Beautiful sunny day in late July, perfect for a foodie trip to Napa and as per tradition, the first stop was Bouchon Bakery. I made my way over to the 10-person deep line and inhaled the aroma of fresh bread coming from the window. It was worth the wait.
Inside the bustling shop
Update: In the Season 8 season premiere, Blair’s “Paris” is really Oheka Castle in Long Island, NY.
In last season’s finale of Gossip Girl we found out Blair & Serena would take on Paris for the summer. Already incredibly stylish in Manhattan, imagine them with their Chanel and Louis strolling along the Champs Élysées or sipping tea at a cafe. If I had my Paris vacation two weeks earlier, I would have been there during filming (darn!). Nevertheless, the city was every bit as wonderful as shown in the show. There is something about the city, a certain aura where the people and everything are just so much more glamorous. With tonight’s season premiere, I relived belle Paris in the eyes of Blair & Serena. Where did they wine and dine? Here’s a recap.
Blair “sampling sugary snacks like a modern Marie Antoinette.”
I was floating on a sugar cloud as I continued to taste as many macarons as I possibly could. But I have to say the ultimate macaron experience and highlight of my time in Paris was a visit inside the kitchen of chocolatier and patissier, Gerard Mulot. I thought this behind-the-scenes opportunity would be hard to come by considering I’m not in the pastry business or a journalist, but through a fantastic company called Meeting the French, you can interact with the locals via cooking classes, dinners and in my case, tours to observe the everyday work of a business. For someone visiting on a budget, the tours cost 7 to 12 euros. A real bargain for an exclusive peek into life in Paris.
I saw it all… from creating delicate macaron shells…
While the craze is still all about cupcakes in the US, the spotlight belongs to macarons in Paris. And long lines didn’t deter me from my search for the city’s best. Ladurée, Pierre Hermé,
Gerard Mulot… here I come!
