Positive Reactions to New Foods

I was a little nervous about the food before arriving in Paris. I've been raised to always try new foods - even from an early age my parents encouraged my sister and I to be adventurous with food. When we go out to eat, my family often has ethnic food (our favorites are Thai and sushi). Even though I'm not afraid to try new foods, I wasn't sure what to expect and that made me a little anxious.

A few foods I had heard the French were famous for were cheese and crepes! I had to make sure to try these while in Paris. On Thursday, we went to the open air market with Agnes and purchased a meal together. When we got to the cheese section, I was shocked to see the large assortment of different kinds of cheeses. The French clearly love their cheese! We bought Camembert cheese with Agnes, and I was surprised at how soft, gooey, and pungent it was. It tasted a little like brie (my favorite cheese) but stronger, and I loved it. Another famous French food I've really enjoyed are crepes! My favorite has been the banana and nutella crepe I had at a flea market stand on Sunday. It tasted like a thin, sweet pancake and I loved watching them make it on the stove top - it's almost like an art.

One famous French food I was nervous to try was escargot (snails!). I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but this was still a stretch for me. I had the mindset that I couldn't come to Paris and not try escargot, though, so I had to order it. The waiter was very nice and noticed we were American. He asked if we were trying escargot for the first time, then explained to us how to use the tools to eat it. It had a garlic pesto sauce and was surprisingly delicious! It reminded me a lot of mussels, which I love, so I really enjoyed it. 

I had heard that macaroons were also a famous French dessert, but I hadn't really looked into what they actually were. I had originally thought they were similar to meringues. When we went to Le Bon Marche on Thursday, we went to the grocery store and there was a very wide selection of flavors. I had to get a box! I ended up choosing (bottom to top) chocolate, coffee, vanilla, pistachio, caramel, and strawberry. I was surprised when they had the consistency of two pieces of airy cake with creme in the middle. They were really rich and the flavors were really interesting!

I also really loved Belgian waffles! I chose a waffle with fruit and a scoop of ice cream on top and it was absolutely delicious. The waffle was much more airy than waffles at home which surprised me a little (it was almost crunchy and very crumbly) but it was amazing - waffles are one of my favorite foods at home so it was a really good experience to be able to try the famous Belgian waffles.

 Overall, I've had a really positive reaction to all of the new foods in Paris and the waffles in Belgium! I've also had croque-monsieur, chocolate croissants, and pastries. I love trying new foods and everything I've had so far has been great. Calories aren't real when we're in Paris, right?