One of the best things I love about my hotel in Paris, La Villa Saint Germain, is its proximity to Ladurée.
The view from my hotel door. Ooh la la!
The famous French maker of luxury cakes and pastries is just across the street from me!
6 giant steps and I am inside the Rue Bonaparte store. There is a tea room where you can
sit, relax and enjoy your meals
But what I did on most mornings was to grab breakfast and go
I couldn't wait to get to a bench and attacked right away one of the two
yummy things I got for breakfast that morning
(Mom would give a fit when she sees how I carry my overstuffed bag.)
Croissant
See how buttery and flaky. I inhaled the whole thing while walking.
(In about 6 giant steps)
To enjoy the pain au chocolat pistache properly, I sat down on the very first bench I saw
The same crisp, buttery and flaky pasty but this time filled with rich chocolate and nutty pistachio
paste. I was dropping flakes all over the place and little friends came flocking to me.
First there was one
Then one became two
And then the whole clan arrived
Aaccckkkk!!!!! Please, not my toes!!!!!!
On another morning, I got a Bostock (and a side of salted caramel macaron)
Bostock is a brioche dipped in orange flower syrup, topped with almond paste cream and
covered with sliced almonds. Ladurée's version retained moisture like a sponge.
It was phenomenal. I immediately marched back in the store for a second piece.
On another morning, a pistachio eclair
It was delicious to look at, but tasted just okay. I found it too sweet and lacking in the nutty
pistachio flavor I love
I enjoyed my pain au chocolat in bed on another morning
(My toes were still traumatized from the pigeon assault)
I bought this the night before and as you can see, it was still lovely and flaky as ever
At the airport, I had a few macarons to go with my coffee.
Pistachio, rose, bitter chocolate and salted caramel.
My favorite is the rose macaron. It is the lightest, daintiest, prettiest-tasting little cookie in the world.
Every bite brought a smile to my face.
Of course I hand-carried some favorites for my loved ones back home. Some survived the flight.
And, well, some didn't. Hee hee hee :P
See my Ladurée Tokyo post here.
Ladurée: 21 Rue Bonaparte, 6e, Paris, France. Tel: +33 1 44 07 64 87
