RaShonda of Explore Savvy is one of my favourite local travel blogger. Between her recent trips to Cuba or Milan and her scooping of fabulous cheap or error fare her facebook and twitter feeds give me major wanderlust - and make me want to buy all the airline tickets! Earlier in the year, she posted about an error fare on TAP Portugal, which I quickly snagged for a cheap Thanksgiving get-away. I mean, $280 round trip to Lisbon? How could I not jump on that? She also took advantage of the mistake, but rather than just stay in Portugal, opted to hop along to Paris. Here are some highlights from her trip to Paris earlier this year. WHAT BROUGHT ME TO PARIS As Laetitia mentioned, I came across ...
Laduree
Is Ladurée Finally Coming to Washington, DC?
Do you know how long I've been waiting to write a post like this? Well, I've lived in DC for about 12 years and been blogging for 6... so that answers that question ;-) I had actually had thought I'd be writing a post like this announcing that Maison Kayser had finally nailed down some retail space in the District but it looks like Ladurée beat them to the punch (please be true, please be true). And I'm not going to complain about that (though I still would LOVE for Maison Kayser to open in the District pretty please!!!) {update: that's happening too soon! Hurray!!} News that one of Ladurée's signature pastel green coloured storefront would be opening in Georgetown appropriately broke ...
Happy St. Honoré to all the bakers & pastry chefs
The Catholic Church has a long tradition of assigning saints as special guardians and protectors of different trades and professions, and bakers and pastry chefs are no exception! Saint Honoré, the former Bishop of Amiens in the North of France, is revered by bakers as their patron saint, in part due to a church that was built in his honor in 1202 that became the site of the bakers' guilt. Technically, the patron saint of pastry chefs is St. Michel. But the line between boulangers (bakers) and pâtissiers (pastry chefs) is often blurred in France, with most boulangeries selling pastries in addition to bread. The St. Honoré also happens to be a delicious dessert made of cream puffs, puff ...
Laduree Soho to Open February 5th
Laduree's anticipated Soho Salon de The finally has an opening date! What's really exciting about the location, other the fact that it's opening just in time for my upcoming work trip to New York City, is that it will sell more than macarons. Laduree Soho will be a retail bakery, of course, but also tea room, and full-service restaurant, overseen by chef Johann Giraud. I can't wait to check it out next week! Laduree Soho opens February 5th, 2014 at 396 West Broadway. ...
A French Twist on Halloween
There's nothing French about Halloween. Unless you want there to be ;-) Since Ladurée no longer offers this beautifully stunning box of Halloween macarons (le sigh), you could head to Olivia Macaron since the Georgetown shop offers an adorable pumpkin jack themed macaron. Or you could also bake the quintessential parisian treat at home... And while I'm still traumatized by my attempts to make candy corn infused vodka, maybe the Halloween Candy would work better in a macaron: If making or eating macarons isn't your thing, you might want to a) stop reading my blog b) dress up like one instead... Speaking of dressing up like a french pastry, I'm also a big fan of this croquembouche ...
Roland Garros Macarons
Tennis and macarons go la main dans la main in France. Every year, Paris plays host to one of the grand slam tournament, les Internationaux de France de Tennis, which the French just call Roland Garros (after the stadium where it takes place.) I've attended a couple of games in my days, including an all Williams women finals back in 2002. While we don't make everyone wear white like some other fancy tournament, this is Paris and it's tennis, so you probably won't be too surprised to hear that you can purchase champagne and macarons at the concession stands. I mean, beer and hot dogs are SO Flushing Meadows ;-) In 2011, they came in kind of unappetizing colours though: yellow (for the tennis ...
Guest Post ~ My Trip to Paris by Cecile
Gertrude Stein once said “America is my country and Paris is my hometown.” I couldn't agree more! When I am in Paris, I feel very much at home and become une petite Parisienne. Of course, it helps that my father is a francophile and my mother is, well, une vraie Parisienne. She used to live near the picturesque Place des Vosges and I grew up hearing all about Paris, its culture and its fashion. I'm lucky that I get to visit about once a year, and I'm thrilled to share with you a few of the things I love the most about my hometown... ... starting with fashion. French women always manage to look effortlessly chic, elegantly maneuvering the cobblestone streets of le Marais in their Louboutins ...
Je jubile pour les macarons du Jubilé
What do Hello Kitty and Queen Elizabeth II have in common? They both have inspired macarons boxes from Ladurée! The oh-so-british tribute to her majesty (who is celebrating 60 years on the throne this year) will be a marked contrast to the patisserie's traditional predilection for pastel colours. Indeed, the macarons will come in whites, dark blues and reds to match the British flag. The macarons themselves will be sold in a Union Jack commemorative box adorned with the royal crown and the emblem of the Jubilee. The limited edition, 6-macarons box will be sold starting June 1st at Ladurée stores in London (there are four of them in the Biritsh capital, plus a carosse at ...
Hello Laduree!
If the enchanting "Fleur de Clochettes" collection that the French patissier just released for Easter isn't adorable enough, Laduree has just teamed up with none other than cutest cat around, Hello Kitty. This collaboration includes the precious little boxes below as well as a selection of cute accessories like post-its, notebooks, stickers etc. All of which I want. One thing is for certain, you can't accuse Laduree of not knowing its consumers! And am I the only one who secretly hopes that the macarons inside the pretty boxes would look as adorable as this? Photo Credit: A Little Random Happiness ...
Sad News: Fire at Ladurée’s Flagship Store
Very sad news for Ladurée's flagship salon de thé and boutique on the Champs Elysées. Luckily nobody was hurt within the staff or clients during the fire on October 27th, though it's kind of devastating to think of hundreds of macarons going up in flames!Let's hope Ladurée will be able to reopen soon. ...
