Ticked Another Box

My children kicked off the week by rudely fitting perfectly into raincoats that only seconds ago were comically enormous on their small frames, sending me into a mid-life spiral that only a pint of ice-cream eaten in bed with a comforting hot water bottle and my favourite nightgown could veer me out of. The days are long but the years are short.

With a spare hour my husband and I went to the Leonora Carrington exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg and although I didn’t immediately click with the art I adored her feminist, non-conformist, radical soul plus the gift shop had a great selection. If you go make sure to stop into Mademoiselle Angelina afterwards to try the rather aggressive looking treat they’ve based on her artwork (they do a special one for each exhibition).

Thanks to a well timed email from the Orangerie (bravo to their customer service) I remembered I had tickets to the Henri Rousseau show which I’d been looking forward to. I’d politely suggest the opening description announcing him as “one of our best realistic painters” doesn’t exactly manage expectations but I’m glad I went all the same, if only to alleviate my FOMO. I rounded out the visit with a mandatory spin through Monet’s incredible Water Lilies, pausing to hand a tissue to the man weeping at their beauty, before sidling out past a large group of tourists apparently shocked to find themselves in a museum.

My husband was away for the long weekend (yes another public holiday, May in France is delightful) so I phoned in the parenting filling the children with crepes, cookies and the occasional slice of avocado toast for balance. The market was a more condensed experience and we somehow forgot 90% of what we needed but came back with 2 kilos of ruby red strawberries and a bag full of cheese which kept us going another day or so.

When it wasn’t raining we were at the park and when it was we hunkered down for a David Attenborough documentary marathon. I also regained just a smidgen of faith in humanity when I learned Lego changed their upper age bracket from 99 to 100+ to celebrate his latest birthday.

I regretted not getting these ice-cream coupes at the flea market Sunday but the visit wasn't wasted as while dodging the rain (pleasantly surprised how these boots held up in the wet) I finally spotted Ina Garten in the wild. She flashed me a beaming smile, I rewarded her by not saying a word and letting her get on with her day, and ticked another box on my Paris bingo card.

Have a great week,

- Emily

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Cheese we’re eating this week:

• Camembert de Normandie - a raw cow’s milk cheese with a soft bloomy rind. It’s protected in France by an appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) which means it must come from a specific area.

• Crottin de Chavignol - a small goat’s cheese from the Loire valley.

• Mimolette - a hard cow’s milk cheese that was produced by defiant French subjects in response to the banning of products from Holland in the 17th century.

All three cheeses were from Fromagerie Saint Vrain at Marché Maubert.

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Real Life Paris Photo

Life. Goals.

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I wrote this ❤️

Pain de Mie

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Save The Date

21 May: Opening of Sonja Bajic’s new exhbiition at Atelier 48, 48 Rue Greneta, 75002 from 7pm.

May 30: David Lebovitz will be signing copies of his gorgeous new book, The Great Book of Chocolate at La Trésorerie Rive Gauche (48 rue de Grenelle, 75007). 3pm to 4:30pm. Limited number of books for sale on the day, you can also BYO any of his books you might happen to want signed.

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Correction!

In a previous newsletter I gave the wrong date for this vide grenier (it’s the 31st not the 18th of May). Happy shopping.