Life is short ... eat dessert first!

1 pastry crust
2/3 C cream
1/4 C milk
200g of chopped, best quality chocolate
1 egg

Butter a tart pan. Roll out crust to about and place in the tart pan. Preheat oven to 400F and bake the pastry shell for 10 minutes. Bring cream and milk to the boil in a saucepan. Take it off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk until the mixture is shiny. Add a beaten egg and mix well. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake in a preheated 300F oven for 15-18 minutes. The filling should be set but not hard.
Serve warm or cold.

What's New in Lyon?

As spring comes alive in Lyon so do the street corners with art. For the last several years Lyon and Quebec have done an art exchange. Lyon with Lions and Quebec with their symbol the polar bear. Being that they are art they are rather interesting to see, I'll give you a little preview.

In my life, things are going by fast. My last day of classes at Alliance Francaise is Friday, and next Thursday I will be moving up to the Chateau. I have really enjoyed my time here in Lyon and all the new experiences in the french culture at a new level.

So, yes, all good things must come to an end, who ever thought that the struggle of learning another language could be such a pleasant thing. In the begining not me, that's for sure.

The future is so very near,

The past is not so far,

How hard it is to be content

Where presently we are.

Cruising down the river

We walked by the Rhone River looking at the numerous barges.

Sunday is traditionaly the day for family, eating together and then going for a stroll through the park or through the contryside. If you don't have family nearby then you spend time with friends. I spent this afternoon with a lady from the Lyon church. After lunch we took advantage of the lovely spring day to go for a walk through Lyon.

We went to the Parc Tete D'Or and visited the creatures in the zoo.

We also visted the parks botanical gardens.Lyon is in full bloom. I love the cherry trees.

Well that's what I saw when I was cruising by the river today in Lyon.

A day at the museum

Our teacher said that he wouldn't want stairs like these in his house as they take up a little too much room!

As today was the last day of the month our class went on our monthly outing. Our visit today was to the Musée des Beaux Arts here in Lyon. It was big, we didn't get to visit all of it but we did a painting scavanger hunt which tooke a few hours to find all the paintings and the information.

This is my class from this past month minus my friend Chihero who sick today. Left to right there is Long Ru, Your Truely, Masako, Carlos, and Mitsunori, we have had a lot of fun together this last month.

The Home of Mustard

I had to travel today to the home of good Mustard... Dijon, France. I had to have a medical visit there to get my residence card and while I was there I saw the french mustard haven. The Maille mustard store. As you can see they even have mustard on tap to fill up your jar.

This church is over 1000 years old being built in 1002 on the ruins on another church. I don't think my brain works well enough to think of being in a building that was built before the the continent of North America was discovered by Christpher Colombus. Think of all the kinds of people and situations this this bilding has seen.

I am such a foodie! I love that God made food, with its variety of flavors and rainbow of color. I think food is one of the only things that is appreciated by the 5 senses, and that is one of the reasons I can spend many an hour with a cookbook or in the kitchen.

"The qualities of an exceptional cook are akin to those of a successful tightrope walker: an abiding passion for the task, courage to go out on a limb and an impeccable sense of balance."

What's for dessert?

I made for the fisrt time in my life something that I had tried once about 2 years ago, that being a Far Breton aux pruneaux. That being a baked custard type cake dotted with delicious hot prunes. Drooling yet?

Here's what you need:
2 1/2 Cups Flour

1 1/3 Cups Sugar

4 Eggs

7 Tbsp. Butter, soft

3 3/4 Cups Milk

1 1/2 Cups Prunes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease your standard 16 inch round tart pan with butter.

In a bowl mix the flour, sugar eggs, butter and milk until smooth. Evenly scatted prunes in the bottom of butter pan. Pour the batter mixture over the prunes.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour then serve warm.

ENJOY!!!!

A lesson on how to ride the bus

The public bus system in Lyon has to look, at times to the outsider, like a glorified slaughterhouse. During all hours, people pack the little bus stops and crowd to be the first person on, and off. I have noticed that there is no posted maximum capacity on buses, so the rule of thumb is you are at the max capacity when you can't squeeze another body into the door of the bus. But it isn't as bad as all that after my vast experince over the last 2 months I want to share with you how to ride the bus here in France.
1. First off, if living in a city there is always a diverse crowd of people riding the bus. It helps to have an open mind to whomever you may meet on your ride, and many people will become familiar faces if you ride the bus on a regular schedule.
2. Know your bus. Certain of the front seats are for seniors and disabled people. If you sit down in front be prepared to give up your seat or some angry old man or woman may start yelling at you, hasn't happened yet to me but I have seen it and it isn't pretty.

3. When you get on the bus, try to have the exact amount of money needed for a ride, and always validate your ticket. Bus drivers aren't impatient as they can make change and drive at the same time but the question is do you want your driver doing both at the same time.

4.If you can, get a window seat. It gives you a chance to look out at the world if you feel claustrophobic. Also, takes your mind of the busy bus that you are riding. I happen to have one of the most beautiuful routes there is I think, as you can see from the photos what I see each day. 5. It is true that the bus most often creates an atmosphere of discomfort and self-consciousness. In France people don't talk to relive the discomfort instead they ignore your existance even if you are so cramped that you are definately far past the idea of a bubble. If people do talk to you it is often a sign they are a few fries short of a HappyMeal and so smiling and nodding is probably the best response if you understand them. 6. Always be as nice and friendly as possible to the bus driver. They can get you there fast or slow, in one piece or many, they can choose to sail right past your stop the next time, so be their friend. They are always looking for interaction as they are stuck ferrying people who are going somewhere never getting anywhere themselves so say hello, goodbye and thank you as a minimum.
I hope that you are enlightened enough now to confidently ride the local public transportation in France next time you are here.