Senate, Korean, Cuisine

This morning Middlebury arranged a private tour for us of the French Senate, a beautiful building right outside my door in Luxembourg Gardens. The public isn't allowed in there, only private groups, and so a few of my friends and I took advantage of the opportunity. It was super-interesting to see the building, which is beautiful and see the gardens from the inside. I also learned quite a bit about the role of the Senate in France - like Senators are not elected by the people...they're nominated by other officials and the Senate cannot be dissolved. and they work in an old castle, which is very cool. The Senate palace was built by Queen Marie de Medecis when she decided the Louvre was too much for her and she wanted something that resembled the Italian palaces of her childhood. Thus came Luxembourg Palace and Gardens.

After the tour my friends and I went out to a Korean restaurant for lunch where my friend emily introduced me to her people's cuisine. It was yummy and very different from other Asian cuisine in the dishes and the style of eating. It was great to have a Korean friend there who could explain all the cultural traditions to us.

This evening I finally took part in one of Mme. Beguin's infamous cooking classes and it was a wonderful experience. The group included me, Jess, James, Kay, and Mariella (a family friend from Venezuela). We made fish (I believe it was bass...whatever it was was fresh from Normandy - caught Friday - and delicious). We made a simple butter sauce to go on the fish and Mme. Beguin's signature rice (rice pilaf cooked in a bit of oil with fresh ground garlic and ginger). For dessert we made creme brulees with fresh vanilla and verbena (super popular herb in France). We made little almond crisps to dip in the creme brulee that were delicious. While we were putting the batter on the pan, I accidently spilled some and made a massive massive batter spot instead of a delicate little one like planned. Everyone got a good laugh and Mme. Beguin leaned over to me and said "What would your mother say if she saw you now?" I told her my mother wouldn't be surprised one bit. She also started the class by telling everyone that I couldn't cook at all, but that i have wonderful taste that is constantly improving as I try more and more good foods. Which I suppose is true, depending on how one defines good taste. Anyways, dinner was absolutely delicious and lovely as we ate on the terrace watching the sun set over the Eiffel Tower.