I recently professed my love (again) for Zürich and before that, for one of my favorite regions in France, Alsace (by the German border).  There’s yet another region in France that holds a spot near and dear to my heart, and that’s the Pays Basque (on the very opposite end of the country by the Spanish border).  While living in Clermont-Ferrand (in the Auvergne) from 2001 to 2002, I spent a week in the French Basque country and was beyond charmed by a culture, cuisine, landscape and language (Euskara) all its own.  Ten years later, I finally returned with my husband and parents, overjoyed to share it all with them.  I returned to the villages I have been thinking about all these years, and brought my taste memories back to life.

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What sunny, sweet days we have had !  March 20th was not only the first day of spring, but also the Jewish holiday of Purim and Macaron Day too (Jour du Macaron in France).  I enjoyed the obligatory sweets, meaning those 3-cornered cookies called hamantaschen for Purim, with mun (poppy seed), prune and apricot fillings… and I stopped by Ladurée here in Zürich‘s old town to mark the occasion with a salted butter caramel macaron.  (Or two.)

But the weekend saw lots of other sweets too, including more cookies. With a friend in town, I was even busier in the kitchen than usual, making a few batches of my favorite crunchy oat, seed and nut granola (with dark chocolate and sea salt).   Getting crumble topping ready to cover ramekins filled with frozen summer berries.  And preparing rolls of cookie dough to bake at a moment’s notice (chocolate chip pretzel cookies and Nutella oat cookies). You can only imagine my reaction when my friend showed up herself with an enormous box of bakery cookies from London’s Assal Patisserie, as well as Persian nougat (known as Gaz). It was NowRuz, the Persian New Year, she told me. And enjoying these sweets made with saffron, pistachios and rosewater was a must.  I was certainly not going to argue.

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Twas that time of year, when I found myself back on the TGV (high speed train) from Zürich to Paris with sweets on my mind.  You might think that after a few days of nonstop visits to pâtisseries, boulangeries and chocolate and sweet shops, I might be all sugared out. Not at all; I was just getting warmed up for the Salon du Chocolat, now in its 16th year, and with shows all around the world, even Cairo and Moscow.

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You may have noticed the buzz about a certain sweet theme lately – on Twitter, Facebook and really all over the internet.  March 20th is an important day after all.  Only once a year do some of the most sought after pastry shops actually hand out free macarons! Aha, an important day for those of us with a (24/7) sweet tooth, that is!   The mastermind behind this Jour du Macaron, none other than Pierre Hermé, will be handing out not one, but three free macarons on Saturday, March 20th in Paris.  If you thought the line was already long at his boutique throughout the year, well just imagine…!  Even more fun, if you can make a stop in all of his six boutiques across the city, getting a card validated at each one (La Carte du Macaron), you’ll be rewarded with a box of 35 macarons at the end. Wow is all I can say to that!

New York City is joining in the festivities this year too, with François Payard at the helm and participating shops including MacarOn Café.  The slogan for Macaron Day NYC… “macaron – the new cupcake” !  I’m just relieved they aren’t calling them macaroons !

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I love the moment I return home to Zürich after travels and am immediately reminded how much I love this city.  Coming back to Zürich this week, I had this same familiar surge of adoration and comfort – and keep in mind, I had just left Paris!  Another city that holds a spot near and dear to my heart and of course it was difficult to leave.  But if there was anything that could soothe my missing Paris, it was this: the new Ladurée boutique was open in Zürich’s old town!  A little taste of Paris is now never far from home.

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When I first learned that my husband and I were moving to Zürich, I quickly ran to the bookstore and bought a handful of travel guides on Switzerland.  I began spending hours on the internet, reading articles, checking out expat blogs, as well as searching for Swiss cookbooks.  For our first visit here, I figured we would just roam the streets and get a feel for the city, without paying close attention to my lists of sweet addresses… yet.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but notice that Schober, the one pastry shop I had underlined and bolded and put big stars all around it, was [gasp] closed.  For good? For renovations?  Once settled in in Zürich, I passed by every now and then to see if progress was being made.  I peeked through the windows and saw the beautiful moldings, ceiling and chandelier, and just waited for this old-fashioned confectionery to be open again.  Finally, in March of this year, after 4 months of renovations, it was back in business.  Worth the wait?  Absolutely.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Zürchers, expats and tourists alike: do I have news for you !

The Parisian institution, Ladurée – absolute temple of perfection (according to moi) when it comes to the city’s infamous macaron, also referred to as my second home when I’m on French territory – will have its very own shop here in Zürich! Now now, we must be patient.  The storefront was only just clad with its iconic pastel green logo a few days ago.  You can be sure I’ll be keeping a close eye on the progress though (an empty space for now).  As soon as those doors open, planned for this October, I’ll let you know!

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Even though I went to Vollenweider Confiseur Chocolatier the other day with one particular item in mind (the blue and white Macaron de Zürich below left), and actually went home with only that… you should know that the shop has a whole lot more to offer.  And I don’t mean simply more flavors of macarons either.

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What’s an anniversary without a little celebration, right?  Especially when it’s a first anniversary, one year living in a new city, one for which you have fallen head over heels! That calls for a little something sweet!  July 1st marked one year for us here in Zürich, and I found the most perfect confection to celebrate that with.

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Talk about spring being in the air!  The sun has been shining here in Zürich and people are enjoying the longer days, being outside as much as possible.  The Alps in the distance seem to have lost their large, white blankets and those people on the streets are losing their layers too… fast.  I am not sure whether I will be more excited that it’s the first day of spring… or that it’s “le Jour du Macaron” in just a few days.  A day to honor the macaron, that delectable, colorful pastry that has become cult famous and fashionable in Paris and around the world.

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