30 October, Clermont-Ferrand

Time is going quickly since my masters classes began.  Many days we have class from 9 am until 7 pm.  Occasionally we have an afternoon off, but often we use it to meet in small groups to complete group projects.

Much of our class work is case studies, either completed individually or in small groups.  I am currently working with 4 different groups on 5 cases or projects.  We are not all in the same classes, so it can become difficult to get everyone together.  Today we met for an hour at 9 am and made good progress. 

Last night we hosted a dinner for 4 other students, which meant we had to clean house and shop first.  Chef Fred did a great job and we had a very nice time. 

We started with appetizers in the living room, nuts and olives, crackers, etc, followed by sauteed mushrooms, then spicy sauteed shrimp.

Sauteed mushrooms

Then we moved to the dining room for asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, then sauteed, served along side Paul Prudhomme spiced salmon fillets sauteed in oil and butter. 

We ended the meal with strawberries, ice cream and coffee.  Fred and I had a great time.  Thanks to my classmates for sharing the meal and time with us.