We have left the land of gelato and entered the land of pastry. My wife and I are divided on this issue of which is to be preferred. Not that either of us dislikes gelato or pastry, we just have our preferences. Spain was a toss-up, neither are the specialty of the region and both are good and available and so we could both tease the other. In Italy, gelato reigns supreme and so I retreated amicably and enjoyed the gelato. Now we are in France and pastry is King. I am loving it. Kathy is not as amicable as I was, however, when I could not get my preferred dessert. She did not want my pastry this evening. “Not sweet enough,” she said. The tourte de Bette, a specialty of the area around Nice and Avignon in Provence , is fantastic! Not too sweet–just sweet enough and as French as French can be. The Swiss chard, roasted pine nuts, raisins soaked in brandy and Parmesan mixture that forms the dense center of the pastry shell with olive oil and powdered sugar is a surprising delight. One more recipe coming back to Tomball–not that Kathy will remind me to make it. Too bad for her that there are not gelato counters every ten feet as in Italy. Good for me that the pastry shops have taken their place now that we have moved locales. WEG
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Your blog is descriptive it feels as though I am travelinig with you and enjoying all the tremendious sights, tastes and scents of each area. Can’t wait to sample some of these super special dishes you both will be preparing. YUM, YUM!!!
Thanks Delores. We will put you on the invite list. We cannot wait to have parties.
Some people may wonder why Americans are so overweight compared to Europeans…what hasn’t been said is that there are shoe shops (buying/repairing) in abundance as people walk everywhere, as you are doing.
Absolutely, Nora. We have walked our legs off! And most of the time we had no choice but to walk. Thankfully, we really enjoy it and look for the unexpected experiences along the way.
Don’t they have croissants filled with Nutella? I am like Kathy in that these French pastries do not sound as good as the Cafe Gelato in Florence….but bring home recipes!
No Nutella filled croissants. Not saying they don’t exist, just have not found them. I did find the Nutella waffles in Florence however. Really good. I think that is too common for the French taste.
Okay, I have to say that Harold would be on Kathy’s side, but I would definitely be on yours!!
We will invite y’all over when we have some food parties so we can all debate:-)