afternoon tea.

Last weekend I had a field trip up to the Frick Collection on 70th and Madison. I had arrived 20 minutes early, before the doors of the museum were open and didn't want to wait outside because it was raining so I looked around for a cafe where I could buy myself breakfast. Unfortunately, being on Madison didn't give me much of a selection (the only stores in the area were upscale designer boutiques)

There was a macaron display next to Juicy Couture and I had thought it was part of Juicy, but as I walked down I noticed that it was a different store altogether.
Laduree, how convenient. I'd been meaning to go for some time but never made a trip up. I don't frequent anywhere above midtown.
Most of my pictures I took outside because photos are prohibited (though I managed to sneak a few). There is a Hello Kitty collaboration going on that just started recently. Before that was Tsumori Chisato so I went in expecting Tsumori boxes, but it seems that those are all out.
I couldn't get over how pretty the whole store is. To the right of the entrance, there's a gift section with everything from stationery to bags to scarfs to umbrellas. There'd been a scarf that I would have loved, I quickly put it back from shock after seeing the $70 price tag.
The macarons themselves are pricier than most also. For one, it's $2.70. Which makes some sense considering the prestige of name and crafting in Paris. Paulette's (now known as lette's) was over a full dollar cheaper. There used to be one in San Francisco, but they closed down before I ever got to try one.

I decided to splurge and buy the prettiest box. Each box is different price despite being the same size. Buying in a box is more expensive than buying individually.
I went with one of the Hello Kitty boxes of eight. I felt like I as paying a fortune until the cashier swiped up the two people in front of me ($250 for several boxes and $53 for one box).
It's still a huge splurge. When I was on the train, I kept thinking how many pints of Haagen Dazs I could have bought with the money. A LOT, in fact, since the price of one pint on sale is the same as the price of a macaron.
Laduree macarons are something that I feel would be given as a wedding present.
Choosing the flavors I wanted was hard not only because there are a lot of flavors but because the only flavor I really like is chocolate. Because it was my first time there, I thought it'd be a waste for me to get a whole box of chocolate.
I bought: raspberry, coffee, almond, praline, blackcurrant, vanilla, cherry blossom, and chocolate. I took down notes of them all in my notebook so I would remember the taste of each next time. A few of them are much too sweet to be enjoyed without a cup of tea, and I have a sweet tooth (so that's saying something). I took them with English breakfast tea with no sugar and for a few of them, that balanced the taste out.
These are so expensive that I can't imagine I'll be going back anytime soon, but having them once is a good experience. One mission completed!

Love, Kaia