I've been to my fair share of Christmas markets - funnily enough, the only ones I'd ever been to before this weekend were all in France.

(excluding any that my parents may have dragged me to in some rural part of Maryland when I was younger - I tend to block those out.)

When I lived in Montpellier there was a popular Christmas market right at Place de la Comédie, and of course Paris has its fair share as well - I went to the Village de Noël at place Saint Sulpice numerous times when I lived in Paris over the holidays, and always found tons of great gifts there.

So when I passed by the holiday market in Union Square this Saturday, I knew I had to face the crowds and take a peak.

As expected, this Christmas market had a lot of the same stuff you would find at the ones in France (or probably anywhere around the world for that matter.) 
Vendors selling jewelery, local food, art, organic and/or homemade beauty products; smells of pine, apple cider and hot chocolate permeating through the air; festively decorated stands decked out in red, white and green; and crowds (and crowds) of shoppers.

As I was wandering about, I suddenly stumbled upon a macaron stand, and naturally got inappropriately excited.

These little delicacies have become quite trendy in New York - I feel like the Americans adopted the French macaron trend in exchange for the recent French interest in "les cupcakes." (Yes, this Anglo-Franco dessert comparison will inventively become a new blog post, get excited people.)

As much as I love macarons, I decided to forgo the $2.50 a piece they were charging, assuming that it would just make me homesick for Paris and crave Pierre Hermé. I mean, are macarons even worth eating if they're not made with some totally random ingredient, like Azuki bean or Églantine ? (had to Google that one, apparently it's a flavor in the rose family)

(Apparently I've become even more judgmental and snobbish than I previously thought...)

Anyways, if you're willing to brave the crowds of (mostly) tourists and New York locals partaking in some holiday cheer, the holiday market at Union Square is definitely worth exploring. Many of the goods are overpriced, but it's worth a trip for the free samples and to get inspired for the holiday season.

Well imagine my delight when I awoke this morning to discover that it was Le Jour du Macaron!

It was almost as good as those days when you wake up and think it's a work day, only to realize it's still the weekend. (Almost.)

Today, March 20th, 2011 marks the 6th year that Pierre Hermé and Relais Desserts have hosted this event, which in my mind is an act of pure genius.

Basically for the entire day, customers can get three free macarons (which normally go for 1.95€ a piece) at any of the Pierre Hermé or Relais Desserts store locations around Paris (or those throughout the rest of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Japan and the U.S.).

Everyone is expected to give a donation towards the participating charity - this year, as it was in 2010, donations were made towards Autour des Williams, an association that aims to help those living with Williams Beuren syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder.

I figured the only way I was going to get my hands on some free macarons without waiting in line for an hour, was to get there early.

So I killed two birds with one stone, and stopped by the shop on my way back from a morning run in Luxembourg Gardens (I am the queen of multi-tasking, what can I say?)

I got there around 11am and only had to wait in line for about 5-10 minutes.

As we waited, we were given a form to fill out, to choose three flavors out of a generous selection of 25 scrumptious choices, ranging from Chocolate and Foie Gras (ew) to Green Asparagus and Hazelnut.

I went with the Métissé (carrot, orange and cinnamon), Dépaysé (Matcha green tea, Azuki bean, lime and ginger) and Arabella (milk chocolate, banana, passion fruit and ginger).

This is why I love Pierre Hermé - they are so creative with flavors and color, and really think outside the box.

All three flavors were delicious - I had eaten the Arabella before, and love how the strong flavors of banana and ginger really play off each other. The citrus flavor in the Métissé definitely dominated the carrot flavor, but it had a terrific balance overall. And the Dépaysé was definitely sweet, but the bean flavor evened it out so that the lime and ginger flavors still came through.

All in all, it was a terrific way to spend a Sunday morning. I posted a few photos of my delicious experience below.

Also, un grande merci to Chic Provence for being the first Tweet to bring this glorious holiday to my attention - I owe you a macaron the next time you're in Paris!

I admittedly have a massive sweet tooth -- I've seriously contemplated getting hypnosis to kill my chocolate addiction. 

But then I figured, life is too short, and in no way worth living without the occasional (or daily) Milky Way.

My recent obsession as of late are French macarons (not to be confused with macaroons, which are typically made with coconut and are a staple in most Jewish families during Passover; not that they aren't delicious as well.)

My current macaron obsession is Pierre Hermé, a gourmet macaron and chocolate shop which has been in Paris since 2001. I am actually waiting for the prime moment to dedicate myself to writing a blog post worthy of this brand -- so stayed tuned for that.

In the meantime, I wanted to tempt your taste-buds with two beautiful shops I discovered on my recent trip to Bordeaux:

M le Macaron: As I was walking down Rue des Remparts, a cute street in the center of Bordeaux's old city full of tea rooms and gift shops, I noticed this little store called M le Macaron (38, rue des remparts, 33000 Bordeaux.)

In addition to the funky window displays, I couldn't resist the vibrant assortment of colors and macaron flavors on display.

I had to go in.

I wanted to branch out from the standard flavors you can find in any typical French boulangerie, and take this opportunity to explore some of the unique flavors the shop had to offer. 

If my memory serves me correctly, I'm pretty sure I tasted the following:

- Litchi Gingembre (Litchi Ginger)
- Lavande Pêche (Lavender Peach)
- Citron (Lemon)

I believe I also tried one they were featuring for fall, which was a mix of apple and hazelnut -- in any event, they were all delicious. 

M le Macaron also offers a variety of savory macarons, including pretty adventurous flavors, such as Petit-Pois Chèvre Menthe 
(peas, goat cheese and mint) and Volaille  Fumée Moutarde (smoked-chicken and mustard). 

I could not make these things up if I tried.

I will admit: I wasn't crazy about the texture of these macarons. They were a bit softer, smaller and more crumbly than the ones I'm used to (aka Pierre Hermé -- yes, I know, I'm a snob.) But what they lacked in texture, they completely made up for in color, taste and originality. 

It's definitely worth stopping by M le Macaron if a) you like trying original and bold flavors b) you like macarons and c) well, if you are ever in Bordeaux.

Chocolaterie Biscuiterie Larnicol MOF: Another awesome find for anyone who loves window shopping and chocolate was Chocolaterie Biscuiterie Larnicol MOF, located right at the Place de la Comédie.

This was one of those stores that almost does itself a disservice, as its products look practically too beautiful to eat. Luckily, in addition to the works of art on display, this store also sells traditional chocolates that you can pick yourself and pay for by the kilo.

As you can see from the sideshow below, this store offers everything from adorable chocolate cats and ladybugs to an edible electric guitar. They also sell macarons, but stick to more traditional flavors like chocolate, coffee and pistachio. 

I spent about five full minutes snapping pictures, until the woman in the store informed me that customers were only allowed two photos each. Oops.

I did also manage to do some sampling (purely for the sake of research). To be honest, I wasn't blown away by anything I tried. Don't get me wrong, every piece of chocolate I had was tasty -- but nothing I tried really mirrored the pizazz that was on display.

So while I would still recommend taking a trip to Larnicol if you're ever in Bordeaux, you don't really need to venture past the window displays.

Unless of course you're willing to shell out 25€ for a chocolate cow -- then I think it would be totally worth it.

Check out the sideshow below for more photos -- for those of you who might be trying to shed some pounds before the holidays, I would avert your eyes.