Paris Check List

– lyrics by John Denver

My bags are almost packed for my trip tomorrow to Paris, and they’re overflowing with all the goodies and necessities my Paris bffs have begged me to bring. When we were living in Paris our apartment overflowed with visitors: we once had to run out and buy sheets because we couldn’t wash them fast enough between guests! And bien sur, we charged rent: our house guests were obliged to bring us all the things that were hard if not impossible to get in Paris in the late 90s and early 2000s:

• peanut butter: extra chunky
• Crystal Light lemonade mix
• jello mix – sugar free
• taco seasoning and other tex-mex spices
• pants from Banana Republic (French women are just not built like American women!)
• chocolate covered raisins
• Swiss Miss 25 calorie hot cocoa mix (I know we lived in world chocolate capital Paris, but the 25 calories!!!)

My Paris bffs list of American products they neeeeed in 2010 include:

• PopTarts
• peppermint patties
• mint Oreos
• Oil of Olay spf moisturizer
• Goody hair barrettes
• Flintstones vitamins
• doggie treats
• Pam cooking spray

And I am happy to fill my bag with these American goodies…and many more I’m not listing… because when I unpack them, I leave lots of room in my luggage for all the French products I plan to bring back:

• Monoprix: a French grocery store chain
  • Vahiné amandes en poudre: almond flour, very difficult to find and expensive in the US
    
  • Le Petit Marseilais lavande liquid soap refills
  • Maggi spices and seasonings
  • Speculoos á tartiner (this is due to David Lebovitz’s latest blog)
  • Fleur de Sel de Camargue: French sea salt, available in the US but very expensive, and beautifully tinned for gift-giving
  • Petit Bateau t’s and tanks for Moi: prices are cheapest at Monoprix
  • baby bibs: they’re the size of handtowels and have the cutest expressions in French
  • little girl dresses: I’m shopping for sizes 12 mos, 18 mos, 4 years, 5 years and 6 years
  • Amora Moutarde de Dijon: Fine et Forte (hopefully in the blue-trimmed drinking glass)
  • cobalt blue washcloth mitts…so handy compared to regular washcloths!
  • Nestle dessert chocolat noir bars for baking (I use this and the amande en poudre to make bff S’s Chocolate Almond Cake)
• blue cafe au lait bowl from Le Comptoir de Famille to replace the one I broke

• postcards and note cards from stationary stores along my daily walks
• caramels du beurre salé: salted butter caramels
• les Anis de Flavigny: little anise flavored candies from the charming village of Flavigny, where the film Chocolat was filmed: these are for my father, who knows I bring them back from every visit

And of course I’ll faire du lèche-vitrines (be window shopping)…and perhaps buying???… shoes and bags and dresses. It’s too early for the les soldes: the semi-annual sales in Paris, but there are lots of promotions going on right now! Stay tuned….

Moi tip: les soldes are the French government authorized semi-annual sales of 40-70% discounts on seasonal items, everything from clothes to shoes to bags to linens to ???  This year, the summer sale is from Wednesday June 30 – Tuesday August 3. The 2011 sale dates have not been set yet. During the rest of the year, promotions are held offering varying discounts on any items including clothing, food and wine, books and household items.