European Tasting – Paris! 2015

Oh La La….I’ve never enjoyed so many chocolate croissants and cappuccino’s in my life than in Paris. Well…that’s actually not true because we continued to have this at some point every day in Italy as well.  We took the Chunnel from London to Paris which I assume was a great experience, but I passed out shortly after seating due to the fact that it was before 6am and the seats were super comfy…When we arrived in Paris I was ready to rock.
I took French all through middle school and high school but could barely remember anything.  So after we learned how to say “I would like” (“Je voudrais”) and “The bill please” (“l’addition, s’il vous plaît”) we felt comfortable ordering at restaurants.  I’m also a Diet Coke lover so I also learned, “je voudrais un cola coca light s’il vous plaît”
Unfortunately I didn’t take a lot of pictures of food in Paris, probably because I was busy shoving everything down my gullet.  The food was very good and very simplistic.   I especially liked how you could order bread, cheese and a small salad every where you went.  It made me think about how many choices for everything we order in the US.  If you order a salad you’re offered a choice of dozen dressings.  In Europe, you’re served salad and a simple vinaigrette.
Some of the foods that I enjoyed in particular were crepes with hazelnut spread, chicken in honey sauce and of course…macarons.  The amazing flavors and textures as well as the laborious process of preparing and baking them make them my most respected cookie in the world.   They are magical and if you’ve never had one, find a good pace that bakes them and treat yourself – I hope that you too will find that they are magical.  After doing research on where to find the best macarons in Paris, I decided I had to try both Ladurée and Pierre Hermé,
We stumbled upon a Pierre Hermé after leaving the Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris.  I purchased four and if I remember correctly, I believe the Salted Caramel was my favorite.  These were really delicate and delicious and I tried to be patient, but they lasted for about 90 seconds.
Later in the week week tried Ladurée.  As you can see from the picture below, I opted for 6 rather than 4.  If these babies weren’t so pricey, I would’ve gotten more.  These were also fantastic, I believe my favorite was the blue one appropriately titled “the Marie Antoinette”.  Now that I had experienced macaron perfection….I was excited for some Italian.

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