Famous for its macarons (not to be confused with macaroons), Ladurée operates several swank tea rooms in Paris and around the world. We visited its Rue Bonaparte branch, which is decorated in a not-so-subtle exoticist style, despite being the newest Paris location. (Fake East Asian lettering, woodblock prints and bamboo shoot decorations everywhere. Yeah.) Anyway, the pastries and tea were as delectable as the room was quaint/not PC. Which is to say, extremely delectable. Pictured below: Strawberry Ispahan (named for the rose whose fragrance graces this macaron); Maggie and Cathy helping themselves to more tea; the exoticist interior (with a mountain of macarons on display); and the also-fake, old-style exterior, so you'll recognize the place if you ever walk by.
 |  |
 |  |
If you'd like to torture yourself by gazing ravenously at other pictures of the pastries we enjoyed there, go to Maggie's flickr page. And if you're ever in Paris and only have time for one tea salon, make it Ladurée.
Ladurée was our second afternoon tea experience because the first time we tried to get in - on Jan. 2nd, a Saturday afternoon (after our return from Chartres) - the place was completely packed. So we had to wait until a weekday for things to calm down. Our first "afternoon tea" experience came on Sunday, Jan. 3rd, and turned out not to be afternoon tea at all.
On the advice of some Parisian friends, I led my mom and Cathy to the Hôtel de Crillon, probably one of the most luxurious hotels in the city, if not the world. It's a five-star venue in an 18th-century building filled with furniture, tapestries, and various objects from the reigns of Louis XIV through Louis XVI. Leonard Bernstein stayed there (and left behind a piano). So did German High Command during the Occupation. Also several American presidents. While sitting in their lobby and soaking in the history would probably have been inspiring and memorable enough, we decided to go one better and try their famed hot chocolate. (This was after we had been held at the door while one of the doormen checked to make sure there was seating inside. We must have looked completely unlike their normal clientèle.)
Before hot chocolate, we were presented with a small plate of four square truffle-like chocolates. We were charmed. Then came the hot chocolate, which was good, maybe even great, but still not the best we'd have during the course of the week. (More on that later.) Luckily, we managed to order one pot for my mom and I to share, which supplied around six cups and turned out to be way more than either of us needed. (Eden and JP later attempted the same thing, only to be served two pots and a whopping 22 euro bill.) The splendor and decadence of the surroundings nearly overwhelmed us, but ultimately I felt like I could get used to it.
Two afternoon eating events down, three to go. To be continued!
Posts
