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.
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!