Paris with my poppet

I have a massive soft spot for Paris. Well who doesn't, surely? My first ever visit was when I was about 15. I was staying with family friends in Holland, and we took the train. Actually, we *didn't* take the train that we were booked onto because - naive, inexperienced traveller that I was at that time - my teenage self didn't realise that I needed to bring my passport along - oops. Anyway I had the perfect introduction to Paris including the Eiffel Tower from lovely Lyliane. Aged eighteen I went to work as a teaching assistant and as the group travelled to various destinations, we passed through Paris. I was too love-sick to join them as they went out clubbing, preferring instead to go to bed and pine after my boyfriend! I also lived in Paris for six months whilst studying. I was meant to join a videoconferencing firm as a French/English salesperson but the technological descriptions were too much in English, let alone in French. So I joined the super efficient Nicole on the administration front. They were brave leaving me on phone duty, the first few messages that I tried to relay were far from clear! 

I've returned for little city breaks several times, one of the most memorable being for my 40th birthday with my sisters, we had a super busy itinerary & now that kids and jobs are in our lives, it was so special to have 3 full days together. They made the trip so special for me. 

So two years on & I decided to take our eldest daughter. I think I was more excited than her to be honest, but the moment she saw the Eiffel Tower from our bedroom window was fantastic! 

Anyway, the point of this blog is to bring you news about gluten free finds isn't it, so down to business...

http://www.helmutnewcake.com/

First stop was a Friday afternoon pick me up. This new addition to Helmut Newcake is more like a patisserie shop with a small counter for a couple of guests. We chose an amazing chocolate eclair & warm chocolate fondant, both were really good. I found out later that the chocolate cream in the eclair was also dairy free 

http://chambelland.com

Our next Glutenfree stop was across the other side of town. Chambelland has seats inside and a couple outside if you want to eat in & serves sandwiches, soups, along with hot drinks and fresh lemonade. They sell a few Glutenfree products such as a flour blend, cookbooks, jams. Their sandwich bread was novel. It seemed to be cooked in a very wide and relatively flat tin so they cut the bread horizontally across rather than vertically down. Avoids the issue of bread that doesn't rise too much, and no crumbly slices. I thought the bread in my sandwich was really tasty, it was covered with poppy seeds. My daughter took one bite and refused to eat any more. Luckily she loved her brownie & my raspberry tart was quite nice too. 

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=169897883041047

Unfortunately the place we had chosen for dinner was still closed for summer holidays but it's worth mentioning here as Broceliande is one of the best “creperie” in Paris, located in the village of Montmartre. So a perfect place for a casual dinner and walk afterwards by the artist area and the Sacré-Coeur.

 

On our last day, we were booked in for brunch at Helmut Newcake, rue bichat. However, my travel companion was so exhausted that she slept in so late that the timings didn't work out. I thought we'd pop there before catching Eurostar back, as I'd need a bit of caffeine & cake by then. When we arrived, the coffee machine was broken, zut! I was peckish as I'd not scoffed *another* crêpe Nutella, unlike a certain little person. From her perspective the trip was very much fuelled by crêpes, chocolat et orangina! 

(Above: not Glutenfree, but you're not missing out on anything, I watched someone pay 5euro for cold churros that had been sat there for who knows how long!) 

Back to brunch; by the time we arrived, their set brunch was finished and on a Sunday that is all they offer - apart from all their lovely cakes. The host was very lovely and offered us a bread basket - all of which were absolutely delicious and gluten eating child ate them happily. They also made a special plate of ham and salad for me - which wasn't an option on any menu but it was perfect. This branch of Helmut Newcake has plenty of quirky seating, the staff are really friendly and they had lots of patisserie to choose from. I took a slice of cheesecake for the train journey. 

Since I returned home, I've discovered (via Twitter) http://because-gustave.com 

They've shared a bunch of other places that I hadn't heard of. 

http://www.maisonbon.com/

Paris seems to have more dedicated glutenfree places than London now, so I'm going to have to do a return trip, now...who's up for that? Xx