Parisian Gluttony: Sweet

Here's my advice for anyone planning a trip to Paris: Paris Pastry. Seriously, forget the guidebooks, the bulky maps, the fanny pack, and any other cumbersome piece of tourist gear you might be considering for a trip to Paris. Pack pants with stretchy waistbands, leave all of your caloric guilt at home, and follow David Lebovitz's advice.His brand new app, Paris Pastry, was one of the reasons we enjoyed Paris so much.

Here's a glimpse at our daily Parisian schedule:  wake up, cross the street for fresh croissants from Gosselin, play in the park around the corner from our apartment, hop on the metro and head to a museum, lunch, followed by consultation with Paris Pastry to find dessert, visit another park, snack time again courtesy of Paris Pastry, dinner, bed, and do it all again the next day. I am not kidding you. That's what our days were like and we loved every decadent moment of it. Pure sugary, buttery, chocolately, bliss with just a few taps on the i-Touch. Paris is a very dangerous place. Camille kept begging us to move to Paris, but I don't think that would be a very healthy decision (stay tuned to find out where we will actually be moving next).

A few of our favorite Parisian sweet spots:

Gosselin for baguettes and croissants

A La Mere de la Famille for chocolates

Dalloyau for macaroons

Laduree for macaroons 

Angelina for the most divine hot chocolate and a pretty spot for lunch (see above pics)

And one more sweet tip:  go to a grocery store and head straight for the yogurt aisle. Pear yogurt was my favorite, but there are so many choices you are sure to find something to please everyone's palate.

Bubbly Bliss

My last trip to Paris was over fifteen years ago. It was part of a quick backpacking trip through France, Belgium,and the Netherlands before starting summer session in Oxford. I was traveling with my college roommate. We both had small backpacks, a copy of Lets Go Europe, and very little money.We slept on the floor of a friend's small apartment and the only "fine" dining experience we had was in the basement cafeteria of a department store. The rest of the time we survived on baguettes and water. We spent most of our time in Paris wandering the streets, bickering over directions, and I can't even remember if we actually made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Needless to say Paris was not the highlight of that summer of European adventures.

Our recent escape to the City of Light, was the antithesis of that backpacking trip. It was a weekend of luxury, decadence, gluttony, and excess. One of my favorite moments: sipping champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower with a full moon hovering over the sparkly city. That moment of bubbly bliss washed away the hour and half wait we had to endure before we could even buy the tickets that would enable us to be sardine-packed into an elevator full of strangers. The waffle covered in Nutella and whipped cream helped to take the edge off, but really it was that first sip of champagne that erased any remaining tension that had been burrowing in my gut. And that pattern repeated itself throughout the weekend: moments of doubt or frustration quickly disintegrated by digesting some tantalizing treat in a breathtaking spot of beauty.

Want to start planning your own blissful escape right now? Well, here's my travel tip for you: head over to Enrout, sign up for their $500 holiday giveaway ,and then start searching for the perfect get-away destination. I don't usually promote businesses or other websites unless it is something I would personally use and Enrout not only fits that description, it also gels perfectly with the way our little family likes to travel. As I have mentioned before, we are big fans of renting apartments/houses. It really is the best way to travel, especially with kids. But what I especially love about Enrout is that they search through all of my favorite rental sites (VRBO, Homeaway, TripAdvisor, etc) to come up with one comprehensive and streamlined list of possible accommodations that fit our specific needs. Time-saving and brilliant, right?

So what's on your list of decadent and delicious places to visit?

Au Revoir!

Yep. I'll just say it. We are spoiled. Spoiled rotten. This afternoon we are headed to Paris. I haven't done a ton of planning because this is the plan I have in my head: eat croissants, wander, eat eclairs, wander, eat macaroons, wander, fantasize about running into David Sedaris at a puppet show, watch the kids explore one park after another while sitting on a bench holding Adam's hand and reveling in how darn lucky we are. Paris for the weekend. It doesn't get much better than that, does it? 

Here are a few fun Paris links:
Somewhere in Paris
Americans in Paris
Kiki and Coco in Paris
Pocket Pacy
Ten Great Things to Do with Kids in Paris
In the Footsteps of Amelie Poulain
Paper City Paris 
Le Flaneur
Paris Underground

Hope you have a good weekend, too.