Oh boy, do I love the East to West time zone travel much more than West to East!
East to West is always a piece of cake. I love that I automatically get up super early in the morning. This morning I awoke after a solid 7 hours of sleep at 5am. It was the most sleep I have had in about a week and a half and it felt wonderful.
I made some amazing Kusmi Almond green tea and then I washed all the floors in the house and did laundry all before 7am! There is no better feeling in the world than a productive early morning.
I am going to try my best to stay on this early rising schedule because I love getting up early in the morning. I am my most productive in the early morning (as long as I can get to bed at a good time!) and I hope to stick to this schedule. Remember my Early Rising Challenge from a while back?
After cleaning, I opened my Gmail inbox for the first time in a week and almost shed a tear. I also printed my Glo Bar orders. It is going to take me at least a week to get caught up on things! I might have to whip out the coffee machine much earlier than planned. ;)
But for this post, back to lovely, delicious, Paris.
How I miss thee. You stole a piece of my heart.
We came across Paul Bakery while in a shopping mall called Les Quatre Temps buying some gifts and souvenirs. There was a HUGE line up wrapping around the entire bakery. We knew it must be amazing.
Item #4: Croissant
[For items 1-3 see this post]
You didn’t think I could go to Paris and not try a croissant did you? ;)
My mom, sister, and I were so excited we couldn’t contain ourselves.
They are a work of art.
If you are familiar with the process of baking croissants, they require many, many hours and many, many steps to make them. The outcome is spectacular though.
It was light, airy, flakey, and buttery. I took a bite and the croissant just melted on my tongue.
It was a moment I will remember forever.
The croissant was my favourite food item that I tried while in Paris by a landslide! Nothing could come close to it. My goal is to make a delicious vegan croissant some day. :)
Item #5: Strawberry Tart
The tart had a layer of vanilla custard on the bottom. I was never a huge fan of custard when I was young, so I was hesitant to try it. However, it was definitely the best custard I have ever tasted. The tart wasn’t my favourite dessert by any means, but it was still quite good.
I think it was OSGMOM’s favourite dessert of the entire trip! She is a huge custard fan. :)
For the main part of my lunch, I was absolutely delighted when I saw a huge Lentil salad and Tabbouleh Salad. The Lentil salad and juice below were from a cafe called Soup and Juice.
My body was so, so, so happy to see some vegan protein. I almost cried with joy…haha.
I devoured both of them.
My mom and sister had mini and large baguette ham and/or cheese sandwiches and they really loved them.
I also bought a carrot juice. It felt so good to drink fresh juice!
In my next post I will be recapping our last night in Paris as well as showing you some of the souvenirs and things I brought home!
Enjoy your day. :) I am off to play the catch up game.
{ 77 comments… read them below or add one }
It is my life goal to have a freah crossiant in Paris.
Same here.
I have a feeling the croissants I have tried would not even compare to a French croissant!
I hope you recreate that strawberry tart, that looks so wonderful!
mmm i would love to make a strawberry tart for sure!
Wow – I’ve been taking crossiants for granted – I didn’t know how much work went into them! I always remember one of my good friends would always get a chocolate swirl crossiant when we were walking around NYC.
Hey Angela just wondering, did you have trouble eating vegan in Paris?
It was one of the biggest challenges I have ever encountered
I love East->West travel too! You get to sleep in AND wake up early at the same time…. :-P
I struggle to make that last for more than 3 or 4 days though. *sigh*
I can’t WAIT to see a vegan croissant (and I am not even vegan!)
Welcome home!
I know I struggle to make it last too!! Last time I got home from our honeymoon it lasted about 4 days :( Im determined to make it last longer and maybe even turn it into a habit!
Look what just showed up in my reader!
http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/09/interesting-experiment-crunchy-egg.html
Maybe this will help you…..
Awh, I feel your pain with the emails! I wanted to cry after 5 days away…I dread to think what yours looked like!
Did you eat 100% vegan in Paris, or did you just enjoy all the food? :)
I did my best for all of my main meals, but it definitely was not 100% because they would still use butter sometimes and that sort of thing. I don’t stress about it though and I think I had a wonderful balance because I felt happy and that I wasn’t missing out or letting it impact my trip. That was my goal, so I think I was able to achieve that balance. There were of course non-vegan Paris food items I knew I wanted to try. You only get that opportunity once in your life!
I’ve always found West to East time zone changes much easier to handle but maybe this is because I am not a morning person and however hard I try I never will be. I don’t come alive until lunchtime!
East to West is indeed so much easier!! The custard fruit tarts really are lovely – I miss those!
My mouth is watering just looking at the pics of the strawberry tart that I enjoyed and wishing there was a Paul’s here!! I agree with you, Paris has taken a piece of my heart too.
There really is nothing like French croissants. American versions don’t even come close. Ah, a cafe au lait and a croissant right now would be amazing. And a table by the Seine. Ahhh…
Love seeing the photos from your trip!! And I love the vegan croissant challenge- I think with earth balance it is very possible!
Welcome home! I’m hoping to plan a blogger potluck someday soon and would love you to come!
What a delicious way to start the day! Thanks for sharing :)
That croissant made my mouth water…yum!
That croissant looks heavenly. I’m super jealous. Now I want a big pound of carbs!
Love croissants. That must have been so good! If I went to Paris, I would have eaten those every meal.
That croissant looks to die for! I love croissants, so I can’t even imagine how good they would be in Paris! Glad you had a great trip :)
I haven’t had a croissant in years! I bet they’re amazing when they’re made in Paris. And that strawberry tart! That probably would have been my favorite (had it been gluten free).
I think Paul’s must be a chain because there is one in Ft. Lauderdale at the Sawgrass Mills Mall….Hubby and I ate there a couple times before we moved…..Probably not as good as the one in Paris though!
Boulangerie Paul is indeed amazing! Impressively so considering that it’s a chain. But then again a chain in Europe is much different than one in Canada!
BTW – should you ever get to try their baked goods again, they make a mean tarte au citron!!! They also have a l ocation at the airport, so you can load up on last minute pastries to bring home for friends and family. My mother still dreams about the stuff I brought home from my last trip!
I was HOPING the rest of your list contained a croissant! :D
They were my Very Favorite Thing to bake when I ran the deli… and getting them out of the oven and eating warm… oh my!
I need to have a fresh croissant in Paris though…
Vegan croissants with “cheez” . Maybe substitute the butter for Earth Balance? :)
Yup Im sure its not that hard to sub it in!
Sounds like a fabulous trip. Good luck catching up!!
When I got home from Paris I couldn’t help but think that the Torontonian equivalent of croissant-filled bakeries are our donut shops. Kinda sad haha.
one day i too will have a croissant (or 100) in paris! they truly are a work of art!
About 5 months ago I started waking up early with my fiance at 5 am (he’s a carpenter foreman and so he has to start work at 7 am!). At first it was SO hard but I truly believe it’s the best life-change I’ve ever done.
I used to be the most notorious night owl staying up til 2 am and sleeping in… then having a 2 hour nap after school/work…
Now, I go to bed at 8:30 ( ;) hehehe laugh all you want, my family calls me a grandma!) but I sleep better then I ever have and actually get tired at normal-person-time.
Plus I agree with you Ang — being productive in the morning is the best feeling ever! I love when I’ve accomplished a couple of tasks and it’s only 7am!
This will be motivation to stick with it!
Oh man, what a fabulous trip!
That croissant looks like no croissant I have ever tried before! Gorgeous!
Oh wow, before I was vegan I pretty much lived on Paul’s foodstuffs. The tuna-cucumber sandwich is amazing, but nothing compared to the chocolate millefeuille and strawberry tarts. Heaven!
I’ve never been an early riser, except for when I’m jet-lagged (I move between London and New York a lot!) I’d love to aim for it though, since I love that feeling of having accomplished so much before most people’s day has started. Not sure my boyfriend would ever forgive me if I started setting my alarm for 5am though!
Oh, crossiants!! It’s been too long since I’ve had one of those!!
I’m happy to hear that you allowed yourself to sample food items that weren’t vegan. You only live once, right?
Good gosh woman. Cut it out! Or I’ll have to say goodbye to my finances and head to Paris to devour each and every bakery in sight!
In my opininon the only real croissants are French. They just know how to do it right :) mmm… I wish I could go back now and have a piece of baquette, a chocolate croissant, cheese.. and of course French wine.
Welcome back!
Let’s see you make a vegan version chocolate crossiant, eh?! No pressure, lol :)
I really have to tell you-your pics were so incredible for all of us. :)
I love that you tried some non-vegan things. Because I can’t wait to see your vegan take on them! I know you’re a genius in the kitchen!
The Croissant looks heavenly. Your trip to Paris really makes me hungry! ;)
That strawberry tart looks mouth-watering! I hope to travel to Paris one day and experience all of the amazing food and pastries. Can’t wait for the recap and to see the souvenirs :)
There is nothing like the taste of a fresh croissant in Paris! Nothing! It was by far the best thing we enjoyed while visiting, too!
In fact, I think I’d fly back to Paris JUST for another one. It may very well be the most expensive croissant I ever have (including airfare) but worth it! ;)
Ha, I just realized that my profile pic is of me eating my very first crepe in Paris! (a nutella one– so delicious!)
Hi Angela and welcome home! I enjoyed hearing about your travels so much. Last time i was in France was about a year before I became vegetarian. I don’t know what I’d do now! We were on a wine tour and couldn’t even seem to find a salad never mind a vegetarian meal option. It was almost an entire trip based around dairy and meat.
It also warms my heart to see you were able to branch out and try the wonderful things available in Paris and Paris alone, even though they might not be on your normal “program”. I think that’s one of the hardest things, to try something outside the box and feel ok about it, then go home and get back on track. Yay for you! Nothing can beat a Parisian croissant or coffee!
croissant in paris, would there be anything more awesome!? haha
that would be amazing
vegan in Paris looks like it would be quite the challenge!
I LOVED how your wrote “favourite”. It pretty much made my day for sure! That croissant looks delicious – I loved the chocolate croissants when I went to Paris. So glad I hadn’t figured out my gluten intolerance before then!