cathedral at Rouen 

View from behind the basilica at Vezelay. 

this is a little memorial in my metro stop. the tan plaque explains what happened at the place. there are many of these on rue de rivoli. you find them all over when you least expect it. they usually give you the age of the person who died on that spot serving france along with their name and role. I think the metro memorial is for the metro people who secured the underground. the flowers showed up last week. they have tricolor ribbons on them. 

August update, PARIS

it's August 25, and the 62nd anniversary of the liberation of Paris. They showed Is Paris Burning? on TV last night. The movie was filmed in Paris and I knew where most of the shots were taken. I didn't know that the Nazis where in the hotel Meurice...surprise, surprise, I'll have to go by it again. It was fun watching a black and white movie chock full of American and French movie stars. I think the costumes could have been more authentic though.

Anyway, I went with Cyndee to the airport this morning and I took the RER train back. When I came out of the train stop at Parvi de Notre Dame, it was amazing. Having seen it last night with footage of the square and the prefecture police all of the skirmishes in the streets. I could see where they climbed up on the statue of Charlemagne to throw bombs in the German tanks (not original footage, so I'm not sure whether it really happened or not). Wow.

Tonight they are having a commemorative event in the Place Hotel de Ville, right across the street. I'll be going after I finish this entry. They have a big stage set up (Paris Plage is gone), a lot of chairs and a lot of flags. Get ready to cry. They're going to show documentary footage (and maybe make a lot of speeches).

I have been out in the countryside these last two weeks. First Lisa and I took a train to Rennes and rented a car. We went to Mt. Saint Michel, Caen, Bayeux to see the tapestry, the Normandy beaches and monuments, Etretat, Rouen and finally Giverny. I'll post photos soon. The day after Lisa left, my friend Cyndee came to visit for 5 days. We took a train to Reims, rented a car, visited Veuve Cliquot's champagne caves and facility and stayed overnight in Troyes. Then on to Vezelay, one of my favorite towns (I saw a town named Lucy that looked like a candidate). Back to Paris the next day. Lots of driving, but we bought some delicious plums, cherries and pears at a roadside stand. The food wasn't that great in Troyes. But then again, we went for the easiest, which usually isn't the best here.

A la prochaine, Dominique

Pigeon love from my window. Grey view on a grey dey. 

Pirates of the Caribbean have arrived! The metros have these huge posters, thought I'd capture it on "film." Maybe Lisa and I can go when she's here. This is the Falguiere stop on line 12. I pass this station every day on my way to and from school. 

Over the top croque en bouche made by chef bernadet, sugar chef. it just kept growing and growing and growing and growing. flowers are made of sugar, in fact everything here is sugar with trace elements of cream puff pastry and almonds. 

pre exam grumpiness

that's me. I've isolated myself. Having a hard time hearing people reviewing their recipes, getting together to practice cakes and macaroons...I just want to be alone. I'm afraid if I think about it too much I'll blow a fuse. Blew a fuse today anyway. In my beautifully clean chef coat in our demo today I was inadvertently written on, my cut from yesterday bled a little on the shoulder and the topper was being hit by a champagne cork that hit my spoon getting some kind of Corsican pork and chestnut sauce all over...it was actually pretty funny, but I was in no mood for it. went home to avoid an ugly show of emotion at school. back to my favorite laundromat. I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of myself. can I blame it on the full moon coming or the barometric changes (rain and thunder today) or lack of sleep? actually, it's my saint's day tomorrow, so I'm hoping that will give me some luck and serenity to do well in the final cuisine practical. Ciao for now.