American in Paris

Thanksgiving, the most (and only) North American holiday, made me think about being an American.  As an American in Paris, I'm certainly not alone. English is everywhere and American pop-culture has a definite presence here, too.

Here are some of my favorite Parisian transplants from the other side of the Atlantic:

Breakfast In America
B.I.A., as it's called, smells like the significant part of my childhood that I spent in Avalon Diner.  Milkshake of the week a while ago: The Obama - vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, peanut butter.

Thanksgiving
The name of the store that sells a cornucopia of American grocery products.  Aunt Jemima, Pace, and JIF live here.  Go only when desperate ; I had to promise my first born son to pay for my instant oatmeal.

Tea and Tattered Pages
In the anglophone bookstore scene of Paris, if Shakespeare and Company is the twenty-something hipster who wrote a senior thesis on "The Lady of Shallot" at a small liberal art college then Tea and Tattered Pages is the grandmother who had a quietly fascinating life of writing opera and seducing world leaders to shape modern politics before you knew her and who has kept every book she and her children ever read.  Go for used books, cinnamon toast, or to pet the big tabby cat who lives there.

Bagels and Brownies
Inventive sandwiches on bagels, which are thin on the ground in Paris.  Every sandwich has an American city for its name.  I'm partial to the Detroit (pronounced deh-twah) : smoked turkey, cream cheese, and cucumber.

Cinéma le Grand Action
A movie theater in the Latin Quarter that often shows old American movies.  Favorite field trip to date : "Roman Holiday" on the big screen.  Basically, it was a dream come true.

Looking over this list, I realize that 3/5 have to do with food. Hmmm...

Expat love,
Maria