Dear readers,
Bonne année!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome, welcome, welcome to the year 2021. This week marks the one year anniversary of the first time I took a precaution against COVID - I was on my way to Portugal for a work trip and bought a package of hand sanitizer wipes at SFO. Here’s hoping this time next year I’ll be writing this newsletter from my favorite Parisian tiki bar (no, I’m not sharing that one…) with a locked and loaded immune system. In the mean time, keep staying safe, my lovelies, hunkering down, taking your Pasteur treatments as soon as they’re available, and enjoying the safety of the great outdoors. Speaking of which…
A proper snow in Paris! One of my most cherished memories was my 20th birthday, when I’d gone out to celebrate in the Latin Quarter and when I emerged from my Métro station at 4 in the morning, there was a tiny flurry coming down. As a true California girl who was not a little drunk at the time, I called my dad just as he was waking up to squeal at him over long distance. (Basically just like this.) I know it’s a frustrating time, with everyone under a 6 PM couvre-feu, so I’m glad everybody had a chance pour faire du ski, even if only in front of Sacre Coeur.
P.S. Attendance at Disneyland Paris was unchanged. 🥁
La Vie Végane
I ate the worst salad in the history of vegetables in Paris in the autumn of 2008. I remember every bite of it, to my regret, and while my mind knows that things have improved since then, my heart is afraid, tu sais? But perhaps things have really turned the corner, because France finally has her first Michelin-starred vegan restaurant. Claire Vallée opened ONA - a.k.a. Origine Non-Animale - in the tiny town of Arès (outside Bordeaux) after some creative crowdfunding ventures. She managed to cobble together enough to open up with a limited menu featuring flavors like galangal and pine. Now, of course, ONA is closed like other French restaurants - here’s hoping they can open again soon.
I was mulling this over earlier in the week while I fell into a rabbithole over sneaker brands. I’m in the market, and I was curious to find out what the girls are wearing in Paris since I figured the trusty Stan Smiths are probably on their way out. Veja sneakers are finally making it to San Francisco right about now - they’re selling like gangbusters in France, and one third of their styles are vegan. (If anyone has a pair, chime in with your thoughts in the comments - they’re cute but I heard they’re hard to break in…) Speaking of les baskets, if you offered me $1,000 to guess where I could find the world’s oldest basketball court, I would not have guessed Paris.
Epilogue: Joseph Meister
There’s a sad note to this month’s episode which didn’t quite belong in the episode (which I was hoping to keep lighthearted) but which I wanted to share somewhere. If you don’t have the heart for sad things right now, scroll on to the next section.
As I mentioned in last week’s episode, 9 year old Joseph Meister survived an attack from a rabid dog thanks to quick intervention from the great Louis Pasteur. The young man loved the time he spent in the laboratory during his weeks of treatment, playing with the laboratory animals (presumably not the rabid dogs). After the rabies vaccine received international attention, Meister and Pasteur became a double act: the Mad Genius and the Boy Who Lived, as it were. The partnership continued for many years, after Joseph Meister grew up and began working at the Pasteur Institute as a janitor. Visitors recalled Meister’s happy storytelling, and was known for his sunny disposition, hinted at in the photo above.
The legend of Joseph Meister’s death is one of heroism and defiance: as the Germans rolled into Paris in June 1940, Meister stood his ground and refused them entry into the Institute and Louis Pasteur’s tomb. Rather than give the Nazis access to his savior’s shrine, Meister killed himself. Alas, this legendary standoff is just that: an urban legend.
Like millions of other French men, Joseph Meister sent his women and children out of Paris in the Great Exodus. Left alone, cut off from his loved ones, Meister became convinced that his family had died out on the roads. Wracked with guilt, feeling responsible for the death of his entire family, he committed suicide at home. In the cruelest blow of all, Meister’s family turned out to be alive and well - and they returned home only a few hours after his death. Joseph Meister’s despair is a sad ending to a life otherwise filled with unexpected joy and salvation, but he deserves better than a lie, in my opinion. Learning his story helped me appreciate the story of the fall of Paris a little better, yet another individual story woven into the tapestry of l’Exode.
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Meanwhile, the Pasteur Institute itself is in the headlines after abandoning its attempt at a COVID-19 vaccine. It’s a tough break, but I think the national handwringing is an emotional response during a terrible era, rather than a sign of doom: vaccines are hard.
Bric-à-brac
My personal wardrobe is currently a rotation of my favorite sweatpants, my favorite momjeans, my favorite leggings, and my other favorite leggings. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a jaw-dropping dose of haute couture when I see it, and the new Christian Dior Spring 2021 collection hits all my buttons: a mystical tarot influence, stupendously ornate trimmings, eye-watering craftsmanship, and horses! Enjoy this very, very soothing slideshow and look forward to the day when Florence Welch can start appearing at public events again.
Netflix’s Lupin now boasts more viewers than The Queen’s Gambit or Bridgerton so I guess I know how I’m spending my weekend.
I love a good savory galette, especially when I’m feeling lazy. Last month, I splurged on a used copy of the now out of print English language BREIZH Cafe cookbook - and you can, too. Once you can get your hands on buckwheat flour (Bob’s Red Mill makes a good batch!), everything else is a pantry staple. Too lazy to cook anything? Enjoy a little history of the crêpe.
A little spotlight on the struggles of the bouquinistes during these hard times. Want to support a bouquiniste from the comfort of your living room? You can buy from them online.
New Year, New You: the Champs-Elysées is getting a facelift.
That’s all from me this month! I apologize if you’ve written an email to me in the last month or two and haven’t received a response. I received a promotion at work (woohoo!) which means I’m stretched pretty thin at the moment (boo!) and whenever I have to take one thing off my plate, “checking my personal email” is the first to go. Hopefully things will balance out again soon. Thank you always for listening, reading and writing in. <3
Bisous,
Diana