November 2, 2007

LAST day of sugar pulling. Only today we started at 8:30 and ended at 6:30. HORRIBLE! and i actually, honestly was NOT pleased with my work. Usually I say, oh i could have done better, but this piece I really hated and thought it was horrible. We worked from 8:30 to 11:30. Took the hr lunch break. Then came back and worked from 11:30 til 3 and took a 30 min break. Then from 3:30 til 6ish we worked our butts off to put it together. I definately broke some of my pieces but managed to put most of my good stuff on my sculpture. I'm pretty embarassed about my sculpture but I'll post it anyway. No average joe could do it, so I guess I can give myself credit for that!




Anyway...it was the longest day! After class Liz and I went grocery shopping! STUPID! We bought so much and the normal 10 min walk took us 40 min because we had SOOOO much we had to stop every block to put it down because our hands hurt so much! Eventually we made it up 4 flights of stairs when our neighbor below us came and rescued us! he brought up the bags for us! Only 2 flights...but SOOO nice. Then Alex came over to say his goodbyes (he is moving to australia on the 6th) and we ordered pizza for dinner and just relaxed. Then he left and i got emotional because he was my first friend here. Then I went to bed around 10:30.

November 1, 2007

Ahhh....November! CRAZY how time flies. Anyway, today was my day off...and a day off it was! I woke up at 9 (i know...too early for a day off!) and I actually went to the gym. Went upstairs and saw how packed it was (EVERY treadmill was in use) and walked right back downstairs and left :) Oh well. It wasn't meant for me to workout today! I went to the grocery store to pick up some things for my party. I then came home and layed around and played on my computer. Then Maria and Patrick came over to drop off their bags. Then they left and I took and hr and a half nap. Then I woke up, showered, and Liz and I met Maria and Patrick at L'entrecote! YUMMERS! we had a delicious dinner and came home at 9:30ish. Maria used my computer to book some of her trip and then I went to bed at 11 pm. Maria and Patrick stayed in the other room. It was a GREAT day off. I wish there could be more days like this ;) (and it was GREAT seeing Maria!!!)

Halloween!

So, as you should know...this is my favorite day of the year. However...being in Paris where no one celebrates it, made it a little difficult to really enjoy it! But the day got much better as it went on! I woke up at 10ish and did a little of nothing and then had the major decision of deciding on what to wear. Since i had no costume i had to improvise. Manuel bought me halloween socks, so i obviously wore those. Then I realized I had a cowboy shirt and boots...so I decided to be a cowboy. It also worked out really well because I could go out and blend in as well in a crowd and no one knew I was dressing up for halloween. However...that is SOOO unlike me! :( I wanted to be something so elaborate but I had to deal. I made a return at H and M first and then I went to sephora to pick up some things. I had them do my eye makeup...but i wanted halloween type colors or bright flashy colors. They did purple and it was lame. Anyway, they didn't have what I wanted so I had to go to the Sephora on the Champs to get what i needed. So i went over there, got my stuff and then picked up some halloween candy for class. I went to school early to send an email and then at 3:30 we had a demo in which I handed out candy! In the candy bag were these glasses, funny ones, that we made the chefs try on and I took pictures! It was rather cute.



Class was pretty boring since i had learned all of the stuff before. However the chef showed me a new flower that I was determinded to conquer and MUCH harder than a rose. Since I was pretty decent at the rose I decided that was my new goal for my new showpiece. We had a break from 6:30-7 and then from 7-9:30 we pulled more sugar. I also put on my halloween costume! Ok...well it was just my ratatouille hat! But EVERYONE loved it...including chef :)



Today chef got a big smile out of me because i made a beautiful flower and I was so proud of myself because it was a VERY hard flower!!! MUCH harder than the rose. The color is a really pretty purple. It's kinda hard to tell. Anyway, I have to make more of them on friday!


After class I walked home and picked up some wine because my friend from IU, Maria...I know WAY back...was coming over with her boyfriend! I was super pumpped. I got home and around 11 they came over. It was a so good to see Maria! We sat around drinking wine and chatting til around 2 am. Then they walked home and I crashed :)

October 30, 2007

I woke up today and went to the gym. Came home and for some reason was running very late! Made dinner for manuel and I and then got dressed. Had to buy gloves for sugar work on the way to school. Got to school and luckily first we had a demo at 12:30. It was boring. We watched him pull sugar...like i haven't seen THAT before! Then we had a short break and then at 3:30 til 8:30 with one 30 min break we pulled sugar. AHHHHH!!! i absolutely HATE pulling sugar. My fingers hurt and I was bored out of my mind. Not to mention the recipe we use in Professional is different so the sugar was hard and breaking and the temperature of the room was not right. I managed to make one thing. The colors look different in the picture, but it was white, purple and green. It's definately not my best work. So i threw it out ;)

Anyway...by the end of the night ALL i wanted to do was go home. BUT after class there was some korean thing going on at school so there was a PLETHERA of korean food left over. SO our class demolished the food table. It was SOOO yummy! I got home around 9:30 and went to bed around 11 after sending emails upto wazoo!

STAGE!!!!! (internship!)

So today was the day and I can finally announce that YES i have a STAGE (internship!) I had my appt this morn at 10 am! The papers are signed and I am on my way! This is very exciting for me because it's like I have a job in Paris! How many of my readers can say they worked in paris?!??! ;) heehee. So...I am working at what most consider the best boulangerie (which is not just a pastry shop...boulanger means bread maker...so its a pastry shop that makes bread too!) The place I am working ALSO makes savory products as well as my favorite, macarons, and chocolate! So I am VERY fortunate to be working there! He has two stores and I am working at what I consider the better of the two. The name of the place is Gerard Mulot. This is the website. http://www.gerard-mulot.com/ Anyway, everyone seems very nice and there are TONS of cute guys that work there! I also think I am the only stagiere which will be GREAT because I will be getting one on one attention and will learn A LOT! I also start dec 3rd (for 3 months) which means I will be working over christmas and that is a BUSY time for bakeries in france! I have NEVER been so excited for a job! It's going to be the best experience in my life to date! And i have to speak french :) YAH! SO that's my good news!

I came home (mind you...the weather has been downpour ALL day!) and i unpacked, did laundry, worked on some homework, did some photo stuff, and then took a power nap (which didn't help). At 3:30 I had my first day of sugar. BOO! It's sugar week! My most dreaded week ever. I HATE IT! luckily today we only did pastiage. But we had 2 practicals...so we pretty much did boring stuff for 6 hrs. This week we have to make a pastiage and sugar sculpture combined which is to be 30x30x55. I'm not sure if that makes sense but it's a HUGE box. I have no pictures to show you yet. Sorry. I will toward the end of the week. Anyway, I came home and crashed right when I got there. LONG weekend and I needed to catch up on sleep! But I'm a happy camper :)

BEST WEEKEND EVER!

Yes...title is true! I went to disneyland and walt disney studios with Manuel. I won't talk much as I am exhausted and am anxious to put up my pictures! So...Sat morn I woke up at 6 and met manuel at the train station at 7:30. We arrived at Disney at 8:30ish and dropped off our bags at the hotel. We were at disney by 9:30 even though the park didnt open til 10. Here is the rundown of our day...The halloween show, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear laser blast, Lion King show, Star tours, lunch, It's a small world, Le Pays des Contes de Fees, Casey Jr.- Le Petit Train du Cirque, Les Voyague de Pinocchio, Blanche Neige et les Sept Nains, Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, Big Thunder Mountain and then to end the night Peter Pan's Flight. We were finished around 9 pm. Then we went to dinner at Planet Hollywood where we ate WAY too much and I had a GREAT banana, baileys, kahlua and ice cream drink! We got back to the hotel around 11:15 and CRASHED! During the day we did so many exciting things. But one thing that was great for me is, Manuel is friends with the Artistic Director (who does all of the casting) of Disneyland Paris! So we met up with him and chatted for a while. He told me which roles dont require fluent french and he told me to contact him for an audition! Hahaha. In anycase...I'm past that...but it was GREAT to meet him if I ever want to go back to that! There is so much to tell...but so little space and so many people who could care less...so enjoy the pictures!

Day two! Our clocks were supposed to switch back. BUT our phones didnt...so we woke up at 7 am instead of 8! We packed and left the hotel. Ate breakfast at disney village and then dropped our stuff off at the luggage place. Then at 10 am Walt disney Studios opened! This is the rundown of what we did. Moteurs...Action! Stunt Show Spectacular, Animagique, Aerosmith's Rock and Roller Coaster, Armageddon Special Effects, Parade, Crush's Coaster, Cinemagique, and to end we took the Studio Tram Tour! This day was packed and we ran back and forth like mad people! The highlight of the day...as lame as I sound...was seeing Remy...however we were next in line and they switched Remy for his brother...so we got upset and left and we couldnt even take a picture with Remy! Sad. Crush's Coaster was BY FAR the best ride of the weekend. However, ALL of the rollercoasters were pretty lame. It's because they have to keep them simple for the french because they don't even know what a rollercoaster really is. The ones in the US are SOOOO scary compared to here. I actually enjoyed these ones...and you people KNOW i hate rollercoasters! Then at 6 pm we went to the disneyhotel and at dinner at Inventions with the characters. It was a buffet and Manuel and I once again stuffed our face! But it was SOOOO good! We got on a 8:15 train and I actually got to bed by 10:15 or so.

MOST AMAZING weekend in Paris. I owe everything to manuel for going with me. And we managed to do it pretty cheap! I can't wait to go again!