Deauville, Normandie

Early Monday morning we caught a train to Deauville, Normandie. It was a two hour ride, but it passed way too quickly. We passed some of the most lush, green, old villages I've ever seen and even a couple old churches and cathedrals I would love to visit next time.

We arrived at the train stop shortly before 10:00am (only reason I remember that now is because of the conveniently placed clock) and had some time to kill before our bus took us on to Honfleur.

I guess this town is a popular vacation spot with Parisians. There is a casino and sandy beaches, although this time of year it's not very crowded because it's, oh I don't know........absolutely freezing! We're talking like New York City or Chicago in the winter type cold. It wasn't too bad if you weren't exposed to the wind, but if we could feel the wet, whipping wind our wimpy California, Texas and Arizona winter attire was no match.

Port. Boats. Hotels.

We came across this open air market in the town square that had everything from quilts to jam to sweaters to hair accessories to Converse and Uggs to pate. Luckily, this time around I knew what pate was and knew to politely decline their samples. I'll never forget the first time I ordered it by accident and I think it may have been the worst thing I've ever tried in my life. Remember that Jen? In Madrid? Didn't you throw up? I wanted SO badly to bring back one of their beautiful quilts, but knew there was no way it would fit in my suitcase. 

This Patisserie has officially ruined every single lemon tart I will probably ever eat in my life. It was life changing. The crust was perfectly buttery and flaky and moist, while the filling was lemony, but with the right amount of creaminess so it wasn't too overwhelming. La Madeline's is pretty much a joke compared to this. I know. I had one the other day to compare and I am actually a little embarassed for this "French" restaurant's pastries now.

See what I mean? Look at that! It looks good in the picture, but trust me it tasted a thousand times better than it even looks in the pic. The other guy is a caramel macaroon. Amazing as well, but not as good as the tart.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............"