LADUREE

First spring morning in Paris and we were jet lagged and up at 6:30 a.m. so after walking around the quartier, we managed to find a neighborhood boulangerie on the rue de cherche-midi and grabbed a buttery croissant in a paper bag and ate that on the street while we waited for the nearby café to set up their table and chairs and open for the day. At 7:30, the bar was open for coffees so we found a spot on the ancient zinc-topped bar and had our first, much-needed café crème. After that, we walked up the road towards Saint-Germain-des-Pres so we could work up an appetite and have our second breakfast (when in Paris, two breakfasts on the first day are in order) at our favorite spot on the tiny rue Jacob - Ladurée.

No trip to Paris would be complete without stopping by Ladurée for some sinful patisserie and a coffee or tea or having a light lunch in the very elegant back room. We settled into a corner and ordered another petit dejeuner. This time served on pastel-edged china with silver cutlery and thick linen napkins. I had the basket of breakfast breads which came with croissant, pain au chocolat and country bread rolls with tubes of very cold unsalted butter and a selection of jams and preserves. My mom had scrambled eggs which were soft and fluffy and were served with back bacon and country bread rolls. I skipped the coffee and had a hot chocolate instead which came in a silver jug filled to the brim with hot dark chocolate enough for two servings.  After that lovely morning spent lingering over breakfast, we set off on a long walk in the lively sixth arrondissement for some window-shopping.  A perfect start to our Paris week.