EDITOR'S NOTE: Unfortunately, reentry into real life in Missouri (and a nasty cold caught on the airplane) undermined all attempts to post this recap any sooner. My last few days in Portugal feel like ancient history at this point, but I wanted to codify them nonetheless - if only as an indelible reminder to me of the great time I was given by my very generous hosts. So here goes . . .
Days 20 to 22 (February 22 to 24), 7:00 am to 12:00 am or longer.
My final class days in Portugal begin rather predictably with a 7:00 or 7:30 am sounding off of my iPhone alarm, and an 8:00 to 8:30 am pickup by Teresa and Susana at the hotel. Each day, they graciously shuttle me to and fro Teresa's school, which is only about a five-minute drive, if that. Because we lay out students' work stations and prep all the icings the night before, there's no reason for me to arrive more than half an hour before class start at 9 am.
Once at the school, I typically make several parchment cones, as that's the primary decorating tool that I and the students will use. Then I make sure that I've laid out all the tools needed for my first and second demos of the day.
Here in Portugal, I have three one-day classes, which are loosely organized in a progression from my more simple sandwiched 3-D baskets to more complicated 3-D constructions, like my heart boxes with contoured sides.
This way, any students who want to take more than one class can ease into them in some logical order. As it turns out, only a handful of students opt to go this route; and those that have mostly take two of the three classes - except for the lovely Carla who came all the way from Italy to take all three! This means that each day I need to repeat my planned technique demos, so that everyone's equally equipped to tackle every step of each project.
As alluded to above, I always kick off class with a short 30- to 45-minute technique demo; then people apply those techniques to the projects of the day. I return with three more such demos throughout the course of class, sharing the techniques in the order that they'll be applied to each project.
The skill level in class is high, because somehow - somewhat miraculously - everyone completes every project despite a long-ish lunch break with lots of food and often wine, and the usual postprandial fatigue! What's more, the results are consistently beautiful. I'm really impressed. Lest you think I'm being overly generous, here's a sampling of what was achieved . . .
Students concentrating intently on Class Day 1's work.
A sandwiched basket being propped to dry on Day 1.
More baskets, both sandwiched and contoured, in process here.
Josie Cruz, my terrific translator. I couldn't have taught one thing without her.
Large-scale FabergÉ eggs underway on Class Day 2.
A student's lovely place card drying on Day 2.
Every class dynamic is a little different, and Day 2's was especially lively. Here, Teresa, my host, is trying to keep things organized by cleaning mid-class.
A student's gorgeous heart box made on Class Day 3.
And here she is with it! Both box and student are so pretty!
The lovely Carla displaying three day's worth of cookie projects. Thanks, Carla, for going the distance with me!
At the conclusion of Day 3, I'm pretty darn sad. It's been another great run of classes, with so much support and generosity from my hosts. I really hate the thought of leaving in another day. But my mood is brightened by a number of things. First, to my surprise, Teresa has arranged an interview for me with Cake Design, a leading Portuguese cake design (what else?) magazine. How fun! And then some of the students have baked traditional pastries and cakes to share with everyone taking the class. Yum! Everything from the savory roulade filled with ham and cheese (not pictured) to the classic pastel de nata (an egg custard-filled pastry, shown below) is delectable. I hardly have enough room left for the celebratory final dinner with Teresa, Francisco, and Susana that has been planned for later in the evening.
Pastel de nata.
A scrumptious sponge cake layered with the bright yellow egg yolk cream for which the Portuguese are famous.
Our third school day ends with lots of photos, exchanges of certificates of course completion (woo hoo! I get one too!), a few tears, and the final packing up of my tools. I'm thrilled that Teresa thinks enough of my demo projects (as dinged up as they are from my travels) to place them in her display case alongside cakes from the fabulous Kelvin Chua. It's a huge compliment, but moreover she's greatly lightened my load. I wasn't looking forward to the trip home for many reasons, not the least of which was leaving such wonderful hosts, so this gesture - as small as it might seem - means the world to me. It's nice to think that a little piece of me will stay in this marvelous place.
My projects in Teresa's display case.
Day 23 (February 25), 10:00 am to 3:00 pm - my last moments in this epic journey!
So the split with my Portugal hosts isn't going to be as abrupt as I thought yesterday. I am greatly relieved!
I have some time to kill before I have to be at the Lisbon airport, so Francisco, Susana, Teresa, and I are going to do a little bit more sightseeing - this time in Lisbon itself.
They pick me up at my hotel around noon-ish (so I would have time to sleep in) and off we go in the van toward Portugal's capital city. We spend most of our time on foot in the BelÉm area, which is home to the JerÓnimos Monastery, a 500 year-old structure and UNESCO World Heritage Site (read: amazing architecture).
JerÓnimos Monastery from the approach.
Vasco da Gama's tomb in the monastery's church. That's Susana on the left, taking it all in.
One of many stunning gilded shrines in the church.
The day concludes with a hearty lunch (now the norm for me) atop an exquisite Lisbon shopping mall. More hugs and promises of return visits ensue when I am finally dropped at the airport to begin my journey home.
I'll travel back through Barcelona and Miami before touching down in Saint Louis a day or more from now. Maybe I'll sleep on the plane, but, more likely, I'll use to time to start on all of my thank you notes. What a huge debt of gratitude I owe to Claudia Cetro and Teresa Henriques for making this 23-day experience possible for me! Thank you, ladies, if you happen to be reading this! Abrazos y besos and abraÇos e beijos, too! I miss you.
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