I just returned from three weeks in Europe, and I’m at a loss of where to begin describing my culinary adventures. Do I share about the croissants in Paris? Or the pastries in Venice? Or the homemade pasta with homemade pesto from Cinque Terre that made me audibly moan? Or do I tell you about the wood-fired-oven pizza place that served up such delicious pies that my hubby and I dined there four nights in a row? The answer is, of course, that you need to know about ALL of them.

Words cannot begin to describe the amazing European delicacies that I indulged in these past three weeks. Only pictures can come close to letting you experience the real thing. I took so many photos of food that my father finally asked me to start sending pictures of something – anything! – else. But what would a blog about Europe be without reminders of all the tasty things that I ate abroad and should attempt to make here at home?

Let’s start with Paris, since that is where Brant’s and my travel adventures began…

By the time we arrived at our hotel in Paris, we were starving. Fortunately for us, we were staying in a hotel on Rue Cler. This is *the* place to stay in Paris, and we were not disappointed. We dropped our bags and headed out for lunch. I ordered salmon with green beans and was in culinary heaven. The fish was perfectly cooked and the green beans were tender-crisp. I should have been a little more appreciative of those veggies, though. Little did I know that this was the last time vegetables would be served with my meal until finally, after FOUR vegetable-less days, I declared all meats and breads off-limits and went in search of a salad bar.

Paris is hardly known for its fish, though. We went to Paris to eat pastries! Rue Cler did not disappoint in this regard either. There was shop after shop offering delicious, homemade pastries. It was difficult to choose just one! At the rate that we were consuming butter-laden treats, I became a little concerned that I would come back to California the size of a small cow.

On our first morning in Paris, we were burdened with the task of finding delicious pastries to eat for breakfast. As they say, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. We saw a little old lady walking towards us from a side alley toting a paper bag full of fresh bread. Jackpot! We followed our noses and came upon a little bakery that made THE most delicious pastries. It goes without saying that I bought the chocolate filled ones. I appreciate that Parisians include chocolate in their breakfasts. Why don’t more Americans follow suit?

We defined a successful visit to Paris as one that included as many pastries as possible. This little baby was so good that I was half way through eating it before I realized that I had forgotten to take a picture of it. See that golden biscuit-like crust with the thick layer of chocolate-y mousse and the chocolate ganache layer on top? That, my friends, is a glimpse of heaven. I’m definitely going to have to find a recipe for this!

Truth be told, we did do more than just eat in Paris. (Although not *much* more – after all, the nationwide strike began shortly after we arrived, meaning that most of the major sites were closed!) Here are some of our favorite shots from our Paris trip!

This tower is just as amazing as everyone says it is. The views from the top (900 feet off the ground!) are incredible. So are the gusts of wind!

Notre Dame is a gorgeous church. I wished I had a wider lens to take these pictures. I guess I will just have to return with better gear next time!

I was nearly decapitated taking this shot. Parisian drivers have very little grace for tourists that hang out in their crosswalks snapping pictures of their monuments!

A few classic Parisian street scenes.

This cute old man serenaded me on the violin in front of the Sacre Couer.

Next we headed to Munich for a few days. I will share stories about this leg of our adventure in my next post!