Aside from being able to read a menu (well, mostly), my French is rather limited.

The only phrase that really stuck was “Pain au Chocolat, s’il vous plaît?”

There’s just something about croissants from a Paris bakery, and I couldn’t wait for my first of the trip. We’d just arrived in France the night before, and nothing, not even jet lag would stop me from tearing into one ASAP.

And I’m happy to report the experience was as sublime as I hoped. It shattered all over my shirt and had just the right amount of chocolate to balance the buttery goodness.

I loved it SO much that my motto for the remainder of the Riviera adventure (both French and Italian) was “a croissant a day keeps the Tuberculosis away.” Our fellow travelers rather enjoyed any excuse for a croissant breakfast—even if it did rhyme.

Other unforgettable culinary adventures in Paris included: an incredible meal at a neighborhood bistro I’m not allowed to mention by name as it only welcomes one group of tourists each night. You could tell the place was full of locals immediately, which only added to its charm.

Will and I kept our end of the hush-hush bargain and didn’t take a single photograph. Which, honestly, was kind of refreshing. We shared fresh baguette alongside the best escargot appetizer I’ve ever had. For our entrees. I ordered the Pici with a garlicky light cream sauce, and Will had the steak with mushroom sauce and super crispy, deliciously salty French fries. Needless to say, we had zero room for dessert.

For those who know me well, there’s always room for dessert, which is a testament to how good dinner was.

But don’t worry, I more than made up for my dessert-less evening over the next couple of days. While Will looked at fine art at Musee D’orsay, I retreated to the museum café with a book and sampled the light-as-air pistachio macarons (incredible!).

While we waited for the Eiffel Tower to go sparkly around 11:00 the next evening, we stopped by a nearby café for a banana and Nutella crepe with crispy, lacy edges. Rounding out our Paris sugar coma, we sampled apple Tarte Tatin, dreamy chocolate mousse, and more croissants (of course) before we left for Provence.

Turns out, Provence has pretty yummy croissants too. But more on that next time around…