The area around the Abbey is very up market and across the road we found Louis Vuitton, had to at least get a photo, Mike you are safe I didn't go inside.
As we arrived at our destination a little early and to get out of the rain we headed into the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, it turns out to be the oldest abbey in Paris from the 6th century. They are currently doing some work on the inside of the Abbey but it was lovely to take a walk around.
At 11am we meet up with Rosemary Flannery. I had booked us on her Chocolate & Pastry Artisans Tour. I am not sure what I expected, but Rosemary is one of the most interesting people I have ever meet. Her Paris history knowledge is second to non, and her love for Paris comes through with every tidbit of information.
Our first stop was at Alain Ducasse's Le Chocolat. The chocolat was so smooth and the tempered crunch, I think I have found my Mindful food. Next was Henri Le Roux for some salted caramels, I have never in my life tasted something so smooth and tasty, it is very hard to explain, but for some one like myself who doesn't like caramels, these are different to anything I have tasted before. You feel like you are eating something very special and unique.
Next was Popelini's for a creme puff, in the excitement of such decadent food I forgot to get a photo, but luckily for me I found one online to give you an idea.
From here we walked through some lovely streets. This part of Paris is just beautiful and I would love to just get lost in the streets looking in all the shop windows.
This is the oldest Cafe in Paris
The last stop of the day was Patrick Roger Chocolates. Patrick Roger is a French chocolatier sculptor, and some of the items on display were truly outstanding. I tried two chocolates here, one that was a savoury basil, and the other was orange. Truly outstanding, I never knew chocolate could taste like these.
Todays experience was so special and for the life of me I can't decided which chocolate I preferred. This is the last of our tours in Paris, and I have to say, doing tours with locals has been the best experience, I would never have seen this side of Paris without these tours. You learn to appreciate just how Paris has grown to be what it is today. I have fallen in love with Paris all over again, as Audrey Hepburn once said, “Paris is always a good idea.”
No comments:
Post a Comment