If you’ve been following me on really any of my social media accounts, then you’ve probably seen the thousands of pictures I have posted of my trip to France. It was honestly hard not to take a picture of every single thing I encountered while I was abroad; whether it was the architecture, the scenery or the food I couldn’t stop snapping pictures to capture every moment. I am so excited to continue to share the highlights of my trip with all of you, but I thought it was only fitting that my first blogpost about France was ABOUT. THE. FOOD. As you can imagine, the French know what they’re doing in the kitchen. I may or may not have checked under chefs’ hats to make sure there weren’t any rats controlling their every move and I never did find Ratatouille, but that food was still absolutely incredible.
To start the tour of French cuisine off, I’d like to take you to Saint-Tropez. Am I talking about my favorite spray tan brand? No (but now that I think about it I do need to buy a new bottle) the Saint-Tropez I’m talking about is the drop dead gorgeous town in the south of France with beaches, yachts, shopping and plenty of breathtaking views. I have to be honest, the majority of our meals came from the hotel we were staying at, La Bastide D’Antoine, and yet I felt as though we were staying a five-star restaurant. Every morning there was a breakfast spread I have literally dreamed of before with fruit galore, pastries, croissants, pancakes, crepes, croissants, more cheese than you could even imagine, breads, croissants (did I say that already?) and plenty of drink options. I didn’t know that food could taste better just by being in a different country but boy was I wrong. The brioche bread tasted like I was straight up eating a cloud from the heavens themselves, and the cheese? I can’t even verbalize how delicious it was. (I am so sorry if I am making your mouth water right now, I seriously suggest you have snacks nearby if you’re going to continue reading this post.) But not only was their breakfast outstanding, but their dinner was equally impressive. Their menu is small but it has big flavor. I’m a sucker for burrata and tomatoes, so I order that on more than one occasion and it lived up to every expectation I had. The one day we actually went elsewhere for food we were lucky to find ourselves at Bistro Pastis and I had yet another plate of burrata and tomatoes but I also experienced some of the most tender meat I had ever tasted. We order the candied lamb shoulder that was supposedly for two people but I swear that thing could easily 4 people. It was so good, though, that I wish I could have expanded my stomach in order to eat my entire portion.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, you’re talking a lot about food and not enough about drinks. I hear you and don’t you worry! I’m getting to that. Before dinner, we strolled along the edge of town to gush over the biggest yachts I had ever seen and we stumbled across a very popular spot called Senequier. I’m not gonna lie, those drinks were expensive (my Aperol Spritz was €19 which is roughly $22) but in Saint-Tropez, everything is expensive so you might as well go to a place where you know you’re going to get some pretty amazing drinks and an even better view. We were lucky enough to snag a spot on the patio and enjoy some live music coming from one of the boats. Afterwards, when we were at Bistro Pastis, we drank a bottle of Sancerre (which is a Sauvignon Blanc from the region of Sancerre) and two glasses of the Pinot Noir from Sancerre as well. The white paired perfectly with the fresh tomatoes and light burrata, while the red really complimented the candied lamb shoulder. That day was probably my favorite in the south of France since we were able to explore the city, see the water and indulge in some of the best food and drinks I had ever had…Well until we went to Beaune.
Beaune is a quaint little town in the middle of Burgundy and it’s not too far from Lyon. When I say its little, I mean very. It has an area of 12 miles so it was easy to walk around and take it all in, but even with it being small in size it did not come up short in the food department. The breakfast spread at the Hotel Le Cep wasn’t as impressive as the hotel we stayed at in Saint-Tropez (the 3 croissants I had were obviously amazing though) but boy did the dinner we have make up for it. Unbeknownst to me, we had reservations at a Relais Bernard Louiseau, which is a Michelin Star restaurant and their prices showed it. The cheapest entrée was €63 and my bank account almost threw up just looking at the menu. Luckily I wasn’t the one paying the bill at the end so I was able to enjoy the food in front of me without mentally trying to figure out how to pay for it without having to take out another student loan. Moving on! Ok, so I was very much enjoying my trip and in no way was prepared to talk about the meal I had at this restaurant so I forgot to take a picture of the menu - that changes all the time - so I can’t quite tell you what I had. Honestly, the whole thing was in French so even if I had I probably still wouldn't be able to tell you what I ate, but I have the pictures to prove just how beautiful it was. The one thing I can tell you I ate was the Apple Soufflé that I definitely didn’t have room for but ate anyway. I would have to say that this was my most memorable meal I ate while I was in France and I can’t get over how drop dead gorgeous the presentation was.
Now we get to talk about Paris, and I know you’re going to hate me for saying this, but this was probably the spot we had the hardest time finding a good meal. Before we left for our trip we didn’t have much time to plan out each and every meal so we were somewhat blindly picking places to eat while we walked around. I know that Paris is home to the most incredible food in the world, but I did not find it. Luckily, a crepe stand outside Musee D’Orsay saved the trip by making me the best Nutella and Banana crepe I had ever eaten. Again, please don’t hate me, but I did go to an Italian restaurant the last night I was there and had a delicious Margherita pizza as well. Those two meals really saved the trip for me, I was starting to worry I would get home from Paris with, literally, a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously, the architecture in Paris stole the show so I wasn’t bothered that I didn’t have the greatest food while I was there. That being said, if anyone knows of really great places to eat while you’re in Paris can you please let me know for next time? I would really appreciate it!
Well, there you have it! those were the food highlights of my trip to France. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the pictures from my trip, since I will probably be posting them for the next year or so until the next grand adventure!
Bon Apatite, my sunshines!
XO, Sonny