Emily in France 🇫🇷 Is with Old Friends

Old friends are the best friends.

When I was in high school, I became obsessed with "Wear Sunscreen," a Baz Luhrmann recording of an essay written by Mary Schmich in 1997. In it, alongside other gems of good advice, Schmich writes:

Understand that friends come and go.
But a precious few, who should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, for as the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

For some reason, though I still was (so, so) young, I decided, at seventeen, that this was one of the most poignant lines I had ever read.

I still think so, but it means so much more, now.

I have been living in Paris for 12 years, and in that time, I've encountered so many different people. In just the last year, I've made more than a handful of friends who are now essential parts of my life.

But old friends...

Old friends remind you of the things that you once thought were so important that no longer seem essential, like the fact that you once so loved hair dye you convinced yourself no one would ever know your true hair color, or the fact that you liked spicy food so much you carried Tabasco in your purse.

Old friends make it harder to forget that who we are now is the sum of everything we once were, and that the "we" we were might not look as much as the "we" we are now as we'd think.

And, at least in my case, old friends remember all of the ridiculous things I say.

After a week in London, I've been reminded that I used to use the word ostensibly constantly and the number nine hyperbolically. After a week in London, I've remembered that I didn't always call bread, pizza crust, and potatoes "vehicles for cheese," but that I have indeed been doing it for a very, very, very long time.

Old friends make me feel safe enough to sleep without my glasses on my face, in case I wake up in the night and don't know where I am.

Old friends are happy to have me settle in in their homes as though they were my own.

Where I'm Eating

My all-time favorite Indian food can be found in Orpington, just outside London, at the Bombay. As always, you can find my ever-evolving list of my favorite Parisian restaurants here.
 

Where I'm Going

1. To Le Servan, home to one of the top female chefs in Paris according to le Figaro, for the very first time.

2. To Amsterdam, likely to enjoy both food markets and Indonesian food.

3. To Frinton, to meet one of my closest (new!) friends for the first time in real life.

What I'm Writing

1. My review of Aux Bons Crus, which evokes roadside routiers of yore for Paris by Mouth.

2. From the archives( following the most recent iteration of the Best Baguette in Paris contest): this profile of some of the most recent contest winners for the BBC.

3. From the archives: why menu translations are so difficult to get right for Atlas Obscura.
 

What I'm Reading

1. This look at queer representation in the media (and specifically in the recent Charlie's Angels reboot) in the New York Times.

2. This exploration of the secret lives of Leonardo da Vinci in the New Yorker.

3. This deep dive into the mysterious existence of Jeanne Calmet, also in the New Yorker.

A bientôt !
Emily in France