroll nonetheless. We started at Pierre Herme and enjoyed some infiniment tarts (I got Citron, Sara Vanille, and we shared and each tried half.) We wandered out to the fountain across the street and devoured and enjoyed our amazing treats. We took a moment to take in the day, here we were, in Paris, on a beautiful sunny day, by a lovely fountain, eating arguably some of the best pastries in the world. Could life get much better?

     After Pierre Herme, we wandered the streets a bit more (super charming area, lots of cafes, people watching, and all around Parisian goodness) and then went to Laduree. After admiring the beautiful display of pastries, we decided to head up the stairs to the tea room to enjoy some croissants and coffee.

View of the lovely Laduree tea room from our table

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     I had a Pistache et Chocolat Croissant (pistachio and chocolate, amazing) and Sara had the original, also awesome. We sipped our coffee, enjoyed our treats, and made up stories about our fellow diners while people watching. After a little more wandering and window shopping at a few more Patisseries (research, remember). We went our separate ways to head home before class the next day.
     Thursday, I had my first official demo class, where we learned all about shortbread cookies and learned a number of great recipes. The French chefs who are our instructors are exactly what you would expect, and we all learned that each "Daccord" should be met with "Oui Chef." Somehow, all of this made everything feel that much more real, and I'm excited to see everything to come in the next nine months.


First practical finished, whoop!

    Friday I had my first official Practical, which is when we actually make one of the recipes from class. We made Diamants, a simple shortbread cookie that is actually quite delicious. One down, 19 to go!
    Amazingly, we had the next four days off from school, so I filled up my calendar with adventures with some of my new friends from class. Friday, my friend Allie and I had an amazing dinner at a restaurant she suggested, and it was delicious. We split a few small platters and some great wine (culinary friends have similar interests, a.k.a. food, it's pretty great.)


1.Vin 2.Tomato herb and feta salad
3. Trout with curried cauliflower 4. Duck with
potatoes and fig 5. Rosemary Panna Cota with
honey comb crumbles 6. Dessert wine (on the house!) 

     We followed up our amazing meal with a night of burning calories dancing. We met some fun people and had a really great night, the first of many Parisian adventures to come. 

   I laid low most of the next day, cleaning my apartment, streaming Netflix, and getting things in order. Allie and I then met up to go to a group dinner/birthday party at an African restaurant in northern Paris. The guest of honor's aunt owned the restaurant, so we enjoyed an awesome family style meal with a great group of fun people, and then went out to dance and celebrate. We made some friends and stories, all in all a really great night!

      Sunday, Sara and I went to a really amazing supper club that Sara had learned about online. Every Sunday for the past 30+ years our host has held dinner parties for 60-70 people at his home. The party attracts locals and expats alike, and we spent our evening talking to some really interesting people from all over the world and ate some delicious food. We got some suggestions to improve our French, for live music venues, and of course, food and other activities to enjoy in Paris. We left incredibly pleased, with some new potential friends in the city, and a plan to go back to Jim's once a month. He even requested that we cook the desserts for dinner one night as the new resident culinary students.
     Yesterday, I decided to enjoy my day off with some grocery shopping and wandering the city and checking out some more touristy sites. I figure for now I'll enjoy some of the larger attractions so that I can explore and find my own little treasures for my remaining time here. I started by walking to the Jardin Tuileries, where I people watched, enjoyed the sunshine, and imagined that I lived in the time of Marie Antoinette as she used to wander the same lovely grounds. The most surreal is that while you stand in the center, in the 360 degree view, you can see the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, etc. from varying angles. How am I so fortunate? this could not be real life.

 I decided that I wanted to wander to take in Notre Dame from there, and took a leisurely stroll along the Seine to get there; (again, really, somebody pinch me.)

Taking in the Seine

 When I made it the Notre Dame (albeit with plenty of  tourists), I was still excited to take in the insane architecture and appreciate the history of such an amazing site. I took my time to fully enjoy appreciate the intricacies and phenomenal magnificence of the building, and sat for a moment to say a prayer of thanks that this was really my life.

     Today, I had my next demo class where we learned a few new apple tart recipes. After watching the demo, the school had a welcome lunch, consisting of wine and cheese. Sara, Allie and I laughed an appreciated the fact that this was a part of our schooling; learning and trying out lots of amazing French cheeses with a glass of wine before entering our next class.
  
  Tomorrow, I will make my apple tart for my next practical and we shall see where the day leads from there! For now, I'm loving exploring the city, learning great recipes and meeting wonderful people at school, and fully embracing this phase of life. I honestly don't know how I'm so fortunate to be here and enjoy all of this right now, but I'm not questioning it and taking it all in. Another novel I know, but like I said, it was an adventure filled week!