France, the land of macarons, baguettes, pastries, crepes, and unbelievably delicious croissants. I know, I know...France has other foods to offer but I had been day dreaming of these things since we booked our flights to Paris! I had also mentally prepared myself about the potential weight gain from all the carby deliciousness. But hey...YOLO.
This last minute trip with my hubby and his family was booked under a week with a lot of help from friends' recommendations since we absolutely did not have time to do our own research. It actually took us about a week to finalize our travel itinerary: USA -> Paris, France -> Rome, Italy -> Cinque Terre, Italy -> Florence, Italy -> Venice, Italy -> 10 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany -> USA.
Being tourists.
Oh em gee...the macarons!!! The consistency was different than the ones I've had in the Bay area. They were chewy and not too sweet, which was perfect for my taste. Pierre Hermé and Ladurée seemed to have been the most popular macaron shops recommended by our friends but there were macarons everywhere...literally at every corner! Here's a list of flavors we collectively tried: Rose (Pierre Hermé > Ladurée), Chocolate (Pierre Hermé - taste and texture was like a brownie), Chocolate Coconut (Ladurée), Vanilla (Ladurée), Pistachio (Pierre Hermé & Ladurée were pretty much the same), Lemon Verbena (Ladurée - tasted like Starburst), Coffee (Ladurée), Marie Antoniette (Ladurée - a combination of tea, rose and honey).
Musee D'Orsay.
My sister-in-law and I decided to take a break from all the touristy sightseeing and enjoy French wine and dessert. I got an Opera cake that came with Vanilla Bean milk and my SIL got a Coconut and Strawberry Tiramisu that came with a Lemon Cookie. Both desserts were divine! I loved the unusual tiramisu concept.
The Eiffel Tower by night. At the top of the hour the tower starts sparkling and looks absolutely gorgeous!
A friend recommended L’As du Fallafel but they were closed so we decided to try the falafel place right across from it, Mi Va Mi, which had a huge line outside but it was worth it. The falafels were incredible! We especially enjoyed the spicy garlic sauce that jazzed up the falafels by ten notches!
On our last night in Paris, we wandered around locally and stumbled upon this adorable cafe that served these fancy purple potato chips with their wine. I'm going to try making a baked version of them...stay tuned.
I tried taking pictures of things other than food.
Eating a baguette while walking on the streets of Paris made me feel just like the locals. Oh and the baguettes were super delicious! They were so flavorful and soft on the inside but had a rustic crust on the outside.
Filling in my travel diary while enjoying croissants, coffee and people watching. Oh and I also jumped in to help a young girl that was having a seizure in the middle of the street. Hope she is ok now.
Crepes were everywhere! You could literally smell them everywhere. Also croissants...I wish I could have brought back a huge supply of croissants with me. I'm definitely going to miss them the most.
We stopped at this adorable Ladurée cart at the Orly airport and bought more macarons to-go. We just couldn't get enough of them.
Au revoir, Paris!
