Sometime last fall, my best friend and I decided to take a quick trip to Paris. Naturally, there is not much point in spending time in a city like Paris without sampling some of the local grub and as everyone knows, if you have something of a sweet tooth, the city of light can be an especially enjoyable experience!
Of course, there is a lot to see and do in Paris, for example, did you know they actually have a Moleskine store in the Marais? I, for one, was surprised! Because it was such a short trip, I didn’t have time to go inside and look around, but I would have loved to. I tend to take a lot of notes in my everyday life, and most of the notebooks I use are Moleskine, so the store definitely caught my eye.
We did a bunch of touristy stuff that would probably be better suited to a travel blog, but of course when in Paris, you have to stop by Montmartre, right? And when in Montmartre you have to go to Starbucks, right? Well, ok, you don’t have to, but we needed a quick breather and it was… right there. I didn’t buy one of those mugs but they’re quite nice actually.
I did however have a glazed doughnut. Yeah but don’t worry, as you scroll down the page you won’t be seeing pictures of Parisian Big Macs followed by pictures of Parisian buckets of chicken. I just really wanted to know if doughnuts in a Paris Starbucks are as much of a hockey puck experience as they are in Geneva’s Starbucks. I was pleasantly surprised with its soft, delicate texture though. Perhaps it is time for Geneva to reconsider their supplier?
But let’s get down to business and take a look at a couple of the places I meticulously picked out after hours and hours of reading Buzzfeed articles and TripAdvisor reviews.
Our first stop was Café Angelina in Rue de Rivoli. Founded in 1903, the tea house is an institution known around the world mostly for its thick hot chocolate and Mont-Blanc dessert.
Café Angelina has held onto its traditional décor over the years and while some may consider it staid and old-fashioned, I find it is a style that works for this particular establishment.
Now about that hot chocolate… definitely something one should try, should one be into that kind of thing but one should be warned that it is incredibly rich.
The real reason I wanted to pay Café Angelina a visit though? Yes, the Mont-Blanc dessert and my love of pureed chestnuts. Yes, it was absolutely delectable!
My bestie, however, does not share my enthusiasm for chestnut desserts and therefore did not partake of this life-altering experience. Unfortunately, I got a little carried away and forgot to take a picture of the inside of my Mont-Blanc, but under the chestnut topping, there is a delicious cream and meringue filling that will satisfy even the most demanding sweet tooth.
Don’t they look so beautiful placed side by side in their glass case?
Le Loir dans la théière, another Internet find, serves up some of the hugest pies I’ve ever seen… certainly some of the largest slices of lemon meringue pie this side of the pond! The bohemian décor seems very Parisian yet somehow it won’t be entirely unfamiliar to residents of Geneva – after all, many a teahouse owner in our very own little city favors this kind of interior design.
Le Loir dans la théière is especially famous for its lemon meringue pie, and you can probably see why just by looking at the photo. Was it good you ask? It was good. It was very good. I wouldn’t say it was the best I had but it’s certainly worth taking a trip to Marais the next time you’re in Paris if, like me, this is one of your favorite desserts.
The trip was short and exhausting but it was so much fun – I certainly enjoyed it. And I hope you enjoyed this post. If you didn’t, I hope I at least get credit for not using some hackneyed line such as “we’ll always have Paris” or whatever…