Emily in France 🇫🇷 August in Paris
It's different
Locals in Paris had two major reactions to the Olympics: get excited, or steer clear. I had every hope of being in the latter camp, especially seeing as I typically get out of Paris in August anyway, opting to split my time between Paziols, the home of my heart, and Cannes, my first port of call when I moved to France back in 2007.
But due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up in Paris in August – and avoiding the Olympics became a sport in and of itself.
Let me be clear: I fully appreciate and totally admire the incredible feats of athleticism these Olympics have showcased, and I was even able to get excited about the opening ceremonies, which I watched from afar in Wales (where, oddly, the sun was shining). It’s just that I far prefer Paris when it’s got the normal number of tourists. Also, I kept forgetting that there were bits I couldn’t cross – like the entirety of the Tuileries Gardens. (That’s on me.)
But in keeping (mainly) to my neighborhood, I have managed to spend the first half of the month firmly ensconced in my own personal hit list of Parisian summer activities: reading in parks, taking long walks, and rehydrating with more than my fair share of citron pressé.
…not to mention ice cream, like this puckery (and delicious) lemon sorbet from Mary Gelateria in the Marais. (If you want to know where to find my favorite ice creams in Paris, I've got you covered.)
I’ve also been sampling a few seasonal pastries, like this strawberry-pistachio macaron from Illené in Montmartre…
…and taking the time to get inspired by Parisian daily life. Exhibit A, this man sitting by the quaiside, reading a book and letting his toes catch the breeze.
In fact, the only real repercussions of the Olympics on my day-to-day happened the day of the cycling. After a long, circuitous walk to the west, I was heading home and found myself facing off with this barricade. When I asked a friendly police officer nearby how I could get across it, she let me know that the only way through it was beneath it: through the métro stop at Richelieu-Drouot.
I usually avoid the métro like the plague, and that’s held doubly true since ticket prices skyrocketed. But crossing the boulevard by going under it was free, and as an added bonus, I stumbled across this underground memorial to railway workers who died for France in World War I.
Here’s hoping the rest of this August in Paris will offer even more discoveries.
Cheese of the Week
Reblochon is perhaps best-known for its role in the Savoyard specialty known as tartiflette, which is far from a summertime dish. But this cheese is also more than welcome on a sandwich or a cheese plate. Born as a means of getting around a medieval dairy tax, Reblochon is made from rich local milk and is washed in brine for an umami-rich funk. More mild-mannered than other members of the washed-rind family, Reblochon has nutty, lactic vibes not dissimilar to Mont d’Or or raclette, with a lovely toothsome chew.
To discover more of my favorite cheeses, be sure to follow me on Instagram @emily_in_france, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and tune into the Terroir Podcast, where Caroline Conner and I delve into France's cheese, wine, and more one region at a time.
What I’m Eating
The nature of my job means I rarely get the chance to return to old favorites, but I recently got the chance to dine at Café les Deux Gares, nine months after I had such a jawdropping lunch I went so far as to declare it my new local. Despite the short-and-sweet chalkboard menu boasting just three hors d’oeuvres, five appetizers, and three mains, I agonized over what to order. (I see now that there was probably no way for me to go wrong.) More on the blog.
Where I’m Going
1. To the Musée d'Art moderne, to check out this exhibit on decolonization and modern art in Paris.
2. To Culture Rapide for Paris Lit Up’s weekly Open Mic.
3. To the American Library in Paris, to get another stack of books for summer reading.
What I'm Writing
1. Paris' oldest confiserie may be shuttering just shy of its 300th birthday. For Bonjour Paris.
2. I didn't write it... but I was quoted in this piece about the British scientists working to cultivate new fungi to age bloomy-rinded cheeses like Camembert. In the Telegraph.
3. From the archives: Parisian viennoiserie offerings are evolving and changing, as quality, choice and a resurgence of regional specialities buck the boulangerie status quo. For France Today.
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What I'm Reading
1. Perhaps my favorite thing in the world is when someone whose taste I admire recommends a book to me, and when not one but two close reader friends voted for All Fours, I knew I needed to give it a go. All Fours is the story of a woman exploring her own sexuality as she faces off with the precipice of perimenopause, ultimately asking herself if it's worth sacrificing her marriage for the promise of good – or great – sex. This is an idiosyncratic book with an idiosyncratic narrator crafted by an author who has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about why we – or rather, she, for this is very, very thinly veiled autofiction – think the way we do. I would often find myself wanting to read on but stopping just so that I could linger over the deeply fresh and detailed way the narrator's emotions came to the surface. Unfortunately, the second half of the narrative took a sharp left turn out of relatability, and I found myself distracted rather than charmed by the ego that drives the story. Still definitely worth a read – I'll be lingering over this one for a while.
2. This deep dive into the “rules” about eating pasta. I especially love the way the author notes challenges dogma for dogma’s sake and sheds light on why Italians follow certain food rules. The Bittman Project.
3. This heart-achingly true story about teen friendships between girls. Among other things, it gave me the gift of the phrasing “defensively despised,” which pretty much describes my entire personality from age 14 to age 18. In the New Yorker.
A bientôt !