Lucette's Birthday and a Parisian Patisserie

Lucette turned twelve this week. She's a beauty, inside and out. And aside from turning into a delightful human being, she has been developing her love of baking into a rather intense passion.

It is not unusual for me to wake up and find that she had set her alarm for 5am to get some early-morning baking in before school. I kid you not.

So when we had boarded the train for her birthday trip to Paris (I know. It's crazy we can do this.), I told her the news ... her birthday gift was a grown-up level patisserie class in the city. She just about passed out from the glee and told me if she wasn't on the train she would be screaming and dancing.

 The girl was so happy. I knew she would like it, but she was just jittery with excitement.

 Once we arrived in the city, we stopped at the hotel to drop off our bags (an overnight stay and picking up my mama in the morning!) and do a little shopping at Monoprix with some birthday money from kind grandparents. and then hit the metro to get us into the Montmartre area where her class would be. We had time for a lovely lunch and a walk up to the Sacre Coeur, but she was checking the time every 10 minutes to make sure we wouldn't be late.

She made three items in the 2.5 hour class. Florentines, a caramel custard, and a multi-tiered cake with peaches and pistachio buttercream.

She was so blissfully contented the entire time. When we left, she near danced down the sidewalk stating it was one of the best days of her life and she now had sooooo many ideas. I love it when you find out what makes your child's heart sing and then finding opportunities to open up their world of interest.

It matters not whether she becomes a Parisian pastry chef or just a master in her own kitchen. But to just learn and bake and dream and create ... go for it, dear one. Go for it.


I love you so very much.