A Vegetarian in Europe – What I Ate in Paris, Prague and Cesky Krumlov

Ever since I was 11 years old, I’ve wanted to go to Paris. I learnt French after school for a year at this age (the only thing that stuck was the names of fruits) and when my teacher came back from a trip to Paris, I decided then and there that I was going one day.

It may have taken me over ten years but I finally made it!

When a friend was going to Paris as part of her two months of travel and had no one to join her for those few days, I jumped at the chance. We spent two nights in Paris then also headed to Prague for three nights. I then spent one night in Cesky Krumlov, a little Bohemian town a few hours south of Prague.

Now perhaps we just didn’t know where to look but food wise but Paris was just as I expected; bread, cheese, pastries and more bread. Our hostel offered free breakfast, which included cereal, bread and croissants. I am not a massive croissant fan but when in France, right? I had a little bowl of cereal with my croissant but passed on the bread.

For lunch, we wandered far and wide looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous French baguette but alas, none was to be found. So that’s what I had on the first day: a brie and veggie baguette. I’m not going to lie – the French do a damn good baguette. I just didn’t want one for three meals a day every day!

My travel buddy (a non-veggie) was lucky enough to find quiches but they usually all had ham or salmon in them. The one time I actually found a courgette quiche, I was so excited and so hungry that I practically inhaled it and forgot to take photos. But here is the cute little bakery that saved me:

We went to an Italian restaurant the first night for dinner (you know, as you do in France…) and I had one of the two vegetarian options on the menu: gnocchi with tomato and basil sauce. It was tasty enough but nothing terribly exciting. The second night, we went out partying and didn’t really have dinner, just got baguettes in a dingy bar. Classy.

Although Paris isn’t exactly full of places to eat as a vegetarian, I did stumble upon a couple of gems.

Vegan Cafe right next to a French bookstore = heaven. I was not hungry at the time but I do now regret not buying a cute little cupcake just because!

This restaurant was shut when we were there in mid-morning but peeping through the glass, it looked like a higgledy piggledy, artsy, slightly hippy restaurant. Awesome. It was in the Montmarte area of Paris, so it fit right in! Love, love, love.

So as I didn’t really take photos of my baguettes, this photo of my airport meal will have to do in summing up my French eating experience.

Moving on to the Czech Republic… I fared much better here. Our first night we had Thai for dinner and it was amazing. It was so amazing it requires its very own post but for now, here is a teaser:

And below is a photo summary of my Czech culinary experience.

Prague:

Cesky Krumlov:

You may have noticed that I ate brunch a lot. I used to think going out for brunch was for fancy yuppies or trendy young mums on Sunday mornings but on this trip, I realised it’s really just a great way to save money… Two meals a day is far cheaper than three meals a day!

Now, I’m off to raid the kitchen as for some odd reason, I’m craving a coffee…