Good to be home

There's nothing quite like leaving a place to make you appreciate (or hate!) where you are. I actually got that feeling twice this past week--first when I met up with my family in Boston for my brother's graduation (congrats!!), and again when I got back to France, which is feeling more and more like home.

There are definitely things I miss about the States. My family. My Boston terriers. My friends. My car. Starbucks. Bookstores with English books. Newspapers I can read. TV I can watch. Heck, TV period. The U.S. dollar. Stuff for cheap. My phone. Work and a steady paycheck. A comfort zone.

But there are things I missed about France after having left. My husband. Our chihuahua-Jack Russells. Buying meat from the butcher, bread from the breadmaker, etc. Cheap, delicious wine and fresh cheese. Walking places. New friends. Adventure. Speaking a foreign language. Being out of my comfort zone.

There are many more things, clearly, that I miss about both places. Let's consider this a list in progress.

Oh, the possibilities

When we first arrived in Yssingeaux, we were taken by our new town's beauty. Josh liked it so much, in fact, that he hoped to complete his two-month internship here after school. We still really like it here--the people are friendly, it's easy to get around and the medieval architecture and lush volcanic landscape make for a beautiful day every day. As time goes on, however, we're quickly realizing that after five months we will probably have run through the list of things to do here a few times over. So, we set our sights on the nearby town of Le Puy en Velay (which I wrote about previously), because it's bigger but not too big. But still, that wouldn't offer much variation in our French experience.

On Monday Josh brought home a list of chefs recommended by the school as good places for internships--they're chefs who have a relationship with the school in some way--and while there is one located in Yssingeaux, none are in Le Puy. So we started Googling and discovered practically endless opportunities that fit Josh's criteria: 1) not in a big city like Paris or Lyon, 2) not in a hotel or restaurant, but rather a standalone pastry shop, and 3) offer an opportunity to work under a MOF. He and his classmates were tasked with researching the list and coming back with two top choices, at which time their chef--whom they simply call "Chef"--will sit down with them and discuss which might be the best fit. After all that, the school will help them set up interviews with the chefs, who might choose to hire or not.

I don't want to jinx anything by writing about Josh's top choices just yet, so for now you'll have to imagine the possibilities: the Mediterranean coast, the French Alps, Basque country ...

Politics and patriotism

This past weekend was a big one in France. For us and many others it was four days long, culminating in VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), celebrating the end of Europe's involvement in World War II. But two days before that was election day and we got to witness first-hand the differing emotions afterward.

Because it was a four-day weekend, all of Josh's classmates--except himself and Clovis--decided to skip town, some heading to Paris and others to Torino, in northwestern Italy. It was fine with us because we had the building to ourselves. We took advantage of the available washing machine and dryer (there's one of each for everyone to share), the guys studied, and we ventured out to find Yssingeaux's only thrift store (called a "friperie"), where we bought some inexpensive decorations for our apartment. On Sunday, there was a flea market and, though we missed most of it because we didn't know about it in advance, we snagged a pretty awesome shelf unit for 10 euros. It completes our living room nicely!

Sunday was also election day--they hold elections on Sundays here--and by 8 p.m. or so a winner had been declared. Francois Hollande, a socialist, had defeated incumbent right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy. I admit, a bit shamefully, that I hadn't followed the French election all that closely. We don't have a television and I don't understand enough French to pick up the newspaper here. Since then I've made an effort to learn a little more, but I assure you it's not enough to truly explain what it all means. This much I do know: Hollande is the first socialist to win a French election since the 1980s. Because France, along with the rest of the EU, is in a recession, that was a big deal for voters, who apparently decided they wanted change. Hollande has said he will challenge Germany's prevailing attitude of "austerity"--a huge buzzword around here.

Sitting in our apartment, we heard fireworks outside and decided to go check the pulse of Yssingeaux. In the town square we found a folk-music group playing, well, folk music. A large group of revelers danced and drank, obviously celebrating Hollande's victory. We stood around absorbing the good vibes for a minute, then walked to a nearby bar, where we ordered a drink and sat outside. We could hear the music and see a bit of the dancing. The vibe at the bar--called Bar a Boss and owned by a guy named Boss--was much different. When we asked if they were happy with the election results, many of the patrons shook their heads in clear disappointment. A group of seven or eight people, including a few children, came in around 10, chanting "Sar-kozy! Sar-kozy!" The whole thing was offered a very interesting contrast.

Monday came and went, and as we woke up Tuesday morning we heard the unmistakable sounds of a marching band nearby. I quickly got up, got dressed, grabbed my camera and puppies, who hadn't yet gotten their morning walk, and headed out to track down the music's source. I didn't have to walk far, as our apartment is very centrally located and Yssingeaux just isn't that big. The music was fun and the mood lively, despite the light drizzle. That drizzle did dash my hopes of getting any good photos, though, because everyone had their umbrellas open. Oh well. I got this one, toward the end of the celebration, outside city hall.

You can sort of see the military band in the back, and there was also a local band wearing yellow jackets. They played the French national anthem and then, because puppies were wet and cold, I took them back home.

Fin.

Pastries!

I think it's about time I share a little about all the delicious cakes and tarts and other sweet delicacies Josh has been making and bringing home for me to taste-test. Mmm.

Among the class's first creations were eclairs, including these, called creme mousseline au caramel sale. They're filled with a buttery pastry cream (called mousseline) and the tops are shiny because he dipped them in hot caramel, which hardened. And they're topped with an almond slice. De-lish.

Then came the Paris Brest and religieuse. Both are also filled with yumminess. The Paris Brest looks like a doughnut, but it's filled with cream and covered in almond slices. The religieuse actually looks like a snowman (but this photo was taken from above!) and includes two balls, pastry cream and chocolate. Yummy.

Ah, the millefeuille. Josh says this is his favorite thing so far to make--and it's definitely my favorite one to eat. Josh took this photo in the lab--I should have gotten a shot from the side when he brought these home, but they're a bit difficult to maneuver once they're packed up. Millefeuille, which literally translates to "a thousand sheets," is so named because of its many layers. The top is fondant, beautifully decorated by my hubby. Below that are alternating layers of crunchy pastry, pastry cream and chantilly. I loved this mostly because of the contrasting fluffiness of the creams and crunchiness of the pastry dough. Wonderful!

Every week, after the class has perfected their pastries for that unit, they have a buffet, where they show off their best creations. Here's Josh with a buffet of tarts. 

He was nice enough to bring these three home--the top left is pineapple, below that passion fruit-orange, and to the right is (you guessed it) chocolate. My favorite was the pineapple, but all three were ridiculously delicious. I also had a chance to try a lemon one during tea at Lizzie and Jeneva's apartment. Bravo, everyone! They all agreed the chocolate one was the most difficult--they had to temper the chocolate to make the shavings by hand. Delicate work and it sure looks great!

This past week was macaroons and macarons ... and lemon cake. I haven't tried the lemon cake yet, so I can't speak to its taste or texture. But the macaroons--long among my favorite cookies--are delicious! They're kind of a funny shape, like fingers or finger puppets, but the coconut dipped in dark chocolate .... mmm. The macarons are equally delicious, but very different in texture and taste. You can't really tell from this picture Josh took during class, but some of them are filled with a raspberry jam--handmade by Josh--and others are filled with chocolate. I asked if they used a mold to get the circles so perfectly shaped and he said no, they had to know exactly how big to make each one. Impressive! The colors are from food coloring, and the discs contain meringue, so they have that almost-melt-in-your-mouth consistency. 

This is just a sampling of the wonderful goodies they've already made in class. I can't wait to see what they do this month! And, by the way, he does NOT bring everything he makes home to me. After about two weeks he started taking some of the finished product to local shop owners, like the butcher and the pizzeria owner, to share in the yumminess (and make sure we don't gain a gazillion pounds while we're here!).

(Note: Josh, when you read this, please feel free to correct me if I got any of this wrong. And keep up the good work!)