French Sweets

Fancy pastries. Gourmet chocolate. The colourful macaron.

France has long been associated with the finer things in life, whether it be fashion, wine or cuisine. On a visit to the city of Lyon, the capital of French gastronomy, I was eager to tour the food market where local chefs do their shopping, Les Halles Paul Bocuses. And the tempting array of tarts and cakes kept me busy taking photos. Unfortunately, I was so busy preserving the images that I neglected to sample the goods.

Displays of Tarts and Cakes at Les Halles Paul Bocuse, Lyon

"M" is for Macaron

This is Day 13 for the

Blogging from A to Z Challenge

for 2013.

Today's topic is the macaron - not the coconut confection we have in North America (a macaroon) but the colourful creation of French patisserie Ladurée.


The French macaron is a delightful sandwich of ganache filling between two meringue-based cookies. They are prepared in a variety of colours and flavours.

The French Macaron

Paris - Right Bank

Paris, May 2010 - We arrived in Paris yesterday on Trafalgar's Contrasts of Europe train tour through England, France and Italy. And I was excited to find pains au chocolat on the breakfast buffet this morning to accompany my cafe au lait. We needed to fortify ourselves for the sunny but blustery day ahead of us that would start with a brief sightseeing tour, followed by a visit to the Eiffel Tower.

Les Invalides, Paris