Another dispatch from Paris from former Believer intern Ida Yalzadeh:

Currently, I have been quelling any homesickness by studying in a café called Sugarplum Cake Shop right off the Cardinal Lemoine stop on the 10. Sometimes I need a little taste of home, and this place reminds me of my favorite coffee shop at school, with the added bonus of teapots and carrot cake.

Sugarplum is ideal for studying because of the large communal tables (which I sometimes use as a giant desk when no one else is there) and homey feel. So although I have been caught reading La Vie de Saint Louis there, I go now more for the small glimpses of home. Rice Krispie treats and free refills of filtered coffee may not be things I actually consume back in Chicago, but their presence is a delight. 

Fourteen weeks away from home can definitely cause you to crave some muffins, and Sugarplum is my American hero to the rescue.

Funny thing is, most of the customers are French. Who knew that they love carrot cake as much as we do! I also feel a bit like a double agent: American in France at an American café speaking French to ask for some more Iced Tea. Oh, if only Shakespeare knew about this.