Cours de Cuisine Française

Alors...I got up this morning excited and a bit nervous, I must admit, as I was attending a French Cooking Class, I was obviously nervous because I am not a cook, I mean, I may be able to do one or two things in the kitchen but 1)mostly mexican and 2)mostly not too elaborated so you can imagine the pressure I felt under...however (as usual), I was up and ready for the challenge; luckily, I wasn't all by myself but with my friend Charline, who's French and has more of an idea of how to cook.

The class is called "L'Atelier des Chefs" and it takes place inside Lafayette Maison, which is an apartment store near the Opera House; it's for 8 people and it's inside a small sort of glass cube with a kitchen inside--of course.

So, we got there and all the Chef spoke was French, obviously, so I opened my ears and tried to catch as much as I could...I got the main ideas most of the time, but not the little jokes and stuff like that. We were to cook Filet de Poulet au Pain d'épices (Chicken Fillet with Bread of Spices) with vegetables and Pain Perdu de Pain d'épices, which has no literal translation but it was Pears soaked in Caramel.

At one point, I must say I felt pretty horrible as I was peeling a carrot and the Chef came up to me and did ir for me, like it was the easiest thing in the world...and yes, it may be BUT, I haven't got much talent for the kitchen like I said before. Anyways, the class was good but a bit disappointing as we didn't get to do much of the cooking, but the Chef did it for us. We basically cut, peeled and stuff like that. I did learn some stuff though, such as making caramel should be without water, unlike I've done it all my life haha Also, that you can put the chicken on a pan to get a nice color but finish cooking it on the oven so it stays soft and nice.

In the end, we didn't get to eat the meal there and it wasn't quite finish (it needed a few more minutes in the oven) so we couldn't go picnicking in a park either, which was kinda of a bummer. But, all in all, I really enjoyed the class and it actually encouraged me to start cooking a bit more when I'm home...perhaps not very fancy and/or French stuff, but...well, we'll see.

A Rendez-Vous à Paris

Rendez-Vous (French for 'encounters') are kind of odd enough when you're living in a big city, eg. Mexico City (though they seemed to happen to me all summer!), but after all, it is YOUR city, you've been there for quite a while (if not all or most of your life), you've managed to accumulate a certain amount of friends/acquaintances/and whatnot...BUT, when something like this happens in a city which is also big, very busy and quite crowded such as Paris, which on top of it, is not your city and is all the way across the Atlantic Ocean in a different Continent, AND you only know a handful of people..."what are the odds?", you would think, right?

Well, yesterday I beat the odds as I was happily walking on the streets of beautiful Paris...and by happily I may mean "a bit confused", going towards Montparnasse Train Station when I was crossing the street and suddenly, then and there, out of nowhere I ran into Jeremy, an old friend of mine! We met in Paris back in 2007 during my first trip to the French Metropolis and we've stayed in touch ever since though rarely talk--he's a really cool guy.
So, we did what french do on a daily basis...we went to the nearest cafe and sat down for coffee, a smoke and a chat. That encounter lead to arranging our next one, which will be tonight and we'll be cooking...no, not French food to the surprise of you all, but Mexican food! I do kinda miss it at this point and Jeremy has some real Mexican ingredients he brought from his recent trip to Mexico so...let the cooking begin! I'll tell you how it goes on a later post.

After this event of randomness, I couldn't help but wonder...has the world gotten too small...or I simply keep on going through the same pads over and over again?...
Here, a photo of our Parisien Rendez-Vous.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

My good friend Marius recommended me to go see the Musical "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", based (of course) on the movie titled the same, which is showing in the West End--London's theater zone, sort of like the New York's Broadway, only better. Since Marius' recommendations have always proved to be good, I decided to give it a go and head off to the Palace Theater, where Priscilla is Playing.

The Palace Theater is actually quite a small venue, it can accommodate somewhere around 2,00 people I believe, which is a good thing, considering you can still get a cheap ticket and get a good place.

The musical itself is just absolutely brilliant!! I've always loved theater, but there's something about Musical theater that just thrills me completely and Priscilla was no exception. Everything from the cast to the production was wonderful, including the wardrobe and, particularly, the bus--Oh my word, was the bus fantastic! All in all, it was almost 3 hours full of good fun, wittiness, entertainment and loads of laughter. I'd totally recommend it if you are already in or planing to come to London--you won't regret it.

So, before someone discretely let me know I wasn't allowed to use my camera inside the theater, I was able to record some footage as well as take a couple of photos. I thought "Go West" would be appropriate to record since I like the song and the performance was awesome. Even though I got this with my little point&shoot Canon SD940, I think it's a good quality video, you know, considering, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Some more Quotes for the Cold, Cold Fall...

Brrrrrr...as the days get colder here in old 'n cold London, I keep on collecting quotes here and there...hopefully, laughter will help you keep warm...or entertained lol


"Ana - sabías que Inglaterra se cambió al Euro?
Diana - Noooo, no se cambiaron!
Ana - Claro que siii, actualízate niña!" - Convo between Me + Ana--needless to say she was embarrassed after realizing she wasn't quite right

"he's just an annoyingly talented young man!" - Kirsty on Plan B

"Un Don me dijo: 'Ahhh, yo a la Fergie me la comia enterita...sssss'...QueLePasa jajajajajaja" - Mario Albarran

"I think the Tube Gods are plotting against you" - Kirsty Marshall

"It's fucked-up how sweet you guys are" - Karen O

"chacheando y bailando lambada con la escoba" - Maria Daniela

"I am not G.I. Jane, I'm attachment Barbie!" - Teddy from Grey's Anatomy

"When you get knocked down you gotta get back up, that's the way it is in life and love, If you're gonna be dumb,You gotta be Tough." - Karen O

"We live in a world where we have to hide ourselves to make love, while the violence is made at the light of day." - John Lennon

"People Can Do The Most Amazing Things...ask my parents then!" - David Vigueras

What Makes London So Great?...

...truth is, I dunno yet. I mean, a whole LOT of people complain about its weather, its traffic, its expensiveness, its badly constructed streets, its public transport, its food, its government, its people and who knows what else! But then, what the hell makes London so great and what makes so many people from all over the globe want to live here and the ones who already do, stay?!

Sounds like a tough task, but I will find out! Yes, I am now on a quest to find out what makes London oh-so-great!

You Londoners out there, feel free to contribute!