Emily in France 🇫🇷 I Failed, and That's OK
I failed.
Hello from beautiful Villefranche-sur-Mer, where I am not celebrating the successful obtention of my driver's license. In fact, my penchant for being mean to myself means that I didn't make it into the exam in the first place, something I spent the better part of three days beating myself up for, despite promising, in last week's newsletter, that I would do nothing of the sort.
If I'm telling you all this – oh, great host of Internet strangers (and a few dear friends) – it's because I have decided. to be honest with you, and myself, about the good, bad, and ugly of this life of mine. Because while I'm currently sitting in one of the most beautiful places in the world, I am also being cruel to myself. And how ridiculous is that? Honestly.
I am so bad at being bad at things that I've allowed this hiccough – I won't even call it a failure, because I'm not giving up (though I could do, if I wanted to, and that would be OK too) – to distract me from the fact that I'm good at a whole host of other things. And the fact that learning to drive – and coping with being bad at driving in the interim – is hard for me shouldn't negate the fact that there are a lot of other things that are easy for me. That I love. That I'm good at.
And it's a direct result of being good at those other things (tempered with a touch of luck) that has meant that I am spending this week in the south of France, aka paradise.
Basically what I'm saying is... I'm sorry for whining. And also, look at these strawberries in hibiscus syrup.
And also... I'll be back for you, driver's license. You will not defeat me.
Cheese of the Week
French people aren't typically as fussed with fussing over their cheese boards as Americans are. In fact, a French colleague of mine said it best: "In France, a cheese board is just that. A board with cheese on it." (Thanks, Aurélien!)
When I used to top my cheese boards with crackers and fruits and jams, I feel like I caused confusion among French people more than anything else. But a well-paired cheese is a glorious thing, and this 30-month-old Comté paired with a chunk of honeycomb at Early June was pure delight. The honey brought out the rich butterscotch aromas of the cheese, which has never been my favorite but, in this combo, was so good we nearly ordered seconds.
To discover more of my favorite cheeses, be sure to follow me on Instagram @emily_in_france and tune into the Terroir Podcast, where Caroline Conner and I delve into France's cheese, wine, and more one region at a time.
Where I'm Going
1. To Normandy, to discover the brand-new Presbytère.
2. To le Bon Georges, to make sure this bistro is holding up in the over-five-years since my last visit.
3. To Les Enfants du Marché with a surprise guest all the way from America!
What I'm Eating
I have become a bit of a connoisseuse of saucisse-purée, of late. There was the one at Brasserie Rosie, which I wasn’t expecting to be delicious, though it was. There was the one at Brasserie Dubillot, which was pretty good, but paled in comparison. And then there was the big kahuna. Les Arlots. The one that perhaps jump-started the trend, and the one I wasn’t sure could possibly live up to expectations. Oh, friends, how I love to be wrong. More on the blog.
Discover more of my foodie finds via Instagram @emily_in_france.
What I'm Writing
1. DC has just welcomed four new Michelin stars, and I've got the 411 on all of them for InsideHook.
2. Rick Ross’s former personal chef is now serving her next-level fried chicken to the masses in Miami. Discover her story for InsideHook.
3. From the archives: Study abroad teaches you what you're made of – or at least, it did for me. For Wandering Educators.
What I'm Reading
1. Food prices are crazy right now – here are just some of the reasons why, in the Washington Post.
2. I've not had the pleasure of having more than a taste of Cabrales, and I might need to grab some fast if this story in Saveur is to be believed.
3. I was once told, in England, that the expression "raining cats and dogs" comes from animals that would hide in the thatched roofs of houses. That's not the origin – and this romp through the etymological origins of the expression asks more questions than it answers but in a wholly enjoyable way. Oxford University Press blog.
A bientôt !