I want to bring home someting special from France- any suggestions?

Question

My husband and I are just starting to be able to travel, and rather than bring home a bunch of junky souvenirs, I want to choose one item that is unique to each country to bring back for our home (i.e. nothing perishable or consumable, and preferably not a clothing item). So what would be a great thing to buy that is typically French? Or should we just save our wine bottles to make candleholders when we get home? ;) Thanks for your input!

PS-we are going to Spain, too (I'm researching France first) so if you have any opinions about that- same question as above. Thanks!

Answer 1

I would suggest something very cheap and simple, but unique in France, nowhere else in the world will you find this. You know we have the world famous water Evian. In France, every Christmas, there is a new issue of Evian glass bottle, every year a different shape, for example, in 2001 , the year's issue bottle of Evian was like the shape of an eggplant with golden lid. In 2002, the lid became blue. Last year , the shape of the bottle was like a triangle with pink lid. Even us in France collect them each year. Although Christmas was long gone, you can still find these bottles in some hypermarché like Géant Casino or Carrefour. The bottle for 2008 is a long one with flower patterns.

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Answer 2

If I were looking for something special and permanent from France, it would be art work.  I would probably find some painter that I liked along the squares at Mont Martre, and buy something directly from the artist, who I might have spent some time talking to.  Something of one of the famous landmarks.  

For Spain, on the other hand, there are about a million things...Ceramics comes to mind first.  Ceramics are a HUGE art form in Spain, and every region has their distinct style of painting.  (If you want to see some of the finer work, go to latienda.com, and click on the ceramics or gifts link...just to get an idea...they are, however, not a lot more than buying them there.)  Wrap everything REALLY well, and ship them home.

Fine fans are a big thing in Spain, especially the south.  Damasquinado jewelry...black steel with fine 24k gold wire inlaid.  Be sure to get it directly from the jeweller, because there's a LOT of stuff being bought from China.

Granada: marquetery (inlaid wood) work.  I would suggest NOT getting one of the typical designs, and poke around until you find something unique.  Again, you can find the actual artists in their workshops (up on a steep street leading to the Alhambra), and buy directly from someone you KNOW did the work. One warning about the inlaid wood...don't buy the stuff with mother-of-pearl, because those are made in either India or Morrocco, not Spain.  

Baskets and wicker ware is big in Castilla-León.  

Ceramics are a particular specialty in Sevilla, as are handmade laces and montones.  (Hand embroidered shawls).

Don't save your wine bottles to make candleholders.  They get tacky as you get older, no matter how emotionally attached you are to the memories.

email me if you want more ideas...I can give you a few perfume ideas, too.

Answer 3

You know how some people collect those little spoons or ceramic thimbels from everywhere?  I discovered that they always sell shot glasses everywhere.  Like little one ounce wiskey shots?  But they are decorated for the local places, cities, attractions and countries.  I have been collecting them from all over the world and have quite a nice collection that I keep on glass shelves in my bar.  The nice thing is that they are small, inexpensive (ususlly less than $6 each) and very varried and colorful, with different shapes, styles and materials.  Many are very beautiful, like made of pewter, and they are easy to pack and bring home.

But my favorite one, from Morocco, looks like it came from there because of its style and red color on a metalic base.  Very cool.  One from Spain came from a restaurant where they gave us complimentary after dinner drinks and I got them to let me keep the glass after I offered to pay for it.  It brings back special memories.

So that is my suggestion.  I love my collection and love to show it off to guests and remember stories of our travel to these places.  I always look forward to buying them in the local shops and sometimes have trouble deciding on which one is most beautiful or unique and buy two!

Happy travels and I hope you consider my suggestion.  Look for them anywhere they sell tourist stuff--they always have them.

Answer 4

I lived and worked in France, so I know a number of items that you might consider to fit your criteria, however, I would say a lot has to do with what you like, and what hobbies you may have. For instance, I like to paint. While in Versailles, I found a great set of art brushes, which I purchased. Now , every time I use them to paint, I think back to the wonderful time I had in Versailles.

Another interesting alternative, I like to cook, so while in the Paris suburbs, I purchased a crepe set, which makes me think of France every time I use it.

When it comes to wine, I have a tradition you might want to try. Whenever my wife and I travel anywhere, we like to go to the local grogery store, and find literally the cheapest, or least expensive bottle of wine to try. Some bottles are the equivalent of less than a dollar, and they usually taste good, but be warned, they may also stain your teeth until you can brush them. While saving the bottles may seem like a good idea, they can be a pain to carry around, and shipping them could be prohibitavely expensive.

A little tip for you: Don't bring every travel guide and French-English dictionary you have ever bought with you on the trip (we made that mistake on our first trip). Instead, we reccommend the green michelin guidebooks, they are fairly compact, but have a lot of good information to help you decide what you want to visit.

If you have a chance to visit a little town called Provins, I highly reccommend it. they have an old fortified castle, and the midieval moat and ramparts are still intact. They have a renaissance festival there, I think in the spring or summer. It is a lovely little town, and the people are friendly and quaint.

Something you absolutely MUST try is a croissant au burre, or butter croissant, they are light, flaky and delicious.

Good luck with your travels, and remember to enjoy yourself while you are there. (Some people get too caught up in trying to capture the moment that they have to wait until they get home and watch their video to see if they had a good time.)

Answer 5

If you visit an art museum... buy a print and hang it in a nice frame. It's more special than if you had acquired the print in a store in the states.