Monday, January 5, 2009

Wonderful Paris






Happy New Year! We had a busy holiday season here in France. Now that real life has recommenced I will get caught up on some blogging.

Gilles’ parents joined us for Christmas this year. It was their first trip to Europe, so everything was new and exciting. We met them in Paris the morning they arrived, then spent three days touring that wonderful city before voyaging down to Pau.

I love Paris anytime of the year, but there is something special in the air in December. The ‘City of Lights’ is even more illuminated than usual, there are amazing window displays at the large department stores, and only the best food is on the menu. We earned our food indulgences by walking all day long. Paris is best seen on foot, and we did our best to keep moving, fitting in as many sights as possible in three days.

Gilles and I have explored Paris several times in the past year, and have gotten to know some excellent, affordable, and non-touristy restaurants. We love venturing into Paris’ neighbourhoods to find the best eats, and Gilles’ parents were more than willing to join us. We also fit in some of Paris’ best sweet treats: macarons, roasted chestnuts, and street crèpes, which Gilles refused to let us sit for, claiming all street food tastes better when standing. For those who are not familiar with macarons, they are a famous Parisian pastry consisting of two meringue cookies held together sandwich-like with a creamy filling. We waited in lengthy lines at two famous macarons shops: Ladurée and Pierre Hermé. Ladurée tends to stick with traditional flavours (ie raspberry, lemon, chocolate), while Pierre Hermé is much more adventurous. There we purchased macarons containing foie gras (surprisingly good), truffles (we were not fans), and fleur de sel (delicious combined with caramel).

We left Paris happy: with heads full of history facts and bellies full of goodies. Next, on to Pau for Christmas.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Our visit to Paris is one Bernard and I will never forget. We have many fond memories of our boat ride on the Seine River, the Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower, the quaint streets, the yummy foods "macarons" "crepes" "marrons""cheese", "croissants" etc, the several churches we visited, the beautiful buildings, the Metro, the many hours of walking, the spectacular Champs Elysees. Last but not least, the wonderful tour guides we had made our three days in Paris very enjoyable. Again, Gilles and April, thank you so much.