Tag: baking

We made sure to have our taxi arrive early the next morning because we were headed to one of the experiences I had been looking forward to the most—our Parisian macaron baking class.

It turned out to be one of the highlights of our time in Paris.

Our instructor, Lorenzo, was fantastic. Besides the three of us, there were two other women from the United States—Rita from Georgia and Erin from Minnesota. It was fun getting to know everyone while we baked together.

Lorenzo carefully walked us through every step of creating authentic French macarons. We started by choosing our colors. Mom chose a vibrant orange while I picked a beautiful teal. Once our batter was mixed to the proper consistency, it was time to pipe our circles onto the baking sheets.

Fortunately, everyone in our class had some baking experience, which made Lorenzo’s job a little easier.

Then came one of the most important steps—removing the air bubbles.

Lorenzo demonstrated how to gently tap the trays. I, on the other hand, simply picked up the baking sheet and gave it a good drop onto the counter. The look on Lorenzo’s face was priceless! I think I surprised not only him but also Rita and Erin, who were worried I had ruined all of our perfectly piped circles. Instead, Lorenzo laughed and assured everyone they looked just fine.

While the macarons baked, we used the leftover batter to get creative. Lorenzo showed us how to pipe hearts, flowers, and even Mickey Mouse shapes before turning us loose. I couldn’t resist experimenting and ended up making hearts, flowers, and even a yin-yang design. They turned out beautifully.

Next came my favorite part—choosing the filling.

I selected mango while Mom chose raspberry. We mixed our fillings, spooned them into piping bags, and spread them as thinly as possible before Lorenzo briefly placed them in the freezer to firm up. Once the shells had cooled, we carefully matched tops and bottoms before piping in the filling. We had to work quickly because the filling softened almost immediately. After sandwiching them together, Lorenzo returned them to the freezer for a few minutes so everything would set before packaging each person’s macarons into bags to take home.

We each walked away with fifteen beautiful homemade macarons.

Since we now had delicate desserts traveling with us, we decided to take a taxi back to our apartment to put them safely into the refrigerator.

Or so we thought.

Later that day we discovered neither the refrigerator nor the freezer at our VRBO was actually working. We could only laugh. Thankfully, the macarons survived long enough for us to enjoy them.

Before we left the class, Lorenzo shared several of his favorite shopping recommendations around Paris, one of which was CityPharma. If you’ve never heard of it, imagine one of the world’s busiest pharmacies packed with French skincare, cosmetics, and beauty products at prices far below what many people pay at home.

Busy, however, is an understatement.

The place was absolutely packed. Mom and Kiya quickly became overwhelmed by the crowds while I made my way through the aisles. I asked one of the employees for recommendations on a hydrating facial spray, a restorative night cream, and sunscreen. Then I happily wandered through the shelves picking up products that caught my attention. I can definitely see why people travel across Paris just to shop there.

After another quick shopping stop, we headed toward our afternoon canal cruise.

Unfortunately, I had misunderstood the confirmation email.

By the time we arrived, our boat had already left.

I was so disappointed. We had all been looking forward to relaxing on the water after such a busy morning, and I felt terrible knowing it was my mistake.

Rather than letting it ruin the day, we decided to simply wander the neighborhood until something caught our eye.

Before long we stumbled across an ice cream shop serving enormous sundaes.

Honestly, it was exactly what I needed.

Sometimes a little ice cream is the perfect cure for frustration.

After taking some time to regroup, we caught a taxi back to the apartment. I ran upstairs to drop off our shopping bags while Mom and Kiya waited outside.

That evening we wandered just down the street and found a wonderful little restaurant for dinner. Instead of ordering full meals, we shared a beautifully prepared meat and cheese board. Every cheese was different, and I made it my personal mission to sample every single one. It was absolutely delicious.

One thing that made me smile happened while I asked the server to box up our leftovers. Earlier in the trip I had watched the cook combine leftover food from several unfinished charcuterie boards into one container to create the next appetizer. Ever since then, I made a point of asking for our leftovers to be boxed before they ever left the table!

We ended the evening with full stomachs, homemade macarons waiting for us back at the apartment, and plans for another incredible museum the following day—the Musée d’Orsay.