After an afternoon at the Palace of Versailles enjoying the history, the view of the garden and standing on my tippy toes throughout my visit I was ready for a break. There is a kiosk size Ladurée at the Palace of Versailles but I wanted to save my experience at the fame Rue de Royal location.




After the hour and half train ride back into downtown Paris we walked over to Rue de Royal for an afternoon pick-me-up. The window display was decorated for Valentine's Day and the vibrant colors was exceedingly dominant against the dreary grey February weather.


There was a 15 min wait for a table around 3 pm and the cozy snuggle room was exactly as I imagined. The bakery display had confections of every pastel color, bright sugar glazes, macaroons galore and an efficient staff they made the ordering process breeze by.


We were seated in the middle of the room and welcomed sincerely by our server. He was attentive, soft-spoken, and answered any questions without hesitation. Ladurée is a fun place to people watch:

I could not lay my eyes off the sophisticated dressed woman in leopard boots, leopard gloves, leopard scarf, jeans and a white button shirt. There was a couple who were talking to each other with their noses touching like hummingbirds, affectionately holding hands and still managed to eat a croissant and drink their coffee. There was two very posh Senior Citizens a la Betty White, dressed in black pumps, a mink wrap, ruby red lipstick and carried a Birkin. There was a group of unruly and loud teenagers who were snapping their fingers at the servers. I could go on and on with the people watching...





We ordered an Afternoon Tea Set and two pastries to share. Other than looking forward to sampling the macaroons (afterall, Laudree is credited to inventing the macaroons) I was more impressed by their Mille fueille. I can't seem to find a decent Mille feuille in San Francisco or along my other travels. I was impressed by the caramel sticky layer and flaky buttery layers.



The cassis jam that accommodated the bread roll was fantastic, so fantastic we bought two jars so we can slowly enjoy it at home. The jam was very tart with just enough sweetness to keep the lips from puckering. I only wish we had more time to try the rest of the pastries.