With my suitcases filled to bursting with trench coats, jeans and all the knee-high boots I could carry, I nursed my black coffee and Pret croissant at London St Pancras’ Eurostar terminal, waiting for my train to Paris to be called.
It was a cold October morning and I was heading to the city of romance to start a marketing internship at a French company.
When I had been offered the job, I was excited enough – the chance to live and work in my favourite city of all time, one in which I had lived for several years as a child, too, and knew like the back of my hand.
But little did I know then, the hit Netflix show Emily In Paris would come out precisely one week before my departure.
‘Emily in Paris? More like Erin in Paris,’ my brother teased over text as I sent pictures of my quintessentially French breakfast.
More than just a shared initial, my new chapter had a lot in common with Lily Collins’ character.
Not only was I moving to Paris by myself, but I, like the American brunette, was about to take up a job in marketing.
And we shared interests – from fashion to gastronomic excitement (a love of pains au chocolat) and a rose-tinted view of the city.
Erin in Paris! Our writer, like the central character in Netflix’s Emily in Paris, embarked upon a new life in the French capital – and reveals what it was really like
Moving to the city to embark on a marketing internship, Erin followed in the footsteps of the Netflix heroine
Where we differed, however, was in our understandings of the reality of Paris.
I, a Brit who spent much of her childhood in the French capital, was less surprised by the truth of the city than my American counterpart.
As much as I loved the Netflix show (of course I watched – how could I deny the comparison?), I couldn’t help but be blindingly aware of everything it gets wrong about the city I called home for a year.
The most glaring mistake of all? Emily’s interaction with real French people.
I’ll admit, being fluent in French myself helped – but, even when British friends came to visit, I’ve never in my life experienced the rudeness and, in the case of Emily’s boss Sylvie, pure vitriol, that my US alternate did.
Sure, Emily is far more in-your-face than I am, and she didn’t make much effort to learn the language, but frankly the portrayal of French people is a caricature of the truth.
In reality, the French are more reserved and frank than us Brits – my work assignments generally consisted of concise instructions such as ‘Erin, I need this task done by 5pm’ as opposed to the British polite, ‘would you mind doing this by 5pm, if at all possible?’
But I found my colleagues – including my high-powered boss – to be friendly and helpful, if a little disinterested.
Bijou? One thing the show gets right, however, is the compact apartments – and the quality of the pastries in Paris
Erin having coffee in the gardens of Paris like Emily and Mindy in the series
The iconic Eiffel Tower, which features in the show, is just as impressive in real life
Fashion was another pitfall of the show.
While much has been written of Emily’s absurd outfits, which, of course, no actual Parisian would wear, I personally found the clothing of even the French characters in the show to be far more outlandish than you’d generally see on the streets of even the city’s coolest districts – or in my office, located right near the glam Champs-Elysees.
When Camille, Emily’s friend-turned-love-rival, steps out in dresses that are more understated than the American cast’s, they are still nonetheless far more garish than something any French girl I know would wear.
No self-respecting Parisienne dresses quite like this – think more well-cut jeans, immaculate trainers and understatedly stylish coat with a well-draped scarf.
Don’t even get me started on hair – French women pride themselves on the ‘undone’ hair look, not Camille or Sylvie’s perfectly blowdried waves or poker-straight blonde locks at fancy events.
As for the city itself, the show does a decent job. Emily’s apartment is realistically small, no different from my own humble abode, and the scenes taking place in popular spots – such as the Jardin du Palais Royal – were genuinely filmed in the city.
You can nowadays even visit some of the key filming locations – although, as a result of the show’s success, many are now infested with TikTok tourists and hordes of selfie-takers.
She gets the food right, too – the croissants and wine truly are better than most.
Erin, like Emily, found the city’s culinary delights, including pains au chocolat, didn’t disappoint
Erin perfected the art of making a Saint Honore with her pastry chef flatmate
But few real Parisians are dating on-the-rise chefs, and even fewer frequent the famous La Boulangerie Moderne where Emily fawns over French pastries – most will just visit their local cheap bakery for equally phenomenal options.
But what Emily In Paris also gets wrong is in the places most real Parisians hang out.
Of course, in Emily’s line of work there will be occasional glam events.
But as a marketing employee myself, my friends and colleagues usually just socialised at local bars.
Instead of long lunch breaks over wine, most of my office would order McDonald’s or takeaway sushi for lunch and eat it on the office sofas – and I, the foreign intern, was invited to join on the more social days, unlike Emily, who was usually abandoned during her lunch hour.
Like I said – the French are not as unwelcoming as Emily might have us think.
It must be argued, however, that the ease with which Emily makes friends is quite a surprise.
Even though I got on well with my Parisian colleagues and housemates, infiltrating often decades-old friendship groups proved extremely difficult and, with the exception of one or two casual friends, most of the close friendships I formed during my time there were also with internationals rather than locals.
Few Parisians dress up to the nines – most wear jeans, trainers and a simple jacket
One Austrian girl, one half French, half English girl and two English men.
Plus, one of my housemates was an American pastry chef studying at the Cordon Bleu cookery school – so not far off the reality of Gabriel, Emily’s charming, handsome chef neighbour and love interest just with fewer muscles and and less dashingly good looks.
And the concept of meeting romantic partners left right and centre, amid the modern online dating landscape which is oh-so-prevalent in Paris, is unlikely, bordering on romcom cliche (although, admittedly, so is the entire premise of the show).
Yes, I did go on lots of dates.
But to knock on the door of your neighbour’s apartment to find you live next door to an unbelievably gorgeous Frenchman who just so happens to be a chef at an up-and-coming restaurant located downstairs?
In your dreams, Emily. Sorry, I mean Erin…
