Emily in France 🇫🇷 Paris Is in My Skin
Would that I could soak up the city's limestone
This morning, a friend and I were chatting on the phone about her upcoming visit to Paris – long in coming after a criminally long absence. She told me, barely tongue-in-cheek, of her plan to lie down on the ground, soaking Paris into her skin, and while we both laughed, it reminded me of the feeling I had nearly 15 years ago, upon returning to Paris for what was meant to be a brief visit and ended up becoming the trip that made it stick – for good.
It was hours after landing, my head still swimming with the sleepless night I’d spent soaring over the Atlantic. As I wandered the 7th arrondissement, the streets pulsing with summer light and heat, I brushed my hand against the thick limestone walls of anonymous apartment buildings, seized all at once by the strange urge to plunge my very fingertips into the stone.
There’s something visceral about loving Paris. Not every day, of course. The longer I stay, the longer, it seems, I can rush from meeting to meeting, appointment to appointment, before the Eiffel Tower tugs at my gaze, before I’m slowed to a stop by the coursing Seine.
But on occasion, and then sometimes often, especially now, on the brink of spring, something magical happens, as though the very city can feel the earth wake up, preparing to unfurl itself, like so many grapevines lying dormant through winter. Massive painted doors reveal courtyards that pause in moments of new light; double rainbows settle over the zinc roofs for moments or long minutes; café terraces fill with those who bafflingly – wonderfully – find themselves alone on a Tuesday at three with nowhere in particular to be.
It's pouring in Paris; it has been for days, placing my head in a strange foggy vice. But as I wandered the city this weekend, stepping between raindrops to take in the sight of the unseasonable pink and white blooms, Paris felt ripe, like a fruit whose skin risked splitting with lushness, demanding to be devoured.
Cheese of the Week
Does Mt Tam need an introduction? This bloomy American triple-cream is Californian Cowgirl Creamery's bestseller, a rich, fudgy specimen with mild, mushroomy aromas. Don't go into it expecting the flavors of Brie de Meaux; instead, luxuriate in the lactic flavors of crème fraiche with mild earthy notes, and you won't be able to resist it.
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
For as wary as I am of hyperbole, flawless is truly the only term I can use to describe the dining experience at the tiny pocket of a bistro that is Le Vaillant. I was heartbroken after a recent lunch upon learning they’re closing in June… But seeing as this talented team promise they’re soon going to be opening up a new, bigger spot, I’m giving myself permission to share my experience with you all, in hopes that you manage to get there in the next few weeks before Le Vaillant is no longer. More on the blog.
What I’m Doing
1. Our next TERRE/MER retreat is coming up April 11 to 14 – and we’ve only got one more spot! Book now to snag it and join us for cooking, ceramics, and yoga overlooking the Mediterranean before it’s too late!
2. Signups for the next edition of the Nantes Writers’ Workshop June 24 to 28 are open! In the meantime, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to keep those creative juices a-flowing.
What I’m Saying
If you start to get along fairly well with a new French acquaintance, you might field the question... On peut se tutoyer ? "Can we say tu?" This phrase allows you to change registers from the formal to the informal at the drop of a hat – something that English doesn't allow quite so easily, as translator Ian Winick is here to discuss as we navigate tutoiement.
Where I’m Going
1. To the village of Camembert for a very exciting new project… but more on that next week!
2. To my local library, which is screening Giacomo Abbruzzese's 2019 film America.
3. To Chefsquare, to learn the art of making homemade tagliatelle.
What I'm Writing
1. The croissant has been reimagined into a host of portmanteau pastries, from the cruffin to the Cronut. Now its latest iteration, the "crookie", is taking Paris by storm. For the BBC.
2. Social media is forever abuzz with the newest cheese craze, from baked feta and pornographic cheese pulls to maximalist pasta finished in hollowed-out cheese wheels. And with over a thousand different products that are at their core, merely spoiled milk, the category of cheese is rife for exploration. For Mashed.
3. From the archives: Stop buying French cheese in the U.S., and try these instead. For InsideHook.
What I'm Reading
1. This story about a painter rendering places that no longer exist. In the New Yorker.
2. This baffling story about one “journalist’s” dogged efforts to completely fabricate stories for Atlas Obscura. In the Walrus.
3. Paris’ booksellers may be safe… but its bunnies are not. In The Guardian.
A bientôt !