Summer of Chocolate- Baker Swain

[image] Eiffel Tower + night= a spectacular light show

My France trip officially began with four days in Paris. There, I learned how not to get lost on the Metro, visited Le Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame all with the fear of being pickpocketed.

[image] Le Louvre from a perfect angle (below)

[image] Notre Dame cathedral (above)

After spending a few days in Paris and a two week homestay in Perpignan, my group went to Tain L'Hermitage, about a 45 minute train ride away from Lyon, where we went to the world-renowned cooking school, l'Ecole du Grand Chocolat. There, we made French pastries that are almost impossible to make in your own kitchen. We made some famous pastries such as eclairs, macarons, succes, and many others. While we were not making pastries, we toured around this small city visiting a vineyard and the factories that made the Valrhona chocolate used in cooking school. The chefs were very nice and got over the fact that we did not know how to fold egg whites or use a spatula correctly since the chefs that come here have very high credentials.

[image] There is me folding chocolate. From my group: Jason (left) and Sophia (right).

[image] My France group in our chef's outfits looking like the next "Iron Chefs".

[image] The vineyard that my group visited during our time in Tain L'Hermitage.

After cooking school and a day in Lyon, my group went to Brugge, Belgium, the chocolate and french fries capital of the world. There, we took a segway tour of the city, consumed many french fries, and climbed the main tower in the marketplace. This stop was my favorite of all the trip because it was so different from France because of the atmosphere, and the fact that everyone understood English.

















[image] Jason (front left), me (front right), and my group leader, Lucas (back left) all on segways taking a tour of Brugge.

[image] There's me at the top of Belfort Tower tired from climbing all 366 steps of it.

Finally, I want to thank the Wilson Family, Mr. Gioia, and the sponsors of this trip for giving me the chance of a lifetime. I enjoyed this trip very much and I'll never forget it.