Saturday, October 30, 2010

London & Paris Trip

I'm back and have a lot to share! London & Paris are amazing!!

The first place we had breakfast was in Greenwich, UK called The Green Cafe


 It was a great little cafe with fresh foods and lovely desserts and english dishes. I got an english breakfast which included scrambled eggs, bacon (real bacon!...more like American ham), sauteed mushrooms, roasted tomatoe, and toast. All the veggies were so fresh! It was very delicious! My mom got the traditional English breakfast with beans and blood sausage as well. She enjoyed hers very much too.   I would definitely come back if and when I do come back.





 I spotted this little pub near Leicester Square called The Bear & Staff when we were looking for a place to eat, so we decided to try it out...and good thing we did!

We ate upstairs and it was exactly what I was imagining in my head of a pub I wanted to eat at! The view was beautiful...flowers and the city right in front of us. We had a pot of tea to go traditional. I had a grilled salmon on a bed of roasted root vegetables and it was very rustic and delicious. The toad in the holes that my two uk guests had were huge! They said they weren't very traditional...but were very good. It was basically a giant square of a yorkshire pudding filled with mashed potatoes, broccoli, sausage, and gravy.   Would love to come back here too!

Now for Paris....
This was a ham and four cheese quiche I had at at Le Mistral on our way to the Notre Dame. It was dreamy...a bit thick and rich, but soooo good!

Bakeries galore (seriously they are everywhere)......





Looks so yummy I know!

We did visit the oldest candy shop in Paris called A la mere de famille which was founded in 1761.
Really cool place to visit. I got a few candies, a marzipan cookie, and some white and dark chocolate bars...I think that was the best chocolate i have ever had! We went to the one on rue du Faubourg Montmartre which is a little bit bigger than the one on Rue Cler (pictured below).

Rue Cler is the most famous market street in Paris...and for good reason! I was like a kid in a candy shop! Fish markets, meat and cheese markets, fruit and vegetables, bakeries, etc. It was incredible!


The 2 photos right above are taken at boulangerie patisserie. There was a long line, but it went fast. Oh lord everything looked so good, I wanted to get it all! We got some fruit and custard tarts and almond and chocolate merengue cookies. Oh were they tasty!

LA DUREE
Patisserie on Champs Elysees

Known as the best macaron shop in the world as well as some of the most luxurious cakes.  It also has a beautiful tearoom. Established in 1862.  I had to try these macarons!! They are a bit pricey, but to me they were worth it. 8 euros for 2 large macarons. I got the framboise with raspberry jam inside, and salted caramel with rich caramel inside. They were the best macarons I have had ever! They almost leave you speechless. The shop was beautiful inside and out!

They wouldn't let me take photos when I got inside, but I snuck a few...shhh!



That's not everything...but that would take forever! My trip was a foodies' dream for sure. It was a dream come true for me I must say!