Emily in France 🇫🇷 I'm Never Excited to Travel
I'm a nomad who hates traveling.
When I was growing up, my siblings and I loved the 1964 stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. We were particularly big fans of the Island of Misfit Toys, which featured a watergun that shoots jelly and a train with square wheels. Well, call me a misfit: I'm a nomad who hates traveling.
I know it's not uncommon to like traveling but hate the actual process of travel: the planes and trains and automobiles; the packing and waiting. But that part actually doesn't bother me at all. Case in point, I'm currently writing this somewhere over Idaho. Flying and riding trains allows me to get caught up on work or writing or reading. No, flying doesn't bother me at all.
Leaving does.
I remember when I was 16 years old, I met a French guy at a New Year's party who quoted Baudelaire to me (and no, this didn't seduce me at all. In fact, I was naive enough to not notice whether he was attempting to or not). The line he quoted stayed with me for years afterwards: a reference to always feeling you will be better where you aren't. Already a nomad at 16, I believed this quote defined me; it seemed it spoke to my soul as much as it clearly spoke to his.
I only realized over a decade later that the opposite is true: I love to travel, but I always believe I will be best where I am.
Whether I'm in Paris or New York, London or Paziols, Cannes or Los Angeles... I never want to leave. And while I know that once I'm in the airport, once I'm on the plane, once I'm somewhere new, I'll enjoy it, leaving is always hard. Saying goodbye is always hard. Leaving my heart in pieces all over the world is hard.
I'm leaving New York today, on my way to Los Angeles. I'm already looking forward to it, seeing as I'm among the clouds. But last night? When I was thinking about saying goodbye to New York?
I hated the idea of traveling.
Where I'm Eating
I was pleasantly surprised by the food in Riga when I visited this November, enjoying local fish, beets, and sparkling wine.
As always, you can find my ever-evolving list of my favorite Parisian restaurants here.
Where I'm Going
To Los Angeles!
What I'm Writing
1. This roundup of some of my favorite things I saw in Riga on my blog, Tomato Kumato.
2. This list of some of my favorite places to eat near République, for The Culture Trip.
3. This review of Contraste, a new restaurant in Paris' 8th arrondissement with not one but two chefs in the kitchen for Paris by Mouth.
What I'm Reading
I fell hard for Ray Bradbury when I read Fahrenheit 451. Dandelion Wine is a very different book, but I fell hard for it all the same. Read my full review on the blog.
A bientôt !
Emily in France