Paris Pastry Perils

We all know I came here for the food. Once we can accept that, with full awareness in our hearts, we can together realize that 99% of my posts are going to be about food.  They just are.  This one is all about pastries, because I have gone overboard on pastry consumption in the past week, and I don't regret it one bit.

Confession (I sense there will be a lot of these):  I had 3 pastries in one day.  That's right. Three.   French people probably eat 3 per year.  But I just got here, so I'm still riding on my "I live in Paris!!!" ticket.  Don't worry, I bought a scale.

First, a lemon tart that I have been eyeing every day when I buy my baguette at the bakery across the street (yes, every day, lay off me!).  

The weather has been GORGEOUS, and it was my day off, so I thought to myself, "Hey self.  You should get an awesome pastry and go sit under the Eiffel tower."  So I did.

And it was glorious.

And THEN, later that evening, I was going to grab dinner at a cafe, but got chastised by a waitress for asking if I could sit at a table that had just opened up, and she made it evident to all that I was a buffoon for not coming through the front entry to ask this question like everyone else.  (During the day, you can just grab a seat outside, and it's no big deal...How was I to know the rules changed at a certain unnamed hour??)

So I thought, "Fine!  I'm just going to get an awesome pastry for dinner, and that's that!"  And then I got two, because, it's dinner, you know??  Someone help me.

But let me tell you...THIS was a great dinner!!

I mean...Do you see this?

Chocolate mousse caramely heaven! Thank goodness I had some fruit w/ this dinner.  It was almost really unhealthy, but then that blackberry totally redeemed it.

I had some difficulty with the other one.  I kind of just smashed it.

Couldn't really figure out how to break through the top layer, so i just kept pushing and smashing, I mean life is tough, I know you just wonder, how do I do it?  Well, I persevere. 

Oh my gosh, I'm a monster.  It's like pastry explosion.  I didn't know what to do!!  This one needs instructions.  I'm just glad I wasn't in public. 

Afterward, I felt a combination of "that was the best dinner ever" with a side of "I feel a little sick".  But I'd do it again, oh yes I would.

Then there was this specimen from a few nights prior:

Look at it.  So perfect you almost don't want to eat it, but of course that would be crazy.

And then I dropped my camera directly into the creamy liquid chocolate.  Couldn't have been the crisp unbreakable pastry top, could it?  Had to be the liquid pool of chocolate that my camera nose dives into.

I don't know if I was more concerned about the tart or the camera.  But I attended to both immediately.

These are the perils of living in Paris.  Danger lurking around every corner.  The camera is fine.  The pastry has gone to a better place.