Paris in the Spring

I am guilty of once again trying to put off work. Having no more bookmarks to sort through, I decided to approach my external hard drive, specifically the file labeled Eigene Bilder. It translates to own pictures (or images) and is in this case a gigantic folder of all the pictures I have taken since 2004. I have made multiple attempts to sort, delete, and organize my images and have been foiled every time. This time was no different. The only order there is in this folder is that the images are divided by year into subfolders. I happened to find myself in 2009, sifting through my weeklong exchange to Paris.

Jumbled in with your typical tourist-y shots of various attractions and landmarks were photos of some of the most incredible food I have ever had. I sometimes wish that it would have occurred to me back then to take pictures of all my meals, but I guess that just means that I need to find my way back to Paris at some point.

Front and center, the tarte au citron beckoned

My first taste of what Paris had to offer came from one of the many patisseries lining the streets around the Notre Dame. After a good deal of indecision, I had chosen an unassuming slice of tarte au citron. The explosion of sweet lemon enveloped by a rich creaminess and buttery crust was, dare I say, life changing. My following purchases from various places all across the city never failed to impress me. Even the food from the supermarkets seemed miles better than what we had at home.

Lunch from a supermarket:
Dark chocolate, baisers, mineral water, and tarte au citron

The ultimate culinary highlight occurred on our last day when we visited Versailles and roamed the old part of the town. When we asked where the best patisserie in the area was, we were directed – in rapid fire French – to a tiny hole in the wall a couple streets over. The Maison Philippe Pelé may not have been the largest bakery we had been in, but it had more variety than all of them put together. Half of it was devoted to breads, croissants, brioches, and many other pastries both savory and sweet. The other half was devoted to more delicate tarts, cakes, and their specialty: macarons. With at least 30 different flavors to choose from, I selected a few salted caramel and lemon ones to take home to my family, bought a baguette because my mother had asked for one, and treated myself to one of the little cakes they had on display. At least I thought it was a cake…

It turned out to be two different types of caramel mousse layered on top of a rich caramel brittle crust. Iced with a caramel cream, glazed with yet more caramel and to top it off wafer-thin chocolate, half a salted caramel mini macaron, and a cube of pure caramel just for good measure. I was in heaven and it wasn’t until years later that I even attempted to recreate one of the many treats I had tried. I began with the ever-tricky macaron.

My attempt at making macarons with many more to come