Skip to content

Holiday Gift Guide: Bringing France to You and Others

Hello, Emily here, from day 29 of the 2nd confinement (lockdown) in France. I never thought you could miss the city you live in, but I miss Paris. Physically she remains present and although stores are allowed to reopen tomorrow, restaurants will remain closed, the streets are quiet and the soul of the city is sleeping. The old Latin motto of Paris is ‘Fluctuat nec mergitur’…

106 Shares

Continue reading...

Paris Flea Markets and Thrift Stores

When I lived in a small apartment, I had to pass on many of the great things I would find at flea markets and antique sales in Paris. As Parisians say: “Something in…something out” – meaning that if you brought something into your apartment, you had to get rid of something else to make room for it. Which can be a challenge when there’s so…

446 Shares

Continue reading...

Les Tomates

The French have a lot of protests and manifestations. Some of the issues they march for are a bit of a reach and we roll our eyes. And it’s annoying when the trains and other forms of transport go on strike and you need to get somewhere. But on the other hand, it’s good that they feel strongly about certain issues, enough to hit the…

0 Shares

Continue reading...

Cookware Shops in Paris

Paris is a mecca for cooks, and folks come here from around the world to stock up on French and specialty cookware. Many of the shops are clustered around the Les Halles area, where for many years restaurateurs shopped at the giant market there for produce and other comestibles, as well as professional kitchenware. Although the market is gone, many of those stores exist and…

472 Shares

Continue reading...

Rue La La Invitation

One of my favorite online shopping sites, Rue La La, frequently offers great deals on everything from All Clad pots & pans, Cuisinart and KitchenAid appliances, German and Japanese cutlery, Staub, Le Creuset, and Mauviel copper cookware – all at amazing prices! (They also have fine linens, designer clothing, tableware, and wine accessories.) You never know what you might find and the specials happen daily…

0 Shares

Continue reading...

#2: DOT Paris

I just spent a long weekend in the French countryside, trying to enjoy the last bits of summer before the rentrée, when everyone in Paris returns en masse, usually bronzed to an unsavory crisp. And because last Friday was a national holiday, I spent a prodcutive morning at a vide grenier, an enormous and pretty fabulous flea market in the town of Esterney. Like anywhere,…

11 Shares

Continue reading...

G. Detou in Paris

If G. Detou didn’t exist, I couldn’t live in Paris. Seriously. The overstocked, but impeccably neat shelves at G. Detou do indeed have everything, as the name implies in French (J. Detou is a play-on-words, meaning “I have everything”.) But when you’re someone like me that does an inordinate amount of baking, plus loves…and I mean loves…to discover new and unusual foods and chocolates, a…

126 Shares

Continue reading...

The Rules: Bringing Food Home From France

“Can I bring that back?” I’ve been asked that question a lot by visitors to France, wondering if they can bring certain items home. Here are some articles and posts about what can and can’t be brought back into the United States: –Think Twice Before Stuffing Your Suitcase (USA Today) –Transportation Security Administration –Importing Food Products into the United States (FDA) –Travelers Bringing Food Into…

1 Shares

Continue reading...

A

Get David's newsletter sent right to your Inbox!

15987

Sign up for my newsletter and get my FREE guidebook to the best bakeries and pastry shops in Paris...