Le Chocolat!

Thursday August 24th

Another bluebird day here and we are still  loving the warmth!  Bill and I made our usual stop at the Boulangerie,  (They sell breads and pastries and delectable things for a 'breakfast dessert'!) to purchase our croissant etc to begin the day. This trip Bill has discovered Friand de la Viande - the closest thing he's found to a meat pie over here!  It's croissant pastry but is filled with a spiced meat. He's dead keen on them!  I wish I could send you the smell inside a Boulangerie!  When you walk inside you are assaulted with this warm, gorgeous aroma that is like no other - it is different from the smell of bread and is a blend of the various types of baguette and the pastry concoctions that to my mind constitute the most amazing breakfast in the world - but I know I'm biased!

                                                      What shall I have this morning?

 The kids had classes this morning and it was a real eye opener for most.  The English classes were the easiest of course and their kids had to introduce themselves in English and then ours answered questions they asked about life in NZ etc.

 A'Leah thought Maths was cool and knew what was going on.  Big ups to A'Leah's TIS teacher!  Camilo thought his teacher in one period was grumpy and horrible, so the main points of that geography lesson were lost on him!  They think their TIS classrooms are a bit of all right compared to here.

After classes we all trooped into the canteen or dining room for lunch.  The pupils all line up waiting outside and are allowed inside in batches as room becomes available in there. As soon as they've eaten, they have to vacate to allow the next lot in.  It's a huge room made of concrete block with hard tiled floors and I cannot begin to describe the noise that about 300 kids make as they eat their meal! It's horrendous! It is all a very different experience for our kids though and they love it.

                                      Lining up with trays for the cooks to dollop food on it.

Today's lunch: curried chicken and rice with a cucumber and tomato salad, fresh baguette, cheese and pureed apple for dessert! Not bad for a school lunch!

It's a serious business!

After lunch we caught the bus into the city centre to visit the workplace of a very talented man. He is reputedly Noumea's top chocolatier and his work is amazing!  He is so creative and produces absolutely stunning pieces of art that are all edible.  He showed the kids the process of making chocolate and explained where he purchased his cacao from and why.  He demonstrated how he created the beautiful little chocolates all sold individually and we were given free samples which were thoroughly appreciated!

                                                              C'est bon, c'est bon!!

                                                       The chocolate-making machine

                                                       Unbelievable wee delicacies!

  The top row is handbags, then shoes, then a car, then snails - and the pictures don't really give them justice.  All beautifully crafted from chocolate.

It was difficult to extract the kids from the shop after Patrique had finished, because they all had to purchase. I'm afraid that caution went to the wind when it came to the budget! Bill had decided to purchase some chocolates for his wife and grabbed a modest little cellophane bag of nut/chocolate combinations. He couldn't believe what he worked out using his currency converter card and asked me where he'd gone wrong!   No...... he hadn't miscalculated. That little bag was nearly $100!! 

                                                              $$$$$$$$$$$!!!!

When we did eventually get everyone out of the shop, we walked briskly up to La Place des Cocotiers to catch the Tchou Tchou Train.
They provide a great tour of the city with a very informative commentary in English along the way.  The history of the city is fascinating and learning about it is, I think,  an important part of our kids' cultural exchange.  We stopped a couple of times at vantage points for photos also.

We have decided to swap tomorrow morning's programme for that of next Friday so everyone is geared up for shopping tomorrow!  They will love the visit to the Melanesian museum in the afternoon too.

Hope the frosts aren't biting you too hard!

Au Revoir!

Colleen