I can't spell MILLE-FEUILLE.

Don't get me wrong, I moved to France for my husband, but I stay in France for the pastries. And any country that has a nearly lawfully designated "coffee & pastry" hour everyday of the week at precisely 4PM deserves to keep me.

I don't mean to brag, but there is nothing more wonderful than a sleepy Saturday afternoon walk through the city with my FrenchBoy, followed by an hour of pastry and coffee! Yum!

Last weekend we stopped in our favorite patissier in Metz. We love this place because the counter staff is so damn cheerful (not very French-like) and the pastries are always divine (very French-like).

The lil' Black kid above is always standing in the doorway to greet us. I forget the exact reason...something about little Black children being the symbol for "chocolate sold here" back in the olden days. I'm not kidding. I see these lil guys everywhere in various chocolatiers located throughout the city.

Although after seeing that "African Hot Chocolate" is their house specialty, who knows, maybe it's a sculpture of the owner?

Anyway, as I was saying, YUM!

And just when I think I might be able to button my pants again without having to lay down on the bed, the very next day we had lunch with FrenchBoy's parents. French mother-in-law went all out for dessert.

I don't know the name of this treat, but it's meringue tucked inside a scoop of vanilla ice cream that has been rolled in a mixture of finely chopped nuts.