🇫🇷 💌 The Paris Love Letter #150

THIS WEEK IN PARIS
We Had A “Kozy” Brunch in Montmartre

Paris gave us a gift this week. Several days of warmer temperatures and real sunshine, and we took full advantage.

We had a couple of things to celebrate, and the weather made everything better. One late morning, we headed up to Montmartre for brunch at Kozy, which is right next to the Abbesses metro station. Fun spot, good food (not refined, but hearty), and a great launching pad before wandering the neighborhood.

After brunch, we walked around for a while, which is really the whole point of going to Montmartre. You go up the hill, you eat, you walk, you get a little lost. That's the formula. If you haven't spent time in that part of the city, put it on your list.

Later in the week, we went out for a proper lunch (Ora Farmhouse) and LOVED it. More on that below.

Linking You to Paris

➡️ Paris apartments people are booking for month-plus stays: Conde Nast Traveller rounds up Paris apartments for month-plus stays, with many offering steep discounts for longer bookings and ranging from ornate Haussmann flats in Le Marais to quiet studios just outside the city.

➡️ Guide to Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris: Travel and Leisure explores Saint-Germain-des-Pres beyond the famous cafes, with picks for independent boutiques, a jazz club in a medieval cellar, and the hotel where James Joyce finished writing Ulysses.

➡️ The 34 best restaurants in Paris right now: Conde Nast Traveller asked a Paris-based food writer with 20 years in the city to name her 34 favorite restaurants, and the list goes well beyond French classics into Turkish, Vietnamese, and fusion spots alongside the bistros.

➡️ Try this walkable city break — just 90 minutes from Paris by train: The Times makes the case for Nancy as a weekend trip from Paris, highlighting the northeastern city's royal squares, art nouveau walking routes, and a glamorous thermal spa most visitors to France never hear about.

ANNOUNCEMENT
150 Issues!
Let's Celebrate with a Print SALE!

You're reading the 150th issue of The Paris Love Letter!

That's 150 Fridays of showing up in your inbox from Paris. Some of you have been here since issue one. Some of you just got here. Doesn't matter. You're all part of this, and we just hit a number worth celebrating.

So let's celebrate! Through Monday, we're offering:

30% off all photography prints in the shop!

Every photo in the collection was taken by me, walking and biking through this city. If you've had your eye on one, now's the time. If you've never looked, go take a peek. There might be a slice of Paris in there that's meant for your wall.

The Paris Love Letter is free, and print sales help us cover the costs of publishing. So even if you don't need one for your walls, maybe you know someone who does.

Discount automatically applied at checkout. Sale runs through Monday!

Thank you for reading. Seriously. Here's to the next 150!

EATING IN PARIS
A Farmhouse in the Middle of Paris

Friends had been telling us to go to Ora Farmhouse for months. We finally went for lunch this week, and we picked a good afternoon for it. We had something to celebrate.

The restaurant is inside the Pavillon du Lac in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, one of the biggest parks in Paris. When you sit down and look out over the hillside to the pond and the trees, you don't feel like you're in the city anymore. I kept thinking I was somewhere in the countryside. It’s a farmhouse style restaurnat that happens to be in the 19th arrondissement.

The decor was designed by Cordelia de Castellane, who also designs for Dior, which is probably all you need to know about how the place looks. Rustic, warm, well done without being overdone.

They call themselves flexitarian. In practice, that means the menu is mostly vegetables, with some fish and meat. Everything we had was really, really good. Carefully prepared, interesting combinations. And then dessert came. Fontant au chocolat, and Laura went crazy for it. And she is a tough critic when it comes to food.

If you're coming to Paris and want something different from the standard bistro experience, Ora Farmhouse is well worth the trip. Most visitors never make it to Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in the 19th, but it’s well worth it.

Ora Farmhouse Pavillon du Lac, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Rue Manin, 75019 Paris.

FRENCH PHRASE OF THE WEEK
“Oh la vache!"

The Phrase: "Oh la vache!"

Phonetic: [oh lah vahsh] Literally: "Oh the cow!" Yes, really. The cow.

The Context: This is the French "Oh my God!" and it works in exactly the same situations. Something surprises you, impresses you, shocks you, or just catches you off guard. It's not rude, it's not formal, it's just a reaction. You'll hear it from teenagers, grandmothers, and everyone in between.

How to use it:

• The Restaurant Bill: Your friend picks up the check at a tourist spot near the Champs-Elysees and shows you the total. Oh la vache.

• The View: You climb to the top of Montmartre, turn around, and see all of Paris stretched out in front of you. Oh la vache.

• The Dessert: You're at a restaurant in Buttes-Chaumont and something arrives at the table that makes your wife close her eyes between bites. Oh la vache.

How I Found This Phrase: I heard it a few times, then one day something surprised me, and it just came out of my mouth instead of "oh my God." That's when you know Paris is getting into your system. 😂

FRENCH SONG OF THE WEEK
Renaud - J’ai embrassé un flic

Renaud is one of France's biggest musicians, has sold close to 20 million records, and has spent most of his career as a proud anarchist who took shots at the police in song after song.

Then came the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015. Millions marched through Paris from Republique to Nation. Renaud was among them. During the march, he saw a cop on the sidewalk who looked friendly, walked up, and hugged him. He wrote this song about that moment.

It's warm, a little wry, and very human. A guy admitting that solidarity can surprise you, even when you've spent your whole life on the other side. The music video was filmed on Place Furstemberg, one of the smallest and prettiest squares in Saint-Germain, with Renaud standing next to a "Calins Gratuits" (free hugs) sign. Worth a watch.