My first few days in Europe have been so awesome, I’m already tempted to pack up and move here! Upon arriving in Paris on Friday, my sister and I checked into our hotel and dumped our bags before heading back out to see Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur, which were walking distance from our hotel. Even though we had both barely gotten any sleep on the plane, we didn’t want to waste any time in checking out the city!

When we headed out, it was still pretty early in the morning, so my sister and I stopped at a cafe to enjoy some nosh at Montmartre. They didn’t have many vegan options on their breakfast menu, so I went with the classic vegan stand by: French baguettes and jam! Oh, and a café allongé to prevent jet lag from setting in.

Here’s my sister enjoying her brekkie. The baguette was thin and crusty, and it was a wonderful, simple way to kick off my Paris vegan food adventure. :)

The view from our hotel window.

Next, we just walked around the little streets, admiring all the souvenir shops and store fronts. It was bustling with tourists, but it was nice to be around so many different nationalities and languages. :)

Every view from every angle was so picturesque and ‘Parisienne,’ I had to pinch myself to see if it was all real. I felt like I was in a French film. The only slight bummer is that the weather has been a lot colder than expected, with random rain showers, hence the hoodie! And ofcourse, I took loads of food pics…

It seems like every turn you take, there’s a boulangerie or patisserie, stocked with fresh, crusty baguettes, croissants and tarts. Just walking down the street, you can smell the aroma of fresh-outta-the-oven baguettes and it’s just heavenly. I have to admit, I do feel a wee bit left out since most of the pastries aren’t vegan, and that I can’t just buy a fresh croissant on the spot, but that’s okay. I mostly just like admiring the gorgeous artistry of it all and the abundant choices. Parisians definitely love their bread and pastries!

After walking around for a couple of hours, we headed back to the hotel so that my sister could take a nap. On the way back, we passed by this vegetarian restaurant, ‘Au Grain de Folie,’ which I later looked up on Happy Cow and found it has pretty high reviews! Unfortunately, it was closed, but perhaps I can revisit it next week.

While my sister was napping, I still had energy and didn’t want to stay inside, so I explored the neighborhood a bit more and found this awesome ‘Biocoop’ health food store!

They had sooo many vegan products and pre-packaged deli items (seitan, deli ‘meat’ slices, vegan hotdogs, tofu products…), that I was positively beside myself. I wanted to buy so many things, but since we were heading to Amsterdam the next day, I didn’t want to stock up on food and have to lug it around with me.

However, I did get some items for dinner: a beet salad with sunflower seeds and almonds, and amaranth crackers. I also found soy yogurt at another regular supermarket, and also bought some juicy pears. Talk about delicious!! I took my loot back to the hotel with me and enjoyed every single bite.

The following day, we went out in search of breakfast. We originally planned to just eat at a regular cafe, but then we stumbled across an amazing Saturday open farmer’s market! Tons and tons of fresh produce, dried fruits, nuts, and bread…. my kind of heaven.

I also found this incredible food vendor which was serving all vegan savory pies. I couldn’t believe it when the lady across the counter confirmed that all her pies were “végétalien” (vegan). Ahhhhh! After much indecision, I went with a slice of the lentil pie, which the lady warmed up for me to eat on the spot. I also got another pie filled with mixed curry veggies, for the road.

The lentil pie was faaantastic. The filling was hearty, robust, and even slightly creamy on the inside, while the crust had this rich, nutty, wholewheat flavor to it.

We also found a crepe vendor serving vegan crepes! Amazeballs!! We shared the buckwheat crepe with strawberry preserves, which was absolutely delicious, moist, and steamy hot. Mmmm!!!

The pastry pie was also scrumptious. I enjoyed this on the train to Amsterdam with some cawfee.

Ah, I’ve been eating so well! Me so happy~~ and for the past two days, we’ve been at a friend’s house here in the Netherlands, and she has been feeding us non-stop. Lots more photos to come….