Welcome…

What better way to start a new blog off than to write a post about food?

One of my favorite things in the world to do is have afternoon tea and I recently did so in Paris (which is of course one of my favorite cities in the world).  We sat at the famous Laduree’s outdoor section on the Champs – Elysees and had macaroons and tea.  I did experience some sticker shock as the place is expensive, but what in Europe isn’t?  Basically if you sit at any outdoor cafe you can expect to spend about $10 on a coffee, or even just a Perrier with a slice of lemon!  (I guess the Costco crates of sparkling water are not readily available in Paris).  In any case I was sitting on the Champs – Elysees and that is worth every penny. 

A photo of the outside of the Laduree.  I am not an architectural buff by any means but I was really taken by the details and scrollwork.

Trying to keep my Amex bill to a minimum I ordered an Earl Grey and two of their famous macaroons.  While macaroons here in the United States are coconut confections with a crumbly texture, the Laduree macaroons were more like soft sandwich cookies.  I ordered the chocolate macaroons and they were light and had a really nice fluffy textures when biting into them.  The sweetness balanced the tea well. 

I SO wanted to purchase the beautiful china to take home with me and I braved the long lines inside the restaurant to take a look.  Lets just say that until I can sell a kidney I will have to enjoy the tea cups by looking at the millions of pictures I took.  (I did take those two sugar packets as a consolation prize though).