I know it was in the middle of May that I set for Europe. And it was in the early June that I came back. AND now it is already August - I can't believe it has taken me a whole two months to do this: do posts about my two-week trip to Europe.
As there are a whole lot of pictures that I wanted to share, for this travelog I decided to throw them into flickr, hoping that this would help make it easier for me to organize the images for sharing, and for viewers to look through a relatively large number of pictures quickly. So here you will find some of the pictures from my trip - to begin with, ones from Paris which was my first destination of the journey. Ones from Italy, London, and once again Paris will follow shortly.
A quick look: highlights of my two-day stay in Paris include:
- Visit to Montmartre's Basilique du Sacré Coeur and views of the town from the top
- Lunch at Boulangépicier, which was memorable in three regards; a good veggie sandwich and a delicious bowl of pistachio-cherry riz au lait (rice pudding), obviously; I got a few words from a shop stuff for takinphotographshs at the cafe, which apparently I was not supposed to (so I stopped); and I actually worked a bit after lunch - yes, I had to bring my work with me (wasn't I on vacation?)
- Macarons from Ladurée - my first proper macarons in France. This was my most sought-for destination to get macarons from besides Pierre Herme whose macarons I can get in Tokyo. There I bought seven (!) mini macarons, of which my favorites were pistachio and lime-basil ones.
- Going inside the Eglise Saint Eustache. I had been to the area numerous times before, but somehow I had never thought of looking inside the building. It wasn't until after I got back from Paris last year that I leaned that the church has one of the most notable pipe organ, and pipe organs are definitely what I adore the most as a musical instrument. I vowed to go back and check inside, and the time finally came...
11 comments:
please tell us more about poujauran. i was in paris in march, and poujauran was one of my destinations, but they were closed for vacation or something. i was very upset.
Posted by dexygus
oh! it looks like you had a wonderful time, despite having to work. the lime basil mini macaroons sound heavenly--is lime basil a type of basil or was it lime and basil together?
while i wholly understand why shopkeepers don't want people to take photographs in their shops, i disapprove of this and i try to take as many covert photos in photography-free shops as i can. more and more places are banning it in los angeles--is it a common thing in tokyo?
Posted by santos.
Looks fabulous!
I am so jealous :)
Posted by clare eats
I wished if the staff at Boulangépicier let you took more pictures.(i don't know what they thinked?) any way i hope you had a nice meal
Posted by Latifa
Hi Chika,
Wonderful pictures. I had no idea that you couldn't take pictures in shops. I guess I've never been stopped before, except in a Home Depot when I was taking pictures of the plants. =)
Posted by Reid
Absolutely gorgeous photos! I have a long-distance love affair with Laduree... their fluffy-light rose macaroons romp through my dreams. I'm curious to know how you compare them to the Hermes macroons? I've never been to Hermes. Thanks for sharing your memories and your snapshots!
Posted by Jennifer
We got stopped taking pictures inside Sacre Couer, but that was because there was a service going on. I had no idea that picture taking isn't allowed in cafes! Great blog!
Posted by rho
Lovely diary of your trip- photos and all. Don't worry about not writing the post sooner - this is just your trip back to Paris - at least in your mind - and this one was free.
Posted by Ruth
Wow...this was my first time reading your blog. I found it impressive and very informative!
Posted by Samuel
best macaron at la duree in order are: pistachio, rose, lemon, chocolate
next time try religieuse au cassis
cheers
Posted by vox populi
Hi there,
As to the phot-taking ban at Boulangépicier, another guest seemed to have casually asked them why (in French, obviously) but I could not get what the guy answered. Elsewhere I don't think I get stopped from taking photos very often when it comes to cafe/restaurant, althouh I know one good cakeshop/cafe in Tokyo that clearly tells you not to take pictures.
Posted by chika
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