I’m adding to my Paris to-do list…

• I’d like to buy a sourdough round at Poilane Bolangerie and bring it home with me.  I think that’s doable.
• Dinner at Frenchie Wine Bar looks fabulous, and they don’t take ressies so we don’t have to plan ahead!
• Of course I can’t leave without having a traditional croissant… Dorie Greenspan recommends Pierre Herme (also the spot for macarons) and Laduree (such a cute website).
• A classic french bistro is obviously a must… Café de Flore and Brasserie Lipp are two of my Auntie Eimear’s favorites.
• I would love to go to a French Farmer’s Market… Ina Garten’s favorite is Le Marché Biologique.
• Another favorite of Ina’s is the Fromagerie Barthélemy… hmm, I wonder what my chances are for flying back to the US with some smelly cheese?
• Actually, I think I want to do everything Ina suggests…

I am getting so excited for our trip!

My mum and I are going back to Ireland in November to visit our family, and on our way back to California we are stopping in Paris for three days with my aunt and cousin.  I am so so excited and have started to create a list of everything fun & foodie that we need to fit in while there.  Here’s what I have so far…

• E.Dehillerin – the French cookware store that Ina Garten raves about in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook.  I think she also features it on her show on one of her Paris specials.  Potentially touristy, but it looks pretty fabulous.
• Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Carlton – it is run by Colin Field, twice voted as the world’s best bartender, and was recently nominated as one of the top 10 hotel bars in the world by Bon Appetit.  Supposedly the drinks are also considered the world’s most expensive cocktail as well… the Ritz Side Car costs €1,250.  Wow.  It was around €700 in 2008… the price keeps going up because the magic ingredient, a champagne cognac bottled between 1830 and 1870, is in limited supply.  I keep trying to find what the current menu to see if the prices have gone up since then, but the link is down on the Ritz’s website, drat.
• A snob-free guide to Paris?  Sounds perfect.  I especially want to try Le Garde-Robe, a wine bar that seems so comfortable and low-key.  David Leibovitz also mentions it, as does Food & Wine magazine.
• I love how this guide is broken out into restaurants, wine bars, bakeries, pastry shops, and ice cream shops.
• Itinerary “stuffers” - fun activities to add to whatever plans you already have planned… omg, I want to do each and every one of these!
• I have a thing for graveyards.  Nothing spooky or weird… I just find it cool when I stumble upon an old cemetery, the smaller and more randomly placed the better.  Here’s a link to all the different graveyards in Paris. Pere-Lachaise seems to be the most intriguing… winding paths, rolling hills… you can take a virtual tour here if you want.

For the time being I’ll just have to make do with some Paris reading, and maybe I’ll be tempted to try my hand at a French pastry that’s easy enough for a home baker.  Stay tuned for some more Paris lists!