Yes, this is a travel post!

Macarons seems to be a good place to start. So here we go, a trip to Laduree. The window displays were incredible, just as beautiful as their macarons.

Just for the record, Julie did not at all understand my interest in macarons. Which got me to thinking, why do I care? I mean, they're tasty cookies and all, but when I'm craving a cookie it's always a chocolate chip or a snickerdoodle. Truth be told, I've never had a huge hankering for a rose macaron. The reason why came to me as I was selecting my macs at Laduree. The flavors. The huge variety. The unusualness of the flavors. It's similar to jelly bellies or the 31 flavors at Baskin and Robbins or even scented candles. There is a curiosity about all the flavors. Which one is the best? Have you tried the ________? I like this one better than that one. And they're pretty. Very, very pretty. I think that is the allure - the depth and breadth of flavors and the pretty factor. Your thoughts?

Julie and I ate breakfast at Laduree's cafe. I had French Toast with Chantilly Cream - hello gorgeous! It was wonderful. After breakfast I purchased a few macarons. I bought Julie a salted caramel one in hopes of winning her over. Here are my tasting notes about the new flavors I tried:

Orange Blossom: I couldn't taste orange at all. Julie said she got a subtle taste. Needles to say, this one wasn't mind blowing.

Vanilla: Rich butter cream filling. Full vanilla flavor. Almost as good as salted caramel.

Licorice: Looks intimidating. Looks like it would be strong. It wasn't. It definitely tasted like black licorice only a softer, milder version.

Christian Louboutin: This is one of Laduree's special 2009 macarons. Each year they create a few macarons inspired by a specific designer. This year it was shoe designer, Christian Louboutin. It was striking to the eye. Not really sure what flavor it was. The filling was definitely fig. This was purely eye candy as it didn't do much for the mouth.

Read about my previous trip to Laduree here.

I dragged Julie to Pierre Herme as well. A new bakery with lots of macarons to try. Tasting notes coming soon.