Croissant Run

The Curated coat (similar)
Zara top (similar)
Zara jeans (similar)
Oak + Fort mules (similar)
Sezane tote (similar)
RayBan sunglasses
Linjer ring (c/o) (similar)
Mejuri earrings (similar)
Location: Place Olympe de Gouges – Paris, France

Paris, October 14, 2021

Dear friends,

We’re home! By which I mean back in Paris, which is where I always feel most at home. I often find myself wondering how different the world would be if we all got a chance, even just one at some specific point in our lives, to choose, without restriction, where we wanted to live. There’s no question that, at any age, Paris is the place I would have chosen.

But reality is more complicated than that. Immigration demands paperwork and special qualifications. It also comes with an inherent risk that I’m not willing to take: that Paris could lose its charm if we made the move permanently.

Still, it feels good to be back. No matter how much we enjoyed the days away, I always seem to exhale a breath I don’t realise I’ve been holding in when we get back to the capital. This morning, we’re back in our Parisian routine. Which means, after we’ve gotten up and dressed, we go out on a croissant run.

If I’m being honest, there are many days when I send Ian on the croissant run without me. I’m an early riser at least partly because I’m disorganized in the morning. It takes me time, and a few large cups of tea, to get myself together. Since Ian is much quicker than I am – the fact that eyeliner is not part of his routine is, I’m sure, at least part of the reason for that – I often send him out to get breakfast while I take a bit of much needed extra time to get ready. But we only have to many days left in Paris. I don’t want to miss a thing. So I’m up and ready early, in plenty of time to take the quick walk to Tout Autour du Pain.

That I’m a creature of habit is a topic that’s come up over and over in this space. But one routine that I never truly developed in the whole year we lived in Paris was going on a daily trip to buy bread and croissants. It’s the most quintessentially Parisian way to start the day, but when we lived in this neighbourhood back then, the bakeries we tried were mostly lacklustre. In the mornings, I mostly ate fromage blanc – another truly French delight, but not a traditional breakfast – with fruit. It was towards the end of our year in Paris that a Google search for the city’s best baguettes pointed us towards a nearby bakery called 134 rdt. (The name, at the time, was a play on its address – 134, rue de Turenne.)

The baguettes we found at 134 rdt were as delicious as promised, and we’ve gone back for them frequently over the years. While the bakery changed its name to Tout Autour du Pain several years ago, the baking remains the same. Since we’re back in our old neighbourhood this year, we’ve taken full advantage and visited almost everyday. My standard order is a pain au chocolat, but Ian often adds a few extra items in before heading home. Today is no exception. We walk out with a pain au chocolat, a croissant and a whole baguette. All of which we’ll eat for breakfast, because life is short, much too short to count calories, especially on vacation.

When I was seventeen, I came to Paris with Mom. I got horrible blisters but we saw all the sights and, if I remember right, barely argued except about my impractical shoe choices that led to the aforementionned blisters. But I always remember that after we got home, she said, “I wish we’d eaten more crepes.” And I agreed. It’s a mistake I’ve sworn never to repeat.

…my pain au chocolat is half eaten by the time we make it back to the apartment. No regrets.

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