Paris

Ladurée, The Unboxing

Ladurée is the best known macaron bakery in Paris. It is famous for inventing the double decker macaron cookies. (Supposedly they sell 15,000 cookies everyday!) There are a few locations all over Paris but the one on Rue Royale is right where we make a bus transfer so we’ve gotten in the habit of picking up a box in the mornings and then later that day at the park we unpackage the little treats and take turns trying each flavor. The packaging is really incredible, the bag, box, and even the napkin are gorgeous quality. Unboxing these little cookies is exciting every single time. I’ve tried lots of macarons but these are by far the best.

Living in France: Our Schedule

The best thing about moving to France so far is our schedule. When we first talked about moving to Paris I read Nichole’s post here about their schedule in Paris and it pretty much sounded like heaven to me. We were working crazy hours at the time and I thought “That is what I want.”

We work American hours so thats about 6pm-1am France time (sometimes more, sometimes less). Which means our schedule goes like this: we wake up everyday, Paul or I will walk down to the bakery to get some bread. We all get ready for the day and then go on errands and explore the city together. We go to museums, parks, shopping, eat crepes, sit, etc. Then evening time rolls around we start working, we take a break to put the boys to sleep and then work late into the night. Our kids are young so this might not work as well if they were school aged but for now its been pretty perfect. We get to hang out together every day. We love our schedule so much that we are already trying to figure out a way to extend our stay here.

Fondue

Last week I took my friend Sharon to the fondue restaurant Refuge des Fondus in Montmartre. Paul and I had eaten there on our honeymoon and we loved it so I was excited to go back and see if it was as great as I remembered it. The diners are almost exclusively tourists and while I usually strive for a more authentic experience this place is so fun it is an exception. It is a very small restaurant with two long tables, if you sit on the wall side you have to literally climb over the table. The atmosphere is very casual and you will probably end up in your neighbors’ conversations because you will be sitting so cozy next to them. But the most hilarious part of this restaurant is that they serve their beverages in baby bottles. It is pretty funny to be sitting there with a long table full of adults and baby bottles are scattered throughout the table. The meal is a pretty good deal too: 18 Euros will get you a huge pot of fondue, things to dip in it, dessert and several drinks. They do seatings every 2 hours and you’ll need reservations. Then when you are done walk up to Sacre Couer steps to see the lights and people watch.

Refuge des Fondus | 17 rue des Trois-Freres, 75018 Paris | Metro: Abbesses

Pain et Chocolat

My friend Sharon is in town from New York so we went to a beautiful cafe here in the 7th called Pain et Chocolat this morning for breakfast. Lindsey from Lost in Cheeseland took me here a few weeks ago and I loved it so much I couldn’t wait to go back. It is half a block from Rue Cler. The owners are adorable, the food is impeccable and the presentation is gorgeous. I highly recommend this place for brunch.

Pain et Chocolat | 16 Avenue La Motte Picquet 75007 Paris | Métro : École Militaire

The White Dinner (Diner en Blanc)

Anne told me about this event called Diner en Blanc that might be the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of. It happens every year (each year in a new location) and the attendees don’t know where they are going until 15 minutes before it starts. Everyone wears white and and has a giant dinner party under the stars. Doesn’t it look amazing? I’m dying here. How do I get an invitation?! I’m very tempted to throw my own. Who’s in?

Anne did a post on this right here.

Photos by Quinn Palmer of Demotix