I'm a firm believer that there is nothing finer in this world than a delicious sweet treet. I don't have a sweet tooth, I have sweet teeth. I was more than excited to try out the many sweet pastry options Paris had to offer.
I'm all about magical experiences. The more lovely something is, the more I'll think it was the "best thing ever". This is probably why I loved Paris so much, now that I think about it. Everything is just lovely. Anyway, I knew I had to try a particular shop, Laduree, out after seeing it on Oh Happy Day. As soon as I saw macaroons wrapped up in beautiful boxes, I was sold. How could you not possibly enjoy something that came in such a wonderful package?
So on Friday, after our bike tour, I felt like we had earned plenty of treats. Just to explain to you how excited I was about getting macaroons, you should know that the shop is just down the street from the Arch de Triumph...I got a grand total of zero pictures of the arch, and about 30 of my macaroons. Priorities, people.
I wish I could have taken pictures of the building, but they don't allow photos in the shop. You walk into a beautiful, romantic room with hues of mint, rose, and cream. Fabric drapes some of the walls and the ceiling, leading to a grand chandelier. Then you see the rainbow pastries lining the counter. I decided to get six mini macaroons, and chose the lovely lavendar box you see above. It was just an added bonus that it perfectly matched the flowers in the park.
We decided to take our treasures to the Tuileries garden and enjoy them in the sunshine. The flavors we decided on were just as elegant as the box. We tried milk chocolate, rose, lemon, strawberry poppy, orange blossom, and blackcurant violet. Each and every one of them was a treat.
We took turns taking bites. How is that for sharing and caring?
I'll admit, it's not easy for me to share my sweets, but I couldn't let the hubby miss out on this experience. Plus, he did pay for them...I guess the least I could do was grant him equal parts of the magic.
*sigh*
Even the bag is charming.
After the first three, we took a break. I didn't want the moment to go by too fast.
This was me after we were all done and I was happy as a lark. I saved the bag and the box because I just couldn't part with them. I would live in Laduree if I could. On Saturday and Sunday I tried my hardest to convince John Ralph to let me go back and get more. He said I had my fill of macaroons (is that even possible!?) so I had to settle for other treats over the rest of the weekend.
On a walk up to Montmartre, the artist area, we came across a small market. We enjoyed a cup of fresh strawberries with sugar, had a fig stuffed with foie gras (wouldn't recommend it), and ended it with a chocolate eclair from a bakery dating from 1900.
I was glad I finally got a chocolate eclair, considering every time I wanted one the shops only had coffee ones left. Let me just say, Krispy Kreme has some pretty steep competition.
For dinner on Sunday night, John Ralph and I went to a nice, traditional French restaurant. After a meal of scallops and veal, I thought we should top everything off with a nice creme brulee. I assure you, it didn't disappoint. Some wonderful people sitting beside us even picked up our bill. You better believed I used that to try to get more macaroons. "Honey, we didn't even have to pay for dinner...that means we have money left for more macaroons!" Unfortunately, that didn't work.
I think if I lived in Paris, I would only eat bread and pastries. Why bother with beef bourguignon or coq au vin? A baguette and some butter would do me just fine. And for dessert every night I would have macaroons with a side of macaroons.
No comments:
Post a Comment