After finishing my course in Paris and (proudly) receiving my certificate I hopped on the train to Brussels and went to see my friend Emma from New York.
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Restaurant
I was so happy to have little pockets of my New York life with familiar faces towards the end of my course in Paris and when Vanessa came to visit me in Paris for the day, we went to the Royal Monceau Raffles Hotel to have tea in their charming courtyard. They have a selection of Pierre Herme pastries (Pierre Herme actually runs the restaurant as I found out later) and warm scones with clotted cream and passion fruit raspberry jam (seriously, who could say no to that?) and fruit salads with rose petals, not to mention gorgeous tea cups. Perhaps summer finally arrived in Paris too?
HolyBelly is a simple cafe near Canal St Martin with a homey atmosphere and run by Australians. Interestingly enough, everyone near me eating at the cafe was also Australian, so it must be a good place...
One of my favorite parks in Paris is the Jardin du Palais Royal, a small garden located within a Palace in the heart of Paris. It usually has less people and a really quiet and relaxing atmosphere to sit and read, or shop in some of the stores along the arcades.
Maison Kitsune is somewhat of an institution in Paris, the have a popular clothing brand, make their own CDs and now have Cafe Kitsune in the arcades of Palais Royal. They make great coffee, not to mention ice cream and matcha lattes, and they also sell Bob's juice, which is a great find for juice lovers in Paris. I had watermelon and ginger juice and a cappuccino.
Patisserie Ciel combines simplicity with Asian flavors and absolute precision and consistency in cake making. They make beautiful variations of angel cake filled with delicious cream centers. I tried the yuzu and the chocolate and was stunned by the lightness of the cake with the flavorful centers. Their take away boxes are some of the most beautiful packaging I've ever seen and great for gifts.
Now on to some of my summer favorites in the picture above! I love light nail polish colors for summer like Essie's Fiji or a good white nail polish, but I have to say Chanel's Frenzy is my absolute favorite. When it comes to sunglasses my mom and I always fight over who gets to buy our favorite pairs of the season and often end up buying the same ones and these are no exception (Prada tortoise sunglasses). I love that these sunglasses are light on the inside and have a tortoise shell look on the outside, perfect for summer. I like to keep my jewelry dainty in the summer with simple thin gold and silver rings from Anna and mix things up with a little sparkle from J Crew. Last, but not least Bobbi Brown cream eye shadow in bone (01) is easy to apply and lightens up your eyes for a refreshing summer look.
Let me know if you have any summer favorites I should try out!
Odette is the tiniest 4 story house wedged between two other houses on Paris' left bank. They sell only one type of pastry: filled choux pastry.
Sometimes you get tired of people watching and being constantly surrounded by the pace of a big city like Paris. Cafeotheque is a place where you can simply catch your breath and sit in the company of a good book or a close friend for hours without feeling the pressure of moving elsewhere. The unpretentious space is just perfect for a rainy day, or any day to just take a break from the business of every day life. (It's also situated conveniently close to Place de Vosges and my favorite macarons of the city, Cafe Pouchkine, so it's the perfect place to start a leisurely day in the Marais).
Now that I have learned to make puff pastry by hand at Culinary School, I can whole heartedly admit that my appreciation for croissants and the like has found a whole new level. The process itself isn't actually complicated, but it is time consuming and requires a lot of energy if done by hand. Boulangerie du Pain et des Idees is one of Paris' most famous bakeries, and is usually completely sold out before noon every day. They pride themselves in utilizing traditional techniques, which is completely justified, as there are less and less traditional bakeries in Paris. In my opinion, the make one of the best pure butter croissants and they have incredible variations on the classic raisin escargot (snails) such as lemon nougat, pistachio or raspberry chocolate.
Simple good food with great attention to detail is always a win in my book. Nanashi does just that: simple, healthy, fat-free Japanese Bento and great fresh juices. They have a lot of Vegetarian options too, which are difficult to find in Paris in general. You can get your bento box with fish, meat or vegetables, with spring rolls before or after and a carrot ginger juice on the side and you'll leave feeling much refreshed and ready for your next, high calorie high carbs Parisian meal or pastry.
Find them in Le Marais and stop by the Broken Arm around the corner for a coffee and a slice cheesecake afterwards.
