The Ridiculous Food Post

Well I'm back in Rome, munching on some verdura after a week of cheese, butter, ham, sugar, and more butter. Needless to say, I ate pretty well in Barcelona and Paris. And since food has played such a central role in my travels, I decided I would devote an entire post to my gastronomical adventures over Fall Break.

Beginning with Barcelona:

This is what the Barcelonans like to call "chocolate mousse" - in reality it was the darkest, richest, most intense chocolate pudding of my life!! But of course I ate it, I didn't want to be disrespectful :)

Some sangria I shared with the girls... this stuff tastes so light and refreshing you would think it was just juice, but therein lies the danger my friends. I had to stop myself after one glass.

Ok, these Barcelonans really like their dark chocolate (it made me think of you Ari!) This is their version of hot chocolate, called "xocolata calenta" in Catalan - it basically tastes like really good hot fudge and you have to eat with a spoon its so thick!

Then on our last full night in Barcelona, I went out to dinner with my travel buds to this very chic (but not very expensive) restaurant called Origens 99.9%. On the left is an apple stuffed with meat (sounds weird, tastes delish) and on the right is a fruit and nut salad. Both were fantastic!!

Then for dessert I had this fantastic almondy cake - and I forget the name! But it was really tasty.

chocolate covered churros! (or xurro if you're Barcelonan)

Spanish tortilla with leek!

Now on to Paris...
this is where it gets pretty treacherous.

First let me introduce you to my new favorite place: any French bakery

I just wish I had more time to try all these

And this is my new best friend: any French baker. Right now he is lovingly wrapping up my tarts with ribbon. Too cute.

Another very French experience: the cafe au lait! I usually am not a coffee fan, but this stuff was pretty nice.

Picnic in Luxembourg Gardens: baguette, brie, chocolate mousse, strawberry tart, chocolate tart. We don't mess around.

The 'rents would be proud of this: pomme frittes and Chimay Blonde (beer made by Trappist monks!)

Sampling a raspberry tart- I had to try as many as I could!

Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese) and green salad at a pub in the Latin Quarter.

And for some reason I don't have any photos of me eating crepes, but those were certainly a very significant part of my French experience considering they were so darn yummy and the cheapest thing to eat in spendy Paris! My favorite was nutella and banana, although I had quite a few with just butter and sugar.