So after three days in the City of Lights, we headed to the Italian Riveria to a truly magical place on earth: Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre or "The Five Lands" is composed of five towns built into the hillsides and is part of the Cinque Terre National Park.  These town are only accessible by train, trail or ferry, which help it keep its rustic charm. But even though it may seem remote, tourists flock to this corner of Italy. Despite the fact that at times it felt as if we were on some movie set with lots of tourists and newlyweds, it was breathtaking on every turn. And the food?

Fried Seafood Cone in Manarola

Woman making fresh pasta early one morning in Monterosso al Mare

"We don't sell these lemons. We squeeze them for the slashy"

Butcher sign in Manarolo

Bruschetta with pesto, tomatoes and olives and sangria on the beach. Sigh.

Sun-dried tomatoes at the local market in Montorosso

So badly wanted to take all this cheese home!

Porcini Mushrooms

This hidden street led us to one of our best meals on our trip...

Dumplings filled with cheese and pears and Gnocchi with zucchini and prawns.

One of several hillside restaurants we passed on our hikes through the villages.

Vernazza - the jewel of Cinque Terre. Not food, but gorg.

Outside of our favorite Gelateria. Had no idea what we were ordering, but all so good.

Gelateria owner - sweetest man ever. And so evil too with his tasty gelato!

Amazing antipasto in Pisa

There are so many more photos (like, obnoxiously so) I took on this trip. I barely saw anyone hurrying about with their to-go coffee cups. No one was sitting in a cafe with a laptop or nose to their smartphones. Locals were engaged in conversation over good coffee or wine. Parents were attentive to their (well-dressed) children over fresh fruit and bread. Both Paris and Cinque Terre are magical places and made me stop and take stock in what is truly important: good friends, good health, family, and of course good food. Now excuse me while I make myself a cappuccino. 

Why, hello! Yes, it's me! And yes, I'm still blogging! I have been away from umommy for sometime thanks to a busy work schedule (like 14-hour a day work days). I'm hoping work will slow down to a normal pace as I've missed this little corner of my world.

And speaking of corners of the world, the other reason I've been absent is that I've just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe with one of my best friends. Just the two of us. No kids. It was heaven.  Eight days of exploring and eating our way through Paris and Cinque Terra, Italy. I'm still pinching myself wondering if it was all a dream.

Rather than go through the mundane travel details, I thought I'd share the culinary highlights of our trip.  It was eye candy on every corner (I gave my DSLR and iPhone camera a good workout). Particularly when we stumbled on the markets on rue Montorgueil in the 2nd. So without further adieu (I'm so french!), here are some of my favorite food moments during our first part of our trip: Paris

Paninis on almost every street corner

Fell in love with storefronts and signs, including this boulangerie

All the produce looked like this on Sunday

 

Fromage of course!

Passed on escargot, but you gotta love this restaurant sign

Chocolate eclair from world-famous Stohrer

Duck confit, foie gras, and more

 

Had one of our best meals at a tiny food stall in Le Marche des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered market in Paris.

Just love how everything is displayed with care and flair

Cafe au lait has changed the way I look at coffee

Rain gave us a perfect excuse to tuck into a cafe and sip delicious wine