You are probably wondering what Montmartre and sweet iced tea have in common, right?  They actually have nothing in common unless of course you were in the company of the Traveling Pear a year ago.

 Here it is…the commonality of Montmartre and sweet iced tea.  The Chef and I had been in Paris for exactly 68 days and were a tiny bit nostalgic for home…a tall glass of sweet iced tea being one of the items we were missing/craving.  It was summer after all.  Orangina wasn’t cutting it anymore and Perrier had gone flat, so to speak.  Yes, we did make our own at home, but actually having a glass of iced tea at a cafe along a Paris boulevard would have been perfection.  Also, our fridge in the apartment would barely fit a quart of milk, much less a pitcher of tea!

The one place where you would think an iced tea would be found–Starbucks–oh no way, not even close. I even asked if they could make me, the princess, a special drink.  Nope.  Should have known, the answer to everything in France, at first try, is always non.  Guess my crown wasn’t sparkling enough that day 😉

A few days prior to our walk around Montmartre, I had discovered on Facebook a small little American bakery called, Sugarplum Cake Shop, which served to my surprise, sweet iced tea, Alleluia!  I nearly fell out of the chair when I saw the picture they had posted.  All we had to do, was find it!

After we wandered around Montmartre, said hello to St. Denis and gazed upon the artists of Place du Tertre, our mouths were parched and in need of refreshment.  Yes, the walk was a little long from the 18th arrondissement to the 5th, but seriously the anticipation of “iced” anything got us there in no time and I’m sure a bus or two and a metro ride were involved in the transport.

Do you know why this statue is holding his own head? Read my post about St. Denis and you’ll know why!

Check out the guy in the background…he’s thinking…350€ for that?

We turned the corner at the Panthéon and then passed the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.  It’s not just any church, but the church where the mighty Miss St. Geneviève, patron saint of Paris, is enshrined or rather her finger is enshrined.  That’s really all that is left of the poor gal after nearly 1500 years.  Her story is rather intriguing (that will have to be another post) and we would have gone in, but the need for sweet iced tea was greater…sorry, maybe another time.

And there it was…at 68 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, a bakery like you would find on any downtown street in America.  One counter, with an array of identifiable cakes, cookies, rice krispie treats, brownies, cupcakes, buttercream this and buttercream that…all so very much like home.  Greeted at the door with “Hello” instead of “Bonjour,” sent me into giggles.  And so…grinning from ear to ear, I asked the question…”Can you make me a glass of sweet iced tea?” to which the bubbly American chickadee behind the counter said with a smile as sweet as the cakes before me…”Why, sure I can.”  Awe, finally!

After a double slice of carrot cake and 2 sweet iced teas, our homesickness passed and we were off once again…headed for the chairs of the Luxembourg gardens to watch the sun go down and appreciate another miraculous day gone by in Paris.

Sugarplum Cake Shop 68 rue du Cardinal Lemoine 75005 Paris − (33) 01 46 34 07 43 − info@sugarplumcakeshop.com