Breakfast in Paris

We recently returned from a big vacation: 8 days in Paris, 2 days in Amsterdam. In one word: lovely. My husband and I are great travel partners because for both of us, it is all about the food. Hands down my favorite part of the trip was just soaking up the Parisian cafe culture: long lingering meals in sidewalk cafes, taking in the surroundings and people watching.

About breakfast: It is all about the croissants and the bread and the butter. Oh, and the fresh squeezed orange juice too. Some mornings we had a "walking breakfast": croissants or baguette picked up at a boulangerie while marching around the city. Time change had us waking up pretty early (3am- hello!) and we liked the early morning walks before the crowds hit the streets.

One morning, as we marched to the Musee de l'Orangerie, I had this lovely little rhubarb tart for breakfast.

Towards the end of our week we settled into a routine of taking breakfast at a nearby cafe. We had cafe noisette (shot of a espresso with a tiny pitcher of milk on the side), fresh squeezed orange juice, a basket with croissants and very good toast, butter and jam, and a soft boiled egg perched on an egg cup with toast soldiers. The perfection of the simplicity of the meal highlighted what I think is so great about French food: the bread and dairy (butter, cream, cheese) are out of this world. While we breakfasted we would look over the guidebook and maps and plan the days outings.

From our cafe perch, I also loved to watch the morning routine play out in Paris as it does in cities all over the world- families rushing in the morning to get the kids to school and themselves to work! (Can you see the kiddo being led somewhat reluctantly in the picture below?)