Paris 2011 - there's a bakery below the hotel

There's a bakery below the hotel. John and I got quick breakfast treats from there pretty much every morning.




This bakery is more of a bread store, or a "boulangerie." Every morning people line up for some baguettes, croissants, brioche, and such. We had our shares of good times and yumminess from here.


Now this was a nice plain brioche.


These were what we had for breakfast the first morning we were in paris.

I saw the bakery had mini caneles and had to grab a couple to try. They were not as tasty as I'd imagined, but I guess from what people say, since caneles are very regional-specific (Borduaex), very rarely can you find awesome caneles from just any bakery.

The brioche and croissants were delicious.


On the patio of the bakery.

After our quick morning rendezvous at the bakery in the mornings, John and I were ready to take on the day in Paris.

Paris 2011 - Pierre Herme's macarons

This is the bag I was all willing to carry all the way back to the hotel.


And there were two boxes.


This big one was a Japanese-inspired matcha and azuki work of art.


Oh my.


12 beautiful little creations.


You've never had macarons until you have one of these.

There was a macaron flavor list that came with our macarons. It was a very handy "tool" to help us determine what we were eating.

The macarons from Pierre Herme was made to perfection. The meringue, the filling, the flavor combinations, and the textures... everything came together so harmoniously yet exciting. I was in love.


Let me admire this piece of artwork one more time before I sink my teeth into it...


omg.

They were so very, very, tasty.

holiday muffins

Ok they are not really "holiday" muffins, but they are the almond poppy seed muffins that I have been making for the shop these days, with a holiday twist - in holiday-inspired muffin liners! Wilton has come up with a bunch of holiday cupcake liners, packaging materials, and such, and I love how festive they look! :D

Paris 2011 - with a Pierre Herme bag in my hand

After getting my box of macarons from Pierre Herme, John and I enjoyed our walk back to the hotel.

Along the way I saw more intriguing things.


This gentleman was carving and repairing vintage ivory statues! He was so concentrated on his work and so cute.


Macarons from another shop.


More macarons.

If I didn't have the bag of Pierre Herme in my hand, I'd probably go into the shop and get a few macarons at this point, but I had my mind set on the Pierre Herme macarons, so I only looked around the shop and enjoyed the festive-treat-heaven-atmosphere.


A pile of huge meringue cookies!


And a lot of cute chocolate art pieces.

Oh my. There were so many treats and sweets!

We continued walking down the street, and a couple doors down I was stunned to see a huge chocolate gorilla in the window!


I think this dude was taller than me! He was sitting in the window and looking down at everyone that walked by and admired him.


I wonder if anyone would buy him and eat him up.

With the Pierre Herme bag in my hand, I didn't get any additional treats despite all the lovely temptations from all the cool shops I passed by.

Paris 2011 - out to look for Pierre Herme

I have tempted to make macarons a handful of times, and I have also purchased a few from my local bakeries prior to going to Paris. I had make a couple decent batches myself, and tasted pretty good ones that were bought from bakeries, but I knew, from reading and doing research, that I needed to go and visit Pierre Herme when I went to Paris, to taste some of the best macarons in the world!

John was kind enough to find out a Pierre Herme shop that we could walk to from the hotel. The first night we were in Paris, we went off to find the macaron magic shop.


We passed quite a few pharmacies on our way there. These pharmacies all looked very futuristic to me. Awesome.


We also saw a few candy stands. I was of course tempted, but my mind was set to finding Pierre Herme, so I only took pictures of the treats.



There were also a few really cool book shops along the way. The window displays were amazing!


Look!


The storefront.


There was a line inside the store, and I was more than happy to stay in line and to look at all the beautiful cakes and desserts.


If I could buy every single dessert in the store I would.

It was our turn, and we would like to get some macarons. The girl who helped us asked if we would like a beautiful box for the macarons for gifts. We said the macarons were for ourselves and a regular box would do. She packed in 12 macarons that we chose. Based of what was available that night, we got 8 different kinds in all, and the girl packed up all 12 in a pastry box, put a little sticker on it, and placed in a beautiful paper (gift) bag. She then handed it to me with a huge smile.


I was really happy, and insisted that I would carry the bag (of a box of macarons) all the way back to the hotel.

Paris 2011 - first lunch

After settling in at the hotel, John and I decided to take it easy and just walk around the neighborhood and look for something to eat.


Out on the street... with cars and motorcycles coming toward us from all directions!

We walked around for a while, enjoyed reading the not-so-familiar French menus in front of restaurants, and decided to go with a small restaurant that served 3-course meals with dish selections that appealed to us the most.

I don't even remember the name of the restaurant, but it was country-istic and cozy, with the owner looking like Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss. 


Anyhow, it was late in the afternoon and we seemed to be the first customers of the evening. The owner/manager was still arranging tables and tableware on the patio. We were seated by the window, and this is inside the restaurant:







We each got a 3-course meal, and shared a bottle of simple, but delicious wine.








Tart of the day.



Onion soup.



We both got the duck breasts.


The duck was delicious, but OMG the green beans. Later on during the trip we realized how well French cook their vegetables, and how much they love their fries.





Choux pastry with dark chocolate sauce.



Chocolate mousse.


It was a simple and delightful late lunch, and the first "French food" I had in Paris.





Near the restaurant.

Paris 2011 - at the hotel

John and I stayed at Albe Hotel during our trip to Paris. It's a cute hotel with easy Metro and some attraction access, with some restaurant options near by. Even though some of the restaurants close by could be "tourist traps," we did find descent options in the area later on.

Our room was on the 4th floor. It was cute, comfy, clean, and totally lovely.

It was our perfect little "hideaway" for 6 nights while we were in Paris!

Paris 2011 - arriving in Paris

Before landing... my first view of France.

The first thought that came to my mind when I saw the first glimpse of France was, "aww. This (the landscape) is so pretty and colorful!"

John and I flew in to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport and found the information center to purchase our museum passes and tickets for the RER train to Paris. (Thanks to John for checking all these out before our trip!)

The first Parisian we exchanged conversations with was this wonderful gentleman at the Tourist Information Center.


He pointed us to the right train to take, the information on the museum passes, and gave us a warm welcome to Paris. He was wonderful.

We got on RER B and headed for the hotel.



on the train.
There weren't that many people on the train at first, but as soon as it approached closer to the city area it got crowded. I was a little nervous, but John helped making sure we didn't miss our stop.



Our hotel was located in the Latin Quarter. When we arrived at the station the first word that I learned was "sortie," which apparently was "exit."




This was what I saw when I stepped out of the train station. OMG it was the Notre Dame!



I turned around and this was the exit we took. Exit 6.

After we found the hotel, checked in, (and met the super nice hotel people,) we dragged our luggage into the elevator, where the two of us, plus the luggage, occupied the whole elevator floor.



John wearing his "on the plane t-shirt," his "comfy and loose dog shirt" from No More Homeless Pets." The elevator was really tiny!

And then we saw our room. It was tiny, cute, and wonderful.

i went to Paris

This Thanksgiving holiday John and I flew directly from Salt Lake City to Paris and spent a week in the City of Light. It was a fun and magical trip, with lots of great food, wine, museums, art, and magnificent views of architecture and landmarks. The weather was nice, with temperature in the 40s and 50s, overcast skies, and occasional light misty rain. It was perfect weather for Paris, I say.




We took over 1,000 photos, plus 10 short videos during this trip! If I can not be lazy I shall blog about the tiny little things that made this trip wonderful.