Day 2 Le Cordon Bleu

Sunrise from our room this morning.

We had breakfast at the hotel then headed back across town to visit a few shops we had on our “to do” list. The first one was a bit of a trek from the train station and when we got there it wasn’t open, even though on the website it said it opened at 8:30.

Just a little side street on the way. 

This is the honey (miel) factory. 

Jo Anne in front of the closed shop 🤣. 

Next stop is Cafe de Flore, where Jo Anne wants to buy a teapot. So it’s back across the river. 

We have sunshine today. Yay!

Just happened (accidentally on purpose) to walk by Notre Dame. It’s completely fenced off while they do the reconstruction. The stabilized cathedral is on track to reopen in 2024 in time for the Olympics in Paris. 

Can't get enough of the river Seine and the incredible architecture.

The Fontaine St-Michel is a monumental fountain located in Place St-Miguel in the 6th Arrondissement. 

It was constructed between 1858-1860 during the French second empire by the architect Gabriel Davioud. It has been listed since 1926 as a monument historique by the French ministry of culture. The statue in the middle is the archangel Michael and the devil by Francisque-Joseph Duret. The dragon is by Henri Alfred Jacquemart. 

Les Deux Magots (the two magots). This cafe, founded in 1812, is synonymous with literary and artistic life and was frequented by numerous famed artists including Picasso, Prevert, Hemingway and many others. It won a literary prize and is known to have the best escargot in Paris. 

Cafe de Flore appeared at the beginning of the Third Republic, probably in 1887. Another literary hangout frequented by Hemingway and Capote. It was also popular with many actors and actresses in the 60’s such as Robert De Niro and Francis Ford Coppola. 

Jo Anne also liked this little honey pot, but was informed by the Frenchman that it is a mustard pot 🤣. 

And of course a trip to Paris wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Shakespeare and Company, originally a monastery (La Maison du Mustier), the bookstore was founded by the American George Whitman in 1951. George liked to pretend he was the sole surviving monk saying, “in the Middle Ages each monastery had a Frère Lampier, a monk whose duty it was to light the lamps at nightfall. I’m the Frère Lampier now. It’s the modest role I play."

The bookstore was originally called "Le Mistral" but was renamed in 1964 on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth. 

The shop houses aspiring writers and artists in exchange for helping out around the bookstore. Since the shop opened in 1951, more than 30,000 people have slept in the beds found tucked between bookshelves. 

The shops motto, "Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise," is written above the entrance to the reading library. 

Another quote from George Whitman. The bookstore, located in the very center of Paris, is currently operated by Whitman's daughter Sylvia.

Masters of Linen, the European Confederation of Flax Linen and Hemp, hung the first strand of textile-covered lanterns along the streets of Paris in 2013. 

It has since become a signature of Paris Deco Offs and has something to do with Paris design week. 

One of the shops we wanted to visit, Odette - located just around the corner from Shakespeare & Co., was also closed. It is the choux pastry place to go in Paris. 

We stopped for lunch at La Creme de Paris and split a ham and mushroom crepe. Then we were off to catch the train back to our hotel. This time we took the train, instead of the metro (subway) which only took 10 minutes from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower because we had limited time to get back for our cooking class. 

I took this picture from our hotel to show that we had clear skies and sunshine today. 

Preparing to make Bonbons moules saveur cappuccino (cappuccino flavored moulded chocolate candies).

Shaking out the excess chocolate.

It’s a messy business. Once the chocolate hardened, we filled it with a  coffee flavored ganache. Then we let that set up and topped it with more chocolate. The chocolate tempering took quite a long time getting the temperature curve exactly right. Heat to one temp, cool down to another, and then bring it back up to another temp. Then it’s ready to pour. Whew!

Jo Anne’s finished Bonbons. 

We also made nougat candies today. These have toasted almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts in them and are fabuleuse! 

The final candy we made today was caramels. Not so fabulous. Almost everyone threw theirs out.

 It was a crazy busy day in the kitchen. We’re making croquembouche tomorrow, and since it’s so time consuming, chef decided we should go ahead and make the pastry cream and choux pastry today. You’ll get photos of all the finished products tomorrow. 

The lady at sunset. 

And just the sunset. 

After an extremely long day on our feet, and not getting out of class until 8 pm, we wanted a place for dinner close to our hotel. We found this place just a few blocks away. 

Jo Anne’s dinner tonight of steak and frites. She ate every bite!

I had seabream and vegetables. I didn’t leave any of mine either. 😁. 

We are back at the hotel. Jo Anne is looking up metro directions for our morning adventure and I am blogging. You will notice I am getting it sent before midnight Paris time today. Yay! 

Before we went to class at 1:30 today, we had already walked 7 miles. Our totals for the day are:

20,728 steps

9 miles

8 floors 

To say we are tired would be an understatement. But it’s a good tired. We are having so much fun while learning so many new things. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. 🤣

Jusqu’à demain, bonne nuit.