the Merveilleux sets the Bar

Something the size of your palm, believe it or not, can be merveilleux, or marvelous. Tonight's pâtisserie was just that - the size was just enough to be filling and yet left me with a craving for more. Merveilleux, a white chocolate covered white mousse concoction, filled with hazelnut crème, decorated with 4 red, peppered maccaroons, and topped with tart berries, is one dessert I may never forget.


The merveilleux engaged a wide spectrum of tastes from subtle sweetness to salty to sour, and yet it was all balanced, as were the unusual mix of textures combined for this dessert. One taste did not overcome the other. What I'm most impressed with, however, was the mousse. I'm not normally a mousse fan, and now I know why ... It's because I haven't eaten good mousse! When you have it, you understand what the rave is about. And the presentation of this tiny dessert was beautiful.

One of the things that irks me about desserts are desserts that look pretty and yet taste pretty awful. I mean, really ... what's the point? No one buys a cake simply to look at it; they also plan on enjoying it. What I enjoy about pâtisseries is that generally they not only taste good (and are not too sweet) but the presentation is clean and thoughtful. It's the kind of dessert that makes you feel bad for eating it because you have to wreck the design of the pastry in order to enjoy it.

Today I walked through Montparnasse to visit more pâtisseries. Many boulangeries (bakeries), pâtisseries (they normally are one business), and most businesses are closed but open at the end of August. They are closed because everyone is on holiday, which is kind of hilarious to think of Paris as quiet, but it is ... for now, at least. I also tried to visit Lenôtre (known for their pâtisseries) a couple blocks away, but it was closed, as was Pierre Hermé's location (known for their maccaroons). I've been told there are two other locations that will most likely be open, so I will try these.

I spent sometime walking through St. Lambert's Garden before it started to rain and then attended Mass at Paroisse Saint-Lambert. For a daily Mass, there were about 35-40 people - lots of young adults, women religious, and elderly. I talked with a server afterwards commenting there were a lot of people for a daily Mass and his response, "We have only 1 Mass on Mondays instead of 2." I just thought ... wow.

So while I'm here I'm hoping to balance a couple things. Not only am I here in hopes of learning something about pâtisseries, but I'm also hoping to explore the following areas:

• Learn more about the Green Scapular - which originated from Paris!
  
• Hear from Catholics and groups (in the Church) their thoughts on the abuse that has affected the Church in Europe and how they envision how healing can take place.
  
• Meet with NGO's or branches within the Church that address domestic abuse/sexual violence - it is my hope that With Mercy and Justice share more information about the project and provide Christian leadership formation around these issues to those who are interested in how we serve.
• Visit monasteries in the liturgical Movement since the project draws heavily from this time.
  
• The end of the trip I will be in Madrid and would like to connect with the World Youth Day organizers and NGO's who do work around issues regarding abuse and violence to see if they are interested in allowing With Mercy and Justice to facilitate workshops.
• I also have lots of reading and writing to do for the project and have brought those books for the rainy days :)
  

As I have been told, "That is a LOT for a little time ... and you wanna bake, too?!" I think my attitude at this point is going to be, "Yes (with hands up in the air)!" What isn't meant to happen will not come to fruition and what is will flourish. I do need to get a move on, however, for things to begin and will think about what didn't get done on the plane ride back to Chicago. For now, I anticipate a rough ride in my broken French and Spanish; but at least I get to eat pastries along the way and am not alone.