I AM FINISHED!!! Monday was my patisserie final and Tuesday was my cuisine final. They went ok. I could have done better, but my nerves got the best of me. Oh well. That's life I guess. For patisserie I made a passion fruit and raspberry tart. We also had a technical point, writing OPERA and doing a boarder on cardboard. It is harder than it seems. I need to work on my writing skills. For cuisine I made beef, celery flan and turned potatoes. The technical aspect in cuisine was making a Bearnaise sauce (thank you Aunt Karen).
The finals went alright, I should have done better. I think the nerves were just too much. The crust on my tart should have been straighter. That would allow my surface to be smoother and look a little prettier. Oh well. In cuisine, the beef was a touch over done....I was busy working on the Bearnaise sauce. Stupid! I should have known better, oh well. That's life.

After the cuisine final I went out with a friend, Beka. She is fro Houston, Texas. She is awesome. She took me to one her favorite restaurants on the Champs-Elysees. It was so cool. The rooms were old and palace like, lavishly decorated, like in the times of kings and queens ruled, just smaller. It was rich in colors of green and yellows and the smells from the kitchen rose. It was fantastic! We got to the restaurant by 7:30 or so and did not leave until 10:15. We talked and ate. I got a glass of champagne to celebrate being done. It was fantastic. Then for dinner a black truffle omelet stuffed with tomatoes, ham, cheese, mushrooms and fine herbs. It was SO good. For dessert, four mini macaroons that we shared and a coffee. It was the best time. The macaroons were amazing! Crusty surface and a smooth middle of luscious yumminess! We got vanilla, raspberry, dark chocolate and violet-blackberry, which was so yummy! We sat and just talked about life and school.

After dinner I took a cab back home. But I did not go home right away. I decided to walk around the river Seine and take in the beauty that is Paris. (I was careful mom) It never ceases to amaze me the look of the Effiel Tower. I will never grow old of looking at it. It was bright and lit up on my way to dinner, sparkling. Tonight, it was quite and lit. The spotlight at the top of the tower was rotating going into the distance. It is soothing and just beautiful to look at. You stand by it and you feel so small. It is just unbelievable. I said good-bye to Paris.

One more thing. I finally got my grades for patisserie in basic from Australia. I was awarded the Dux award. This means I was first overall all the patisserie students. How cool is that? I got a book of desserts from LCB. It is very exciting. I just need to receive my certificate for basic cuisine. Hopefully I will get it soon!

Well one more chapter closed in this culinary journey. The next section will begin and end in London. I am 2/3rds done and I can taste the freedom. In superior patisserie I will be playing with pulled sugar and chocolate show pieces. I CANNOT WAIT! Cuisine, well hopefully I will get in for the cycle starting March 23rd....that would be a great birthday present. Well, until superior starts....au revoir