I'm going to trial something new this week to see how I feel about it. Please let me know what you think, either now or when the week is done. I’ve been feeling a little fed up with my daily diary, I never journaled as a kid or adult - this is the closest I’ve ever been to it. And it’s been a great commitment and I think I’ve got a lot more used to writing my own thoughts and that’s something that I’m grateful for. But I’m now at the point where I’m frustrated that I have to write ‘today’ and I don’t want it to feel like that. So, on Monday’s, I would like to write ‘A Week in Paris’. This will be, as the title suggests, a review of my week and will basically be what you used to get every day in a slightly longer form and covering the entire week that’s been. There will be another day in the week where you receive something different from me. An essay, personal or otherwise - cultural or about the every day. Like how I said the other day I’ll be writing about my relationship with Gordon Ramsay. That kind of thing. I hope that’s okay. It will significantly reduce my email traffic and my day to day writing, but will hopefully allow for higher quality and, most importantly, me wanting to do it.
Without further ado, here is ‘A Week in Paris - The Last Week of May’.
A Week in Paris - The Last Week of May
26/05/25 - 01/06/25
So the week that was. What a week! Distinctly un-memorable for the most part I think - I have already written about the first half but to break it down:
On Monday I saw these dogs in the basket of a bike and to be honest I would drop this image in at the faintest opportunity.
On Tuesday I collected my newest running shoes that I’m happy to report do not give me blisters.
I also made a pretty quiche.
On Wednesday I made the risotto and wrote about Gordon.
Now we’re all caught up - let’s continue. On Thursday I got to test my Vomero’s and found them to be cloud like - I took this photo along the Seine.
Paris is a beautiful city especially in the morning, I love to see it waking up. I love to smell it waking up. On Friday I made a salad with chicken.
I trialed searing the breast in the pan and then putting it in a hot oven, taking out and basting and resting. It went really well. Chicken breast is my least favourite part of the chicken. After dinner we cycled to watch the sunset from Parc de Belleville, which is in the 20th arrondissement. It was our first time there and the vibe was completely different, it was younger and more grungy, less refined than other spots in Paris. I liked it but, as a socially anxious creature, felt a bit on edge the whole time. By the end I was comfortable though, and it was pretty.
On the weekend my mum visited again on her way through to London and we watched Hamilton and the Champions League final and it was lovely, dreamy, a great time together and longer that the previous time, which was welcome. It’s so nice to have people visit and see the life that we are building and share a portion of it with them.
I also made a big plate of steaks that we’d got from the butchers on Rue Montorgueil, the difference in quality between the supermarket (still pretty good) and the butchers (wow) is stark.
And that takes us to Sunday, yesterday. My mum left and we spent the day eating and recovering from the week that was, just like Our Lord intended.
Before I go today I would like to just say something about PSGs win on Saturday (not football related) and the reaction in the city. I’ve seen a lot online about the state of Paris right now. When I say online, I mean public cesspit Twitter (X). When I say I’ve seen a lot, I mean a lot of racists, a lot of xenophobes. There was some violence after the match on Saturday, some damage done to the city and to its people. I went out early on Sunday and it was a little messy in the streets but there was a pleasant feeling in the air. It felt safe, it felt hungover. I get home and have a little scroll and I see racists online that don’t live here talking about how Paris is now a ‘fourth world’ city, whatever they mean by that (we all know). It got my goat to the point where I was thinking about it when I couldn’t sleep last night, blood pressure rising.
People will say anything that gets a reaction, clicks and therefore money these days, it’s been like that for a while. But I know that lots of people see this sort of thing and believe it. They believe that it’s a dangerous city, they believe that there are ‘no-go areas’ in London. They believe that you fear for your life walking down a certain street. It is nonsense, it should not be widely shared, it should not be tolerated let alone promoted on that website, it is untrue. Have you ever been out when England win at a world cup or euros? Have you ever been out when England lose. The most scared I ever felt in London was when I had to travel back through the city the night that they lost to Italy in the final in 2021. There were so, so many drunk people out and about, menacing people on the street and, no doubt, racially abusing players on their phones. That was an unpleasant environment.
I’ve been trying to make a point here but it’s feeling ham-fisted, like I can’t quite work out what it is that I’m trying to say, to get out. Please stop believing things that you read online. Live, experience and find out for yourself with an open mind. You will be better served and less full of hatred. So profound, so mundane, so true.
I’ll see you later in the week.
bonne semaine !
Nice Pasc 😊
Go, Pasc. Love it. Xx