Day 23: Food and the Beach

Based on the title, you may be thinking "what an ideal day!".  And you would be right.  This morning, I decided to check out le Festival International de la Cuisine de Guadeloupe (the International Festival of Guadeloupe's food/ cuisine).  White tents set along the water front housed demonstrations, vendors, and many chefs! In the evening, the area hosts pop- up restaurants from high end restaurants around the island.  I spent a couple of hours wandering the stalls, picking up some souvenirs, and just observing.  I didn't eat much becuase I didn't recognize many of the ingrediant names and saw peanuts/ nuts in several stations.  (I also swore I heard an announcement about a stand that used only soy products...). 

I attended a demonstration about papaya.  It's very common on the island and many of the people in the audience had specific questions about how to prepare the fruit, as well as about the benefits it provides.  A chef prepared a papaya and passionfruit mousse that he put inside a white chocolate and pistachio shell, designed to resemble the fruit-- very cool! While he cooked, a dietician explained the health benefits of papaya.  You can eat almost every part of the papaya-- even the leaves! (The audience seemed very shocked to hear this.)

The final product: the "seeds" are actually chocolate

I found the session to be interesting and informative.  Who knows, maybe I will start consuming papaya.  I would probably like it, as I'm discovering that I don't really have a discerning palate.  (Probably a very good thing, considering my limiting allergies!).

Here's some pictures of where the festival was held-- forgot to document the actual festival (oops-- an excellent opportunity to use your imagination.)

After heading home for a quick lunch, I went to the beach.  Today, however, marked an "outside of the box" day, as I tried a NEW beach! (New to me, I am sure it's always existed!).  This beach belongs to the Hotel Creole Beach and Spa.  In France, beaches cannot be strictly private-- the public can access all beaches, even if they can't use the beach chairs, access nearby pools, etc. 

The hotel and its environs were stunning-- I confirmed that I am most definitely a "resort person".  (With a French degree, I may have to marry rich to maintain this style of living...)  Provided chairs and umbrellas lined the beach (but since I wasn't a patron, I couldn't use them!).  Still, spending time on a beautiful beach never disappoints, so I passed an excellent afternoon.

Tomorrow: I'm planning on revisiting the Memorial ACTe.  It seems very pertinent for my project, so I'd like to see it again now that I've experience the culture a little more, and now that it's not quite as new. Afternoon= beach.  (This, my friends, is the equation for a winning day).