Food Party!

5-19-11

I love the assurance that I'm in the right major. :] Today we had lectures on Food Science, labeling, and food safety. Our first lecturer explained the importance of food science and how they use it to enhance traditional products in France. The baguette is a staple over here and so part of their research on the baguette included taking an MRI of a loaf while it was baking to measure water concentrations and gas expansions. Talk about bread love.

Our second speaker talked about labeling, such as quality assurance and organic labels. We learned about the reasoning behind appelation labels and why there's a bunch of lawsuits around the world based on name infringement, essentially. After the lecture, they took us to their version of Redner's and we were given a budget, then set loose. We were to look for the labels we'd just been shown and buy quality products in our food group for our class lunch. I wandered with the cheese, bread, and dessert group and we found some awesome cheeses! After our instructers rounded us back up and paid for the groceries, we went back to the classroom and tried some of everything. Those carrots that the veggie group found were amazing, not gonna lie.

Then we came back for the food safety lecture and tried our best to stay attentive with our stomaches full to bursting. Next we visited the Musee d'Orsay, which proved very educational. We were given a guided tour, and our guide spoke wonderful English. She showed us the building itself, which was originally built as a train station. Problem was, modern trains were a bit too big for the ornate building. The architecture and design are absolutely exquisite. Soon before the building was set to be demolished, art historians petitioned to have it saved and converted into an art museum. They had the right idea, for sure! It's sloping glass ceiling and giant clocks are a sight to see. The third level was closed for renovation, so we couldn't see every level of the museum but we saw a fair amount. Our guide explained to us the history behind the more important paintings and the reasoning behind impressionist artists.

The reason there is a LOT of nudity in art is because the naked body was seen as the most perfect and most difficult image to portray. It took years of study and practice, so those who could paint naked figures were seen as masters. Also, the bigger canvasses for painting were reserved for depictions of the holy books, important moments in history, and/or pictures of serious literature - with nudity, of course. So when the impressionist painters began painting real life, everyday people, scenes of no real consequence, and stories not religious-historical-important, the state wasn't too pleased. Since the state commissioned most works, that meant these painters weren't paid very well. One thing I found particularly interesting was the methods of Claude Monet. They only managed to piece together his painting methods based on letters sent between artists telling one another what they saw Monet doing. Monet wanted to capture the image and not so much the emotion, so he took his canvas, eisel, brushes, and paints and went outside where he could be right there with the image he was painting. The trick with that was he didn't always have good weather or he had to wait for the clouds to move for the sunlight to be right again. That's also why his work looks sort of unfinished compaired to other artists of his time because he had to work really quickly before the light changed too much.

We were given time to wander the museum after our tour and so I went to go see the ba

llroom on the second level and the statues around the museum. Wow, was that ballroom grand! So much gold leaf and mirror and chandeliers. It was positively magnificent. On the way back, a few of us got the munchies so we hunted down a creperie and got our crepe fix for the night. We passed the Saint Michel fountain in the process and I snapped a few photos quick. All in all, a pretty awesome day was had. :]