Sugar Work and Cote d'Azur

This week we started our sugar work module that will be a total of three weeks.  We worked with poured sugar and pulled sugar doing two pieces of each.  I enjoyed creating all the pieces of poured sugar, but it was more challenging for me to put it together into a centerpiece.  I didn't use very many different colors in my first piece, but I tried a few different techniques in creating the pieces.  Then I used too many different colors on the second one and they didn't go together very well.  Plus I ran out of sugar to stick on the rest of my pieces.  The pulled sugar didn't require as much ingenuity because we were required to make a rose and a bow.  But we did have to work the sugar by pulling it for several minutes after we cooked it to about 320 degrees.  As the chef says, it's slightly warm.  Once we work it to a shiny color, we start pulling the pieces and shaping them while the lump of sugar is under a heat lamp.  My fingers were tingling for the rest of the day.  I was pretty happy with how my rose and bow turned out.

Poured Sugar

Poured Sugar

Pulled Sugar

Pulled Sugar

I'm trying to catch up and post pictures from trips I have taken over the last couple months.  In early June (after my final and before mom and Kathleen got here) I spent five days in beautiful southern France.  I booked this trip kind of impulsively because I realized I had five days off and didn't want to waste the time.  I wanted to go somewhere warm.  I looked around for the cheapest flights and came across Marseille in the Provence region in France.  This was my first trip alone going to a non-English speaking country.

I started off in Marseille which is the oldest city in France and the second largest.  It felt like a big city.  I stayed down by the port which was a nice area.  I always enjoy being by the water.  I arrived in the early evening, checked into my hotel, walked around the port, and had mussels and fries for dinner.

 

Marseille Port

Marseille Port

Mussels a la provencal and frites for dinner

Marseille Port 

Marseille Port with Notre-Dame de la Garde up on the hill

The next day I got up early to spend the day in nearby Cassis.  When I arrived in Cassis I walked right into the middle of their weekly market. I managed to buy some bread, cheese, and apricots to have later for lunch. The calanques are narrow inlets created by cliffs and they each have a little beach area.  They are all along the coast between Marseille and Cassis and there are three that you can hike to from Cassis.  The hike wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  Everything I read warned you to get started early to avoid crowds and the heat.  I think it was early enough in June so it wasn't too hot or too busy.  I set off out of town aiming to go to the first calanque, but actually ended up at the second one Port Pin. I spent a couple hours relaxing on the beach and then hiked back to town.  I had a Grand Marnier crepe and wandered around the town before catching a bus back to Marseille.

Friday is Market Day in Cassis

French men playing boules

The beach right next to the harbor

Cassis Harbor 

Cassis Harbor

I stopped to eat my picnic lunch at Plage du Bestoun

Pebbly beaches

Hiking to the calanques

I got pretty good at holding the camera up and taking pictures of myself on this trip.

I never got up the courage to ask someone in French to take a picture of me.

Hiking to the calanques

This is the trail I was following.

No surprise I ended up at a different one than I planned.

The beach at calanque Port Pin

This is the view from walking up a bit more past the beach at Port Pin

The next day I got up early again to catch the first train to Nice for the rest of my holiday.  Nice is in the Cote d'Azur (French Riviera) region in France and I loved it! It's a beautiful city with lots of beach and a cute "old town." I spent most of my time relaxing on the beach and ate dinners in old town. It felt like a proper summer there.

The fountains at Place Massena, where old town meets new town

The beach

I love the beach!

Cours Saleya, the main market square in old town Nice

View of cours Saleya from above

An old town street Rue Droite

At the top of Castle Hill

Nice Harbor

Nice

One morning I took a bus and entered my seventh country since I've been here: Monaco.  I saw most of it from the bus, including riding along part of where the Grand Prix goes.  I did stop for a bit to see the casino.

Monte Carlo Casino

Monte Carlo Casino

I thought the round sky mirror in front was cool

This is the other side of that mirror reflecting the casino

Hotel de Paris next to the casino

There were some really nice cars parked outside

Monaco Harbor

On my way back to Nice from Monaco I stopped in the small town of Villefrance-sur-Mer for a few hours.  I wandered around some of the streets, had delicious gnocchi and wine for lunch, and relaxed on a beach.  There is actually a strong Italian influence in this part of France because it used to be part of an Italian region.

Villefrance-sur-Mer

Villefrance-sur-Mer 

rue Obscura (used as an air-raid shelter during WWII)

Resaurants lining the street along the water that is off to the right 

Villefrance-sur-Mer

Villefrance-sur-Mer beach

I wanted this trip to be more relaxing than my other trips and it was.  I had finished my second term and wanted a nice little vacation before my mom and Kathleen arrived and my third term started.  I ended up doing more running around than I planned, but I'm glad I did.  I really enjoyed all the side trips and had plenty of beach time.