France, According to Stephanie
Cafe Lulu regular Stephanie just returned from France and she's got a lot to say
Yes, Cafe Lulu forgot to post on Sunday. Yes, I was busier doing other things. This past week, a separate Cafe Lulu regular, Goob, visited me from south Florida and let me say we had a TIME. No sleep, bus, club, another club, another club, plane type weekend.
I visited a lot of new places so I want to quickly give a rating because that’s what we do here at Cafe Lulu. We judge.
Wednesday
6pm Jazz at Tomi Jazz
Notes: Get there by 5pm to secure a table!
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8.5/10
Thursday
Futch Night at House of Yes
Notes: Fix your fucking line system.
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7/10
Friday
A Private Wedding at The Ainslie off of Bowery
Notes: No notes. I love love.
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10/10
Saturday
Pride Night at Public Records
Notes: Buy tickets ahead of time and go to the room upstairs. Pee beforehand.
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8/10
The French Edit
This week, I’m passing the baton to Stephanie, friend, critic and assistant editor over at Cafe Lulu. She recently went to France for a cheeky work trip and had a lot of interesting things to say about them. As someone who has never visited France, I now feel fully equipped to deal with their quirks and antics. Enjoy!
‘Al Fresco' dining is so top tier! They are living in year 3000 while we are stuck in year 1. Look at these sexy awnings and observe the quaint tobacco stores. I hate you American Smoke Shops!
Speaking of outdoor dining, the French have completely transformed the sports bar and put it outdoors. No million screens, no bdubs wings, no hooters. Just the game, a cig, and a dream.
Y’all this city is not as dirty as everyone claims. I saw the trash get taken out every day! The way I rarely saw a ratatouille. Eric Adams, you will rue the day.
Mayo is the #1 condiment here unfortunately. Once I got a nasty avocado egg sandwich that was SMOTHERED in mayo. Be prepared and ask for mayo on the side. Have it your way.
No one sneezes properly! Everyone coughs and sneezes in the open air. How has COVID happened, and we still can't practice proper hygiene?
I snuck into the Cannes Lion advertising festival and let me tell you it's not worth it. A bunch of annoying ad people all in one area wearing resort attire. It's giving White Lotus, which I would watch but not experience again. It's so cringe to hear people gushing about going to Meta Beach and having "meetings" at the Pinterest yacht. Grow up!
I'm plugging the AmiGo app. I used it every day to find cool restaurants, bars, and stores in Paris. It's IT girl recommendations for most cities. The map feature is nice for when you are looking for stuff near you. It's a little glitchy, but sometimes I just want to know what's good without doing hours of research on Google/Trip Advisor. Hit me up if you want a referral code! I don't even get commish, I'm just generous!
Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy is sick! I was freezing my ass off, but it was a good day trip from Paris. There's quicksand there :O
The French Riviera is a must-see honestly. Except Eze, skip that town. It's an Instagram trap and not worth the stairs to the aesthetic part of town. I prefer to wander and find the magic of a city than to be corralled into all taking the same pictures.
Don't buy this! It's a trap. You will not get the taste of licorice tar out of your mouth.
French Hits for Your American Week
When I was in the 7th grade, I discovered the band, Phoenix, right after they came out with their hit album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. You ALL know some of their songs. But getting into that band, at that time, definitely influenced my taste into so many different artistic avenues from film to music and fashion. After knowing Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix from front to back, I started looking into the rest of their albums, United, Alphabetical, It’s Never Been Like That, all records that I still listen to to this day and personally think they hold up pretty well. I would watch interviews, read magazines, livestream their concerts in Europe, do anything related to them. If they told me to jump off of a cliff I probably would have. It's insane how much of a “gateway drug” a band can be when you’re young and impressionable. And that only lead me deeper into French culture which I can argue is better than becoming an Anglophile.
For example: Thomas Mars, the lead singer, once briefly mentioned that one of his favorite albums were Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub so I listened to Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub. They recommended different french bands like Tahiti 80, Daft Punk, Air, and I felt like I needed to catch up to this world that understood my “vibe” so well. And just when the obsession could not get crazier, Thomas Mars married indie darling and filmmaker, Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola. Holy fuck. I felt like my heart was about to explode. How could this world get any better? I watched Lost in Translation, Virgin Suicides, The Godfather Trilogy, Palo Alto, listened to Jason Schwartzman’s band, Coconut Records, told everyone that Nicolas Cage is a Coppola — did and absorbed anything that included the Coppolas.
Simultaneously, my other special interest was Nazi Germany from 1939-1945 so that was the type of child I was at the time.
Here’s my surface-level, French playlist that I made in 2020. Maybe one day I’ll make a playlist inspired on the wild goose chase Phoenix sent me in 2009.
Lulu Pic of the Week
Fuck it. Lulu at Lowe’s.
The tar licorice 😋🤩, I love being a Francophile.