Chad Since Mike has a cooking class today we were up early (before the church bells) to get him to Jules Joffrin Metro stop by 9:30 AM. I left him with Eric the cooking instructor and took off for the many fabric and trim stores around Sacre Coeur. I wandered through them for hours and then took the funiculaire up to Sacre Coeur. Mass was going on so I sat and listened. There was a choir of nuns singing throughout the service and it was quite lovely. For the first time, lights were on all over the cathedral dispelling my initial beliefs that the cathedral is dark and unfriendly. Weather was cool and misty and by the time I left the cathedral it was a full bore rain. I went back to the cooking school at 21 rue Custine to meet Mike and the other students for lunch. After a fabulous lunch, we went back to the apartment to rest before his dinner class which began at 6PM. On the way back to the apartment, we stopped by a ticket office for the Metro and found a ticket agent who spoke English to ask questions about the Navigo Decouverte pass.
http://gradsgate.com/wp-login.php During the evening class, I took a book and stayed at the school while Mike cooked so I didn’t have to find the cooking school in Monmartre in the dark. Dinner was lovely, way too filling, even though we requested small portions after our huge lunch. After class and dinner, we were so stuffed we walked part of the way home, to the Metro stop CADET. We arrived back at the apartment around 11PM.
“Today I added another notch to my cooking weapon, studying under Chef Eric Fraudeau and pastry Chef Pino Ficara. I signed up for the class several months before visiting Paris this year. The class turned out to be an excellent opportunity to learn about French shopping (markets), cheese choices and wine. As with any class you always learn something, some time technique, and sometimes just secrets trick of the trade.  Both Eric and Pino had great personalities and were well suited to handle a group of students with various skill levels. I think that that Pat will benefit mostly from the class with me finally learning how to make the French classic Moelleux au Chocolat, the cake with the molten chocolate center. Pat also seemed to like the mushroom soufflé. I think both Eric and Pino will be a good resource for the future, add to that that they both married girls from NY and we are then kindred spirits.†(Mike 2008)
