Emily in France 🇫🇷 (...Isn't Actually in France)
Sometimes, I feel like two people in one.
I arrived in my hometown of New York City a few days ago; two days before, I booked my return ticket to Paris. It was an insurance policy, of sorts: the Paris me was protecting a future me, the one who always wants to remain in NYC once I arrive.
After twelve years of back-and-forth, I'm used to tricking my future self into returning places, but the fact remains: unlike Charles Baudelaire, who wrote that he thought he would always be better where he wasn't, I always believe I will be best where I am. For someone who ostensibly loves to travel, I hate leaving places so much that if I don't trick myself into it – buying non-refundable travel, planning trips to return to a place before I've actually left – I could easily stay: in New York, in Paris, in Los Angeles, in Paziols... interminably.
So now I'm in New York. And of course, as always, I love it. It's not quite the New-York-in-the-fall I had been imagining when, weeks ago, I planned this trip, but it will do, for now, until the middle of October, when Paris-Emily has sent me back to Paris. And while I'm already sad at the prospect of leaving, I also know I'll return to New York at Christmas.
I've already tricked myself into it.
Where I'm Eating
At long last, just before leaving Paris, I finally made it to le Rigmarole, and the Franco-international flavors and Japanese sensibility of this spot so beloved by restaurant industry folk did not disappoint.
As always, you can find my ever-evolving list of my favorite Parisian restaurants here.
Where I'm Going
1. The Adirondacks, to see the leaves change (and hopefully eat a cider doughnut).
2. To Brooklyn, to hear my lovely friend Sion Dayson read from As a River (and to get her to sign my copy!)
3. To Fine & Rare, to sample some single malts.
What I'm Writing
1. I compared at the environmental impact of the two biggest players in plant-based meat for Wicked Leeks.
2. I explored whether protein shakes are a good idea if you're trying to lose weight for Eat This, Not That.
3. I profiled a new watchdog group aiming to clean up the organic industry for Organic Authority.
What I'm Reading
The Great Gatsby may be Fitzgerald's better-known novel, but I found myself preferring Tender is the Night – and not just because I was lucky enough to read it on the French Riviera.
A bientôt !
Emily in France