I miss Paris

I just landed in Paris and the more I come back since I left two years ago the more I seem to miss it. Far from a point where I would consider coming back, but I miss it.

Trying to describe what I miss is not easy since now when I visit it is only for a few days and I feel like a tourist, kind of. Somehow. Like if I am from here and not anymore at the same time.

I miss my friends

That's obvious, I have many friends here that I have to see in a sprint mode when I visit and I can't see them all. This feeling is always balanced by the fact that I have an equal number of friends in Silicon Valley, if not more, now, that I would also miss.

I miss the way business is done believe it or not

In Paris I had always more than a month of lunch and breakfast meetings booked in advance. It would sound crazy to anyone in California but in Paris you meet people for the famous two hour or more lunches, generally one by one. It does not scale, like a grand chef cooking does not scale, but it does not matter, it is quality relationships you often build for life and I miss them. I am not even talking about the food yet here, but our capacity in a busy business day to not check email, shut down phones and just focus on catching up and getting to know each other better.

There are plenty of negatives associated to that habit, like for example the fact that most people are very hard to reach, meet and of course get to know deeply. Of course, they have months of meetings taken in advance during which they are busy catching up with each other. It was not rare that a lunch would be taken two or even three month in advance with someone important, your agenda fills fast this way. Of course you can think about how much time you gain by doing the San Francisco sandwich instead, but you lose the deep relationships that are very useful in this city.

I miss the food

I had to say it and it's loud and clear. My american friends often tell me San Francisco is one of the best places in the US for restaurants and finding good products. Indeed I love the Tartine bakery bread or the Ozumo sushis, even a good fat burger sometimes. But you have to leave Paris to realize how lucky you are when you live here, I have yet to find anywhere in the world as tasty oysters as our fines de claires or bretonnes, our bread and croissants which feel obvious here are unrivaled not to talk about the ambiance in Paris restaurants.

I sometimes even miss how badly the waiters treat you in hip places, it is part of the show. Sometimes I don't want to hear the fake "how are you doing today?" from that server in america who tells it without heart. Get your ass kicked in a branche restaurant in Paris because you can't find a table and have to wait, it will be heartfelt when the Costes hostess is so unpolite! Genuine and authentic.

Don't get me started about the fromager, I used to visit him once a week and spend an hour discussing and choosing cheese. Yes you can find very goodcheese and nice shops in San Francisco, but nothing as genuine and seasonal as here.

I miss the fashion and the style

My wife Geraldine and I often talk about it. Parisian girls dress up. Always. Even when they do not look like, they work their look a lot. Again, in San francisco many do too, but the jeans and baskets rule and frankly, I'd rather see my wife and the parisian girls wearing skirts more often and being sophisticated daily (Geraldine is very sophisticated daily though, anywhere she leaves). Better for your eyes even if it's less practical to wear. I am saying that as I myself got used to jeans and tshirt as standard business dress, but I could get easily back in the jacket white shirt jeans habit, no suit and tie thank you.

Don't get me wrong, I love San Francisco and the US and it is unlikely we come back before years, but I miss a lot of Paris "je ne sais quoi" as we say in the US. I can very well define what that "je ne sais quoi" is.

Anyway, I wrote this in the taxi from Charles de Gaulle to Paris, it is 23h00 and I need to leave you to enjoy oysters and fantastic steak tartare with a good bordeaux wine at one of my favorite place, with Rodrigo Sepulveda also known as @rodrigo that will enjoy them as much as I do.