Day Fourteen. Queen Cocoa

Day fourteen. I got up earlier than I wanted and went back to Buckingham palace. Got to make good use of that ticket (it's "free" for a year..after first visit). Although Monday's visit was rushed, I felt like I had the palace to myself -- being practically the only one in every room. This time around it was for the masses, and only 30 minutes difference in arrival times. nevertheless I took full. Advantage of the free audio guides stopping at every single thing that had something to listen to. Did you know the palace has 775ish rooms and 78 bathrooms....78. That's a lot of toilet cleaners. It also has 400 full time staff. Dang. That is a busy place. I learned a lot more this time around and it was fun to see it again. Seriously the people carved out of the walls (I now there is a more technical name for them) holding banners, seeing the former candlesticks being converted with lightbulbs, the strict attention to detail in everything. That place is more of a museum than home...but kids were born and raised there. Charles was born there. In the childhood exhibit one of the mini kid cars they had was a mini replica James Bond car Charles got in the 60s. It came with the same gadets the real bond car had including smoke shield wall. They are fortunate unfortunate people to have so many cool things but have a microscope on you at all times. I decided to take advantage of the Garden Cafe...whenever can I say I dined at Buckingham Palace again in my life? They have a fully functioning cafe with sandwiches and sweets. I had a hot chocolate and cream puffs. Really good lunch I know. The hot chocolate has a dusting of cocoa powder on top in the shape of a crown. Yep. Living the high life. Met a couple from Canada. They told me about some fancy grocery store they looked in and had tomatoes for £100 a pound.....ah what? Better be a good tomato. Better check that out. School. Pear tart in puff pastry. We 1. Made our own puff pastry, turning it (folding it over itself) every 20 minutes for 2.5 hours and 2. Used premade puff pastry to make a pear tart with a lattice top. It looked a lot fancier than it tastes, but still a lot of work to do. Peel, core, Poach the pears, make the cream filling, roll and trim the dough, etc. it was a process, but a better handling than the day before. Demonstration Class was how to make a puff pastry fruit tart. Combing the pastry cream we've made before, rolling puff pastry, and cutting fruit. If you think Chef Touille lover of cutting fruit was our instructor again, you are right. The girl next to me said "if I have to watch him cut fruit for one more session I don't know what to do." Hahaha. Right there with you. He cuts in silence, and we have to be silent and watch so it is a bit tiring. He does great work though. After class I went home and packed up the last of my things. I move to Fullam tomorrow. A place where I can feel more settled, and not be living out of my suitcases. :)