Friday, June 13, 2014

The Sweet Side of Paris


One of the enchantments of 
Paris
is the food, and Paris has
dreamy foods, especially their
sweets!  Come along on a sweet
journey with me.

Travel for me is all about the food.  
I love to explore a city through
its food and its presentation.  

Paris is a wonderland for food,
especially the sweet side of life.



The sweet side of Paris isn't just about
French Macarons, even though
they are wonderful.  

There is something deliciously
sweet and decadent around
any corner and you know I
am going to try and find it.


Cotton candy pink,
Disneyland Paris just promises
you that you are going to find
wonderful treats once you enter her gates.


How about an invitation to
the Mad Hatter's tea party
where you are the guest?


I am going to order hot chocolate
when I attend the tea party.

Or maybe this will be my bedtime
treat.  

This fabulous hot chocolate presentation
was at the Disneyland Hotel.


Remove your decadent cube of 
chocolate from its fabulous little
box and stir it around in your
warm, creamy milk until it melts
and creates hot chocolate.  Finish it 
off with your "little spoon" that is
a cookie.  How fun is that?


Grab a treat anywhere in Fantasyland
and pull up one of these
little confections to sit on while
you enjoy your treat.


Now we are going to go on the
wilder side of Disney into the
darkened Blue Lagoon restaurant
where pirates are passing by in
their boats.


Here the theme is tropical so
my huge chocolate macaron is served
with a mango side in a bamboo boat.

What intense chocolate flavor in this
gigantic macaron.  Loved it!


The Sleeping Beauty Castle
sits right at the end of Main Street, but
before you reach the end we had to
enjoy a dinner at
Walt's
which is located right on Main Street.



Call me emotional, but walking into
Walt's
I got tears in my eyes.  I felt like I
had been invited into his home.
It is Victorian in style and we were
taken upstairs and seated right by
the window


where we enjoyed a bird's eye view of
the parade.  
(One little aside - almost every little girl
at Disneyland Paris was wearing a princess
dress, but we only saw two Elsas there.  As hard
as it was to find an Elsa costume here in
the states after the movie came out, I think
it was even harder in Europe!)


Hubby chose a molten chocolate cake.


I know we should have shared 
dessert, but I was swept away
with the idea of a Candy Tulip Dish
and we both gasped when it 
arrived.

I am definitely going to have to
try this for a dinner party.  It is just
a big, beautiful, ruby dish made of
candy.


Wow, what a presentation.

We have already enjoyed 
The Sweet Life and
aren't even in Paris proper yet!


For us, the eye candy of Paris is the
fabulous architecture.  I had so much
fun returning to the room and looking up
Georges Eugene Haussman who
transformed Paris in the mid 1800's
into the architecture gem it is today.


And speaking of an architectural
gem, this macaron dessert created
by our teacher from our
French Macaron class was a wonder.


Behind every gorgeous door there
are treats hidden in Paris.


And behind every glass case
there are sweet treats waiting!


The Parisians know how to top 
their buildings with spectacular 
ornamentation.


They also know how to top their desserts
with spectacular ornamentation.


We stayed in the charming
Castille Hotel which is right
so close to the Tuileries and
the Louvre.


We were right next door to
Chanel.


The room was wonderful and 
can you believe it, decorated in 
purple!!


The bath was luxurious.  We couldn't
have had a better location.


Just around the block and down a bit
we had to try out Laduree.


It is a visual treat besides
being a culinary treat.


I'll take one of these for a
wedding cake!



How do you choose which 
confection to indulge in?


Well, we couldn't choose and as
we walked and walked and walked
each day, we decided to indulge in
this rose flavored pate choux


and a chocolate shake for hubby
(for breakfast! but hey we are on vacation!!)


pain au chocolat which is his favorite
breakfast pastry and of course one
of their "mini" croissants
(their normal ones are over 8 
inches across!)


and my choice, this gorgeous
strawberry shaped confection!


Of all of the sweets that I had in
Paris, I have to say that this was my
favorite.  The strawberry filling was
so intense and perfect and the cake
and cream were so moist - take me
back for another!

We were so decadent and 
naughty that morning, but
we loved every second and
every bite of it!


Our actual anniversary dinner was
at L'Opera Restaurant which is located
at the Garnier Opera House.  We just had
to eat there after a day spent exploring
the Opera House.


I was full and was going to watch
hubby eat his dessert until we saw
someone being presented with
this wonderful dessert.  The waiter 
comes to your table and pours hot
chocolate sauce over the chocolate
dome that hides a scoop of ice cream
that sits on the other half of the poached
pear.

I motioned to our waiter and said,
"I changed my mind, I would like to try
that dessert!"  

Yum!!!

Well, I hope you haven't gained any weight
on my journey to the
Sweet Side of Paris!

But I hope you have had a visual feast.
Thanks for coming along with me.

Bon jour!!

I will be posting with

13 comments:

  1. I can't wait for you to try to recreate lots of these desserts! And share them with your favorite niece!

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  2. Oh my........your trip to Paris must have been fabulous! Your attention to detail in your photography is wonderful. All of the treats look beautiful. I feel like I got to see a little of Paris through you. I am so glad you took the time to share so much with us! Welcome back!
    Hugs, Katherine

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  3. Jacqueline, I have a trip planned in the fall, and I can't wait to enjoy the sweets of Paris. Your photos make me want to hop a plane this evening! Thanks for sharing your tip with us. The photos are perfection!

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  4. Sure looks like you had an excellent time and ate very well:@)

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  5. Looks like a fabulous trip and lots of amazing sweets.

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  6. Such a colorful "palatte", both for the eye and the taste buds! I am SURE you are having an amazing itme all the way around!
    hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. What a wonderful post !!!
    I'm smiling thinking of you and all these desserts. xx's

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  8. Wow, what a trip! My sweet tooth is screaming! I would also kill for an authentic French croissant! Happy Anni, wow!
    Jenna

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  9. Oh my everything looks beautiful and ohhhh sooooo yummy.....


    Smiles~
    Mari

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  10. How utterly fabulous. Looks like you had an amazing time and got to visit some really great places. I adore those pink Laduree boxes. I want some! LOL! xo

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  11. I am smacking my lips and smiling too. Glad you had fun. Beautiful and decadent desserts.

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  12. The Parisians sure know how to do it right! Even a chocolate shake looks like something fit for a King! And right on to your husband for having it for breakfast! You only live once!

    Those adorable little macaron chairs are the cutest!!! I would love to have a set of those for our deck in summer. I would be the envy of the cul-de-sac!

    If you haven't gained 40 lbs. after this trip it will be a miracle! What a dessert wonderland it is! Not just some Fig Newton or Oreo out of a box. REAL desserts that delight every one of the senses!!!

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