like many baristas my age, i had an affinity for french pop music as a highschooler, particularly "yé-yé", which was what they called 60's pop! i was down with a bad case of main character syndrome (a common symptom of being a teenager) so i loved the drama of it all - chic and taboo like smoking secret cigarettes 🙄 i was also taking french in school - i was terrible at it but being able to vaguely understand the lyrics helped me to appreciate it even more.
flash fwd a few years & i was finally presented with the opportunity to travel to france!!! i never ever thought i'd get to see paris but the stars aligned and i spent a week there in summer 2023 with my fiancé and my dad (which was particularly special bc i never get to travel with him) 🥺
it was incredibly romantic (despite the lack of air conditioning...wtf europe) and i had also gotten my garçon into the french music i'd loved as a teen so our visit was soundtracked by the likes of françoise hardy, jacqueline taïeb, jacques brel, sylvie vartan, jacques dutronc, jane birkin, serge gainsbourg (melody nelson holds up if i pretend i don't know what he's saying!!) etc 🥰
the video i linked is one of the only videos i took while in paris, and it's possibly my fav video i've taken ever - the little girl i accidentally caught dancing in front of the eiffel tower makes me smile every time i watch it.
