Jack (Euro) Snacks!... Ladurée

Yeah.. it's been ages since the Europe trip and I've still got loads of photos which haven't been posted! But recent news that Ladurée will be opening at Sydney Westfield reminded me of our visit to the Champs Elysées store in Paris. I _will_ get around to posting the other Europe photos but it doesn't hurt to make a start with  Ladurée.

Travelling with a large group of relos spanning 3 generations meant that anything but a quick visit was out of the question. The shop and tearoom are very popular, the shop is sooo crowded. Crowd aside, the place is picture perfect - the building and tearoom, window displays, the uniforms worn by the staff and the gorgeous cakes. But what most people are here for are of course the macarons. And why not? Macarons in their current double decker form were invented by Ladurée and they are considered one of the best around.

Looks crowded even from out here...

Tiny door, big crowd inside! Pretty window display and first glimpse of inside from the end of the queue.

We had to line up of course and so I took some snaps as we moved along in the queue until we were told "no photos!" - in my defence there didn't seem to be a sign saying so and I hadn't spotted any staff member free enough to ask beforehand heehee. It's been so long so I have no idea what the prices were - let's just say you wouldn't call them 'cheap', but they weren't so expensive that I felt it necessary to remember the number. We got a box with various flavours which included caramel with salted butter, chocolate, pistachio, green apple, raspberry, orange blossom, lemon, blackcurrant violet and rose.

Pretty cakes and macarons.. look at that cute strawberry cake in the middle shot, I wish I'd bought one!

And how were they? The family convened in one of our hotel rooms and scoffed them! They are indeed good - delicate and light with a lovely filling. I especially liked the rose, the flavour was just right. But I regret not getting one of the little cakes shaped like a strawberry which looked super cute. Maybe they'll have them at the Sydney store... I'll definitely be interested to see if that's the case!

Ooh.. they almost look too pretty to eat!

But the family digs in and they disappear quickly, rose (center) is easily my favourite!

What: Ladurée

Where: 75 avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris

How much: Can't remember sorry... not 'cheap' but affordable for a treat.