Notes from a (Weirdly) Quiet Paris

Plus a Fun Olympic Poll, Some Cute Updates and a Summer Dessert You Shouldn't Miss!

Salut les copains ! (Hi there friends!)

When you live in France, and surtout (especially) in Paris, you know that as July turns to August, things slow way down.

You can’t get a doctor’s appointment, your favorite shops close pour les grandes vacances, your coiffeur (hairstylist) is nowhere to be found, and you have to read the schedule of your town or village to know which boulangerie will be open when, because they actually coordinate their time off to make sure there’s always access to that precious resource: des baguettes !

But this year? This year! Everyone I know (including me) has remarked on how empty the City of Lights is in all the most central places, grâce aux JO (thanks to the Olympics).

The press is reporting that Air France is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in unsold flights, and hotels are lamenting occupancy rates much lower than normal for a Parisian summer. Even today a friend told me there had still been hundreds of tickets available for last night’s opening ceremonies on the Seine. I don’t know why that is, but, fin, c’est comme ça (that’s how it is).

Of course if you do go to an Olympic event, you’ll find du monde (a lot of people). We saw the very first 2024 Paris Olympics match in person Wednesday—un match de foot, l’Espagne v. Uzbekistan—thanks to some generous friends.

At the Spain-Uzbekistan Olympic match, the first event of these Games. Does anyone else think that the official mascot resembles something more anatomical than its purported "revolutionary bonnet" concept? #awkward

I smile for comments! 😁

And at certain hours, if you’re outside the Olympic “zones” you’ll see signs of regular Paris life. We took the metro Thursday evening during l’heure de pointe (rush hour) to the 11ème arrondissement, and we were crammed into the cars like sardines.

But just the other day I walked the Rue du bac, a super-charming street filled with upscale shops, and c’était vraiment vide (it was really empty). We’ll see what happens in the weeks to come now that the floating opening ceremony is finished and the center opens up a bit.

About Last Night!

And then there were Four (Divas at the Olympic Opening Ceremony)! Did you watch the spectacle?

Clockwise from top left: Lady Gaga opens the show with a shimmy; Aya Nakamura (worldwide best-selling French artist) dipped in gold and backed by the Garde Républicaine; Céline Dion accompanied by the most stoked piano man ever; and for my money, the biggest Diva of the night, Axelle Saint-Cirel perched like an elegant Boss with le drapeau tricolore (the tricolored flag) atop le Grand Palais, absolutely SLAYING the national anthem like "No Big Deal." #epic

OK OK Olympics, but What Are We Really Excited About Right Now?

It’s not just everyone else in Paris whose going on vacation this Summer. Monsieur B is taking me on a grand tour of l’Armorique, aka la Bretagne, aka Brittany, and I can’t wait! Long walks along the coast, the sea spray, the marinières, the plateaux de fruits de mers (the seafood platters) … can’t wait to share all the delicious details with you.

Saint-Malo, la Bretagne, France. Photo: Mathieurivrin / Moment / Getty Images.

What I’m Writing

This Spring I was débordée (overwhelmed) with work for my French Wine Scholar exam, and my personal writing projects suffered a bit. Now that that’s over, I’m hoping to refocus and recharge my progress.

As you may know I’m also writing a series for My French Life™ magazine all about demystifying French wines. Come on over and check it out, or just listen to me pronouncing French wine words si c’est ton truc (if that’s your thing).

Strolling on the Île St. Louis, feeling glam thanks to photos by @theparisphotographer, @odrida.in.paris and hair/makeup by @jenya.makeup

What I’m Thinking About

I had lunch at the delightful Café Grace today with two friends and they each said something wise that sticks with me. We were discussing why it is that when we’re in transition (as in moving to a new country, coming out of difficult circumstances, changing perspectives) we sometimes feel like we have to explain our “in-betweenness” to people—as if we should already have mastered our lives/jobs/whatever in some prescribed way in this new situation.

Bref, we’re just here, loving life, loving Paris, and trying to figure it all out day by day.

Have you ever felt like you need to give people—even folks you may have just met at a social event—a reason or a story to justify your own in-betweenness?

My first friend said we should simply own that space and all its wonderful uncertainty. We decided that it’s enough to respond to prying questions about our seeming lack of progress with, “I love Paris!” or “I’m loving every minute!” and let that be that.

As for my other brilliant friend, we did touch on the subject of looking at our progress on certain goals we’ve set and thinking about how we can edit our list of to-dos or tweak routines a bit to better support ourselves as we explore and pursue this beautiful life. I said, “I’m just not sure what to do next.”

She said maybe we need to be patient, to allow ourselves to make our way, “ from a feeling to a knowing.”

Deep! So between now and September I plan to give some serious thought to how I want to wrap up my year. Do I want to go all in on my writing projects? Do I want to start planning a new business? Do I want to keep thinking about it all a little more until I move between stages?

Hey you! Yes, you, Beautiful. Are you in between a feeling and a knowing?

What I’m Reading

For my vacation read, I’m planning to check out The French Ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time; A Memoir, which was recommended to me by a fellow American expat in France, and which was written by yet another American expat in Paris. If you’ve read it, can you leave me a comment and let me know what you think?

Fun Fact: this weekend is the 3rd Anniversary of my first date with Monsieur B! We'll celebrate with a good bottle of Champagne à la campagne (in the countryside)

What I’m Cooking

My dears, when I tell you I had never cooked with rhubarb before a week ago, I’m serious. I had always been a bit afraid of it, just thought it was one of those “what do you do with it?” ingredients. But last Sunday at the marché de Fontainebleau I saw a basket full of long pale green and pink stalks and decided to go for it. I did some research and adapted this recipe I found online. The result — a delicious Rhubarb and Custard Tart, which is pretty easy to make.

Tarte à la Rhubarbe et à la Crème Vanille (Rhubarb and Vanilla Cream Tart)

Serves 6 for a rather dainty and oh-so-summery dessert centerpiece.

Before we get started, there are three keys to this recipe:

1. Cooking each ingredient separately, then assembling them allows the textures and flavors to remain intact (and look pretty!)

2. Don’t be afraid of rhubarb or of this custardy cream. Turns out they are two of the easiest—but most impressive!—elements to feature

3. If you really want to simplify (unlike this crazy beautiful b**** on Instagram who cooks everything from scratch), just use a good quality ready-made tart dough (pâte brisée)

INGREDIENTS

For the Custard:

• 2 Eggs plus 1 Yolk

• Milk

• Heavy Cream

• 1 high quality Vanilla Bean, or good Vanilla Extract

• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

• 2 Tbs Cornstarch

For the Rhubarb:

• 3/4 cup Rhubarb, peeled, rinsed, cut into small pieces

• 1/3 cup Orange Juice

• 1/4-1/2 cup Powdered Sugar, according to your taste

For the Tart:

• 1 disc prepared tart dough (I like pâte brisée and I don’t recommend puff pastry for this recipe)

PREPARATION

STEP ONE
Make the custard. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the milk and cream and stir. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the insides into the milk mixture. Drop the whole pod in there too (you’ll take it out later).

While that’s getting started, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs/yolk and sugar till incorporated. When the milk mixture on the stovetop is just showing signs of bubbling, remove it from the heat and slowly add it to the eggs and sugar, stirring all the while.

Once that’s all blended, tip the contents of the mixing bowl back into the saucepan and put it back on the medium-low heat. Add in the cornstarch one Tbs at a time and keep stirring and heating to thicken the cream. Keep your eye on this process as one minute it will seem nothing is happening and then you’ll see the beginnings of “the thickening.” Before anything boils or burns, take it off the heat and just let it rest, stirring occasionally and skimming off any skin that forms. Note that it will still be liquidy at this point. It will set up in the baking stage.

STEP TWO
Cook the rhubarb. On a parchment-lined sheet tray, spread the rhubarb out in one layer. Then just drizzle the OJ over the rhubarb and sprinkle the sugar. Pop that in the oven and bake just long enough that the rhubarb softens a bit but does not fall apart, about 12-15 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it cool down.

STEP THREE
Line your tart mold with your pastry and follow any pre-baking instructions if needed. I find that most prepared pastry doesn’t require a lot of pre-baking. When you’re ready, add the custard to the tart shell and bake for about 20-25 minutes (at whatever temperature your pastry package suggests, but keep an eye on it), until the custard is set but still just a wee bit jiggly. This will take longer if you use a smaller, deeper tart mold (obviously!). I prefer a more shallow profile for Summer because it comes out a lighter and daintier dessert altogether.

Note: save any leftover custard cream that didn’t go in the tart shell. You can spoon it over the finished tart later or have it with berries at breakfast. It’ll keep in the fridge for a few days.

When the custard tart is cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool. Don’t put any of this stuff in the refrigerator yet.

STEP FOUR
Once everything has had a chance to cool down to somewhere nearish room temp (generally about a half hour), use a slotted spoon to add the rhubarb on top of the custard until the whole surface is covered (I like a heavy rhubarb topping, but you do you). When the fruit is in place, glaze the top of the tart with some of the syrupy orange juice. It will have a glossy, sticky effect which is miam-miam. Yummy!

Once you’ve let it all sit for a bit in a cool place, it’s ready to serve. I like to add more of the unbaked custard (which is really like a crème anglaise), plus crushed graham crackers or slivered almonds at the last minute for a bit of cinnamon-y crunch.

Eh voilà !

Friends, I really can’t thank you enough for the support and encouragement.

Wishing you a big, beautiful Summer weekend and Gold-Medal-level happiness.

Bisous,

Karen