Perfectly Parisian Pastries Near the Boardwalk

As I mentioned in my last post, my wife and I have been spending a week or two in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware every June for well over a decade.  Our children have grown to love our time at the beach as much as we have.

Cafe Papillon on Penny Lane

During the long, cold Pocono winters when we beging thinking of our next beach vacation in Rehoboth, we always seem to have the same conversation about one of our favorite things to do in Rehoboth.  And while we all love playing in the ocean, walking on the boardwalk, biking through the state park, and enjoying time on the beach, the conversation has nothing to do with any of those things. 

We talk about what pastries and crepes we are going to order at Cafe Papillon.  

My favorite - Spinach and Cheese

Tucked into a pedestrian alley about a half block from the boardwalk, this outdoor French creperie and pastry shop has become every bit a part of our beach vacation as the ocean and the sand.  Our routine on each day of our vacation has become to walk or bike into town from our rental house at 7:30 so that we can be one of the first in line for just-out-of-the-oven croissants or made-to-order crepes.  

Chocolate Almond Croissant

Each of us has our favorite croissants.  I love the spinach and cheese, although I make a point of getting a taste of the sweet cheese croissant and chocolate almond croissant sometime during our stay.  Up until this year my children always loved the chocolate croissant, although after sharing a chocolate almond with me this year and tasting the marzipan inside, my daughter seemed to prefer that one.  My wife loves the raspberry and sweet cheese.  

The crepes are equally spectacular, regardless of whether you are in the mood for sweet or savory.  As someone who grew up in New York eating bagels and lox, one of my favorites is the salmon, egg, and cheese.  You can also get crepes with different fruits, whipped creme, chocolate, and/or Nutella.  Our friends that usually join us enjoy the banana, sour cream, and brown sugar crepe.  

Abby and a friend sharing a Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Brioche 

I honestly can't say enough good things about Cafe Papillon.  The most negative thing I can say is that with only a week it's tough to find enough days to try everything you want for breakfast (although they are also open for lunch, dinner, and dessert if you aren't morning people like we are.)  Others we've met while eating there have told us that the pastries, crepes, tarts, and other goodies here are as authentic as those in Paris.  One of the things we are really looking forward to doing in Paris in August is having a chance to compare.

Getting ready to order at the bakery window

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: The Perfect Family Beach Town

We just returned from one of our two favorite places on Earth:  Rehoboth Beach, DE.  (The other is Walt Disney World)  My wife and I have been spending at least a week down there every June since before we had kids - more than 10 years.  It really is the perfect place for a family beach vacation - small enough to walk or bike almost everywhere, nice boardwalk, clean water, great sandy beaches, family friendly atmosphere, a nice little amusement park on the boardwalk, and great food.  Rehoboth has a much nicer family feel than more famous beach towns like Ocean City, MD and Virginia Beach.

On the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk

During our week we spent lots of time in the ocean and on the beach.  Water temperatures for this last week in June were in the low 70s.  We saw many dolphins swimming off the coast, and even a sting ray.  We biked and walked the mile from our rental house into town and the boardwalk almost every morning and evening to eat, which was good because we got ice-cream every night.  

I was hoping to get a couple of blog posts up while we were on vacation, but due to incredible beach weather and the great time we were having, that didn't happen.  I did take lots of pictures, though, and I'm going to be putting up posts on a few different aspects of Rehoboth Beach and our vacation over the next week or so.