He took the midnight train going anywhere.....

For a smile they can share the night. It goes on and on and on and on..... 
(Journey- Don't Stop Believing)

Intermediate Lesson ??- Lunch on the Eiffel Tower

Similar to the basic class, we had a class lunch at a location that is known for its culinary excellence  as a tourist trap. This time we had lunch on the Eiffel Tower. I was so excited because I've always wanted to eat at Le Jules Verne, a one-michelin starred restaurant on the tower.  To my dismay, the school actually planned on taking us to Le 56, a still-respectable-but-definitely-a-letdown restaurant.

So did I go to the lunch? Nope. I was invited to a conference in Bordeaux organized by KEDGE and ISVV on China and French wines, which I really wanted to check out. So I took the first train out of Paris and arrive at St Émilion to do some work this afternoon, and then drove to Bordeaux for the conference. I hope the school doesn't count this as an absence.

People commuting into Paris for work in the morning

I met a lot of interesting folks from the conference, and hopefully I'll see them more in the future. I felt so bad being at the conference though, since I was coughing so excessively. Even though I was sitting in the last row of the lecture hall, I could tell that I was distracting the audience as the Professor gave her presentation:

"In our study...."
*COUGH* 

 "of Languedoc and Provence wines...."
*NASTY COUGH*

"we found no significant correlation between..."
*YOU KNOW THERE'S PHLEGM COUGH*

"willingness to pay...."
*SERIOUSLY I'M TRYING SO HARD NOT TO COUGH

"of Chinese buyers of French wine.... "
*COUGHING OUT MY LUNGS

"and the following variables...."
*........cough

There's definitely a lot more Chinese presence in the region these days, either as owner-representatives, or as employees for vineyards to better understand their #1 customer.

I clearly have my priorities all wrong, because the thing that I looked most forward to coming back to St Émilion is not the intellectually-stimulating conference, nor the wine, but my fireplace and my magret de canard.

I can stare at this all day...With a glass of Armagnac or Cognac!
That'll definitely make my cough better.

BOOM!

A Proper, Country, Non-Gourmet Magret De Canard!

I'm so not looking forward to taking the morning train back to Paris tomorrow. The train ride is always painful and cold.

This was from my previous rides. 

No quote of the day, since I didn't spend any time with LCB people, but here's a conversation I had with a friend from home:

Friend: Is the Oui chef part of the blog real?

Me: All real quotes

Friend: No way..... Every class?

Me: All quotes are real

Friend: hmm......

Me: Hah way to call it the Oui chef part.