So…did you guess correctly? It was the “crostata” or a cookie-like pastry filled with either whole fruits or a type of lekvar…as is used in my Austrian Linzer Tarts. In this case you can see the individual servings – in apricot and sour cherry. I am a lover of all things apricot (being Hungarian) so I pointed it out to the very congenial barista. He however encouraged us to try the sour cherry one, and if we didn’t just love it, we could return and get the apricot one free of charge.

Well…..as you may guess….we did NOT return the pastry! It was delicious! Stephen and I shared it because it was quite large…and very heavy….but oh so wonderful:)

The photo you see here is a famous scene from “Roman Holiday” for those of you who are fans of Audrey Hepburn (the face of an angel). Check out the movie and see the similarity after all these years.

Italy is a place we enjoy going. Why? Beyond architecture, tempting pastries and need I say, “amazing” coffee…..the Italian people are so very friendly and welcoming. Make it a destination sometime.

We visited Marseille just following our tour of Sanary-Sur-Mer. As you can see from the photos that it is a very large and close-knit city!  It was a gorgeous day with a slight cool breeze….true perfection.  The city has been a port for over 2600 years, named the “gateway to the East”. We are touring a cathedral here, but had a picturesque tour of the villas, mansions and beautiful sights of this lovely city. We would surely need to return to see it all!

After dancing the night away on the ship…..it was time to begin sampling the confections in France. I posted on Sanary-Sur-Mer recently, but focused on the scenery and the amazing cappuccinos! This is the first confectionery shop we had time to stop into, after a lovely walking tour. I wanted to buy the whole case! No French Macarons here (Paris and St. Tropez for sure), but they had the famed “Calissons”, a delicious Provencal combination of almond paste and fruit paste – mainly glaceed citrus peel and sometimes melon. They are lightly iced on top with a sweet royal icing and are traditionally in diamond shapes. Here is what they look like:

We waited until we were in Cassis, France to actually purchase them, but they are the same everywhere in France. You must like almonds to enjoy these! They are very much like our marzipan here in the USA but the Provencal presentation is just divine!

A bientot!

Quote: “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook” – Julia Child

I have many photos to share now that we are back from our European trip. The weather was perfect, summer-like each day – not one drop of rain!

Gibraltar, UK was our first port of call. We have been here before and this time decided to “not” take a shore excursion, but rather wander around town, investigating new sites, taking in the shops, sights and “smells” of possible new pastry ideas.

We did manage to find a nice outdoor cafe, offering a fairly nice cappuccino with a caramel flan for a dessert. Although it was not a typical “round” and soft caramel  flan (USA version), we didn’t have trouble gobbling it down:)

Just prior to visiting the cafe, we did come across a confections shop offering some chocolates and pastries – a fairly impressive dessert case for where we were (this is not Paris folks!). We made it our goal to take photos of “all” the pastry shops we came across – to later compare. This is the first of many….

By the way, did you know that Gibraltar, although a part of the UK, has its own currency? They do, however, accept the British “pound” and “pence”.  We found this out at Heathrow Airport (London) when we tried to use it to pay for “one last pastry and cappuccino” before boarding our flight home. Needless to say, it was not accepted. So, we once again have brought home “change”……I guess a “sign” of our need to return to Europe in the future…

Please check back soon, as I will be more diligent about my “postings”.

A bientot!