I agree with the dish towels - I'm still using some that my sister brought back from France years ago. Olive wood cooking and serving spoons are nice for cooks.

Teresa

Anything from E. Dehillerin, just so you can say he was there.

We were on a Viking River cruise on the Rhine which stopped in Strasbourg France. There were a couple of shops which had beautiful linens and aprons along with cloth table supplies. Since it was Sunday many of the shops were closed, I so wanted a few of the beautiful pieces that were in the window!

Along the way stopping at different places along the Rhine many of the ladies bought beautiful scarves, which are so easy to pack in your luggage.

Where in France is he? Regional specialities are always fun to discover.

One of my favorite items in my kitchen is a chef's knife (Dumas Aine 32) I bought in Galleries Lafayette nearly 40 years ago. (I was a callow 24 year old at the time, and had not heard of E. DeHillerin) Nevertheless, it remains my favorite stainless knife, has given me decades of good service and still is going strong.

December, 2013 we visited the street market in Toulane, France. It was one of the most memorable places of the trip. The rows and rows of fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, cheeses, meats, syrups and honey, pottery, pretty housewares, and even clothing. It was incredible to see such fresh produce. Obviously I couldn't bring back fresh produce but I did buy a paid of red leather shoes and well-made beautiful dress and.

So, what did I bring home from France...Memories of a beautiful market that I long to find closer to home.

I'm sure your DH will find something special for you.

Le Chameau boots, if you do a lot of trail/watery-dog walking mucky walking.

I SO want a pair!

I echo Dehillerin, especially since you can find interesting, useful, unusual, well priced, quintessentially French things there. I have many little plates and service items and tea towels I've gotten there over the years. I actually found it on a trip there with my high school girlfriend; we thought WE discovered it!

Bring lots of cash.

Go visit/browse the antiques flea market. WOW! Antiques, not just collectables.

I don't remember the exact address, but people can tell you how to get there.

dcarch

I agree with @islay_corbel, the region/department of France might make a difference -- many local items are never broadly exported. (I used to live near the Swiss/French border). In Paris, you might ask for some macarons and in Provence, a good Rose (some of the best local ones are never exported).

If you're in Paris, and if you like engravings, the Louvre prints all sorts of engravings and other intaglio works from its collection. They're not dirt cheap, but neither are they exorbitant; you're basically getting a imprint from the same plate the artist used, but on modern paper. I bought a couple several years ago and I still enjoy looking at them. Every subject from botanical prints to landscapes to architecture to Wistful Nymphs. Worth a look-see if you're into eighteenth and nineteenth century art.

Here is a link that might be useful: chalcographie

Calvados.

Linda

Any kind of candy, chocolate or nougat. European candy is so much superior to North American candy.

Unique mustards and vinegars are another idea.

I bought a souffle' white ceramic pot/pan/dish (what is that thing called?), 30 yrs ago and it is my go-to 'container/dish' for any one-dish pot pie/stew/shepards pie/fruit crumble...
Such good quality that any crispy burnt crust edges bubbling over cleans off with ease.
It is very thin and seems delicate but has been used so many times and looks brand new. Perhaps an odd item to stuff in luggage as a 22yr old. But cherished all these years...stamped PILLIVUYT france on the bottom...
A shame you could not tag along and shop... : )

sorry to thread-jack, but anybody go to the Mauviel factory in Villedieu-les-Poeles? (literal translation, btw, is city god frying pans -- just makes me smile). I'm headed to Normandy in about two weeks and thought cookware would be a nice souvenir. I've heard the copper prices are less.

Le Creuset or Staub cookware.

And Slimy is correct about the chocolate. The first time I ate a French chocolate bar, it took me back to my early childhood with the chocolate breaking into pieces. Do you remember when Hershey's chocolate bars were scored and you had to be very careful to break the chocolate or it would be in not scored chunks with little slivers of chocolate all around. With all the added butter or whatever today, those days for American chocolate bars are sadly passed.

This post was edited by walnutcreek on Fri, Oct 24, 14 at 14:45

chocolate for sure and if possible,butter..no one makes it better than the french.

I was in Villedieu-les -Poeles earlier this year. The pots and pans are VERY heavy and VERY expensive! But, they do look gorgeous.
Are you going to Mont St Michel? Lovely to visit, but don't eat there. Terrible food. The famous omelettes are ridiculously expensive - it's a couple of eggs after all and I wasn't happy to pay 40E for that!
If you have time to visit, Bayeux is lovely - the cathedral is very interesting. The cemeteries are sad and very moving as are the D-day beaches. Lots of lovely things to see, do, and eat!

Unlike "Champagne",

"-----------"Dijon mustard" is not a protected food name; while there remain mustard factories in Dijon and adjoining towns, most mustard described as "Dijon" is manufactured elsewhere. Even that produced in France is made almost exclusively from Canadian mustard seed. ------"

dcarch

As someone who has schlepped copper from Villedieu-les-Poeles and Le Creuset back from France, I say don't do it, especially with the added inconveniences of getting through airports these days, and the exchange rates. However, if there is a piece that you cannot find here, go ahead. If he will be in Limoges, or nearby, there are porcelain factory outlets with true bargains. They are really good about arranging shipping, too. Oh, wait, I guess you meant food items. Sorry.

Thanks, @islay_corbel for the suggestions... our itinerary is open as we are staying at a friend's farm near Deauville. @kitchendetective -- thanks for the honest advice. I hijacked the thread from the OP, but the advice is good. I was thinking just one or two pieces to supplement what I have.

Oh my, I forgot about the Limoges dessert dishes I brought back! We went through Limoges and leaving town were the outlets and it was hard to resist.

Dcarch is right about Dijon mustard - it's more a recipe than a local product. However, there is moutarde de Bourgogne that is made only from locally produced mustard seed and is a protected product.

We wtill don't know where he is so it's difficult to answer ;(

This post was edited by islay_corbel on Sun, Oct 26, 14 at 3:45

Unfortunately, you cannot bring meat back into the states, not even canned. You can bring baked goods, chocolates, condiments (no meat), coffee, tea and some cheeses. I still have a few butter cookies from Poilâne in Paris, best ever!

Since I did a small thread hijack a few messages back, I'd thought I report on my (failed) trip to Villedieu-les-Poeles -- unfortunately, our trip to the D-Day beaches ran long and we could not get to town before the factory store closed. As luck would have it, the next day was a National holiday. One of us felt like they dodged a "copper bullet" to the bank account.

The village is very nice and there are a number of small cuivre shops with many different pieces of copperware (but mostly Mauviel). However, there is a Mauviel 1830 "magasin d'usine" (factory store) on Rue de Caens 47. It is only open M-F and closes for two hours for lunch.

Macarons and a refrigerator magnet (kidding).

dedtired, along with the butter cookies, tea and chocolates, that's what I brought back from the last trip!

Hubby is leaving soon for another trip to Toulouse. Unluckily, again I am stuck with extremely busy work schedule for the next 3-4 months, cannot join him.

We ran down the potential list: Wine or anything liquid is out of question, thanks to airline policies, it is why I did not get Pousse Rapiere, we still have Foie gras and chocolates and coffee from his previous trip. Cookware, knives, potteries would be too heavy to carry...it seems there is nothing to bring home.

This cannot be true, can it? Any ideas or suggestions, especially some thing for cooking?

Off topic:

1. I too enjoyed the trips to Toulouse, Paris, and Provence, yet I still think Mont St Michel is the most memorable place. Wish I would be back soon....

2. Houzz said azmom is taken, I use gardenposter now. Wish I could get the old user name back.

What about azmom2 (or any number)? Or azmom-gw (for Gardenweb)?

There's always truffles. :)

You can change the name that shows in the forums in your settings. Go to Your Houzz/Edit Profile/First Name (displayed ...

I can't imagine how hard it is to work instead of going with your DH!

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed Mont St Michel so much--it's on my bucket list. I was headed that way and my travel partner (my supervisor) didn't want to go to the coast...are you kidding me??? She also didn't want to go to the the Louvre, she said she would wait outside. I said you don't want to pay $6 to see the Mona Lisa. She said the real one? OMG what a horrible travel partner.

Not far from Toulouse is Carcassonne, which is one of the top attractions in France after Paris and Mont-St-Michel. We went there in September of last year. It compares quite favorably to Mont St Michel (where we spent too much time last Fall, missed Villedieu and skipped the omelets). If you do join him another time, it's worth the trip. We had a nice trip through Languedoc-Roussillon and Andorra -- I do believe Roquefort is made nearby as well.

@mustangs81 --- unbelievable! did your supervisor realize just how much else is in the Louvre?

sushipup1, and plllog, thank you for the tips. So happy that I got my old user name back.

plllog, Yes, yes, good suggestions! how in the world I forgot French mushrooms?!

mustangs,

No kidding, work surely is in the way of having fun and great food.

Sorry to hear you had such a no-fun travel partner. Make sure arrive early when you go to Mont St Michel. We only spent 15 minutes in the hilltop chapel/church right before it closed.

I love Louvre! After my first trip there I told my French friend I could die with no regret. She said, no, no, no, we French people say we die with no regret after we visit Florence. So I put it on my bucket list and patiently waiting.

Gooster, You are right, Carcassonne is such a wonderful place to visit, I love the night scene too. I regret I missed the place produced Roquefort. It will be in next trip.

I always enjoyed trips to France except once I visited Musee D'Orsay. While waiting for other people to show up for the museum tour, we chatted with tour guide. She asked where I was from and how I enjoyed the trip. I said I was from the USA, I had great time in Paris, really enjoyed magnificent treasures here. All of sudden she became very irritating, almost nasty, said "we should have many more but YOU AMERICANS bought a lot from us". I could not believe the rude response I got after I complimented her city. I calmly replied "somebody sold them, right"?

I don't find Carcassone and Mont Saint-Michel similar at all, unless you're thinking so because both have old stone structures. Otherwise, the settings and histories are so different.

Food-wise, while good omelets can be found throughout France, what stands out in the M S-M area is the salt marsh lamb, l'agneau de pre-sale (accent aigu marks missing from the last two e's). Literally pre-salted lamb. Brittany and Normandy (M S-M is viewed by some as the border) have huge tidal swings from high to low but the low tide uncovers "land" on which sheep are grazed. The flavor of this lamb is unique and hard to describe, but not to be missed as a local specialty. It's not overly salty but the high salt content of their diet gives the meat a distinctive flavor.

What an excellent comeback! According to my friends who are from the capital, Parisians don't even like themselves, and think it's odd when people are friendly to them. :) What you heard might actually be what passes for making a connection. :)

And, yes, Florence is an absolute must. It's a great city to walk in and explore all the side streets.

Well, most French people would say that the problem with Parisians is that they love themselves too much and are very arrogant.

Toulouse is famous for it's sausages. The southwest generally for foie gras and truffles, also beans - cassoulet. Your DH could probably safely bring back some good quality cassoulet tins, confit de canard is a MUST - again in tins.

If you go camping, have him look for an Opinel folding knife. Better knife than a regular pocket knife. If you think, you can keep it dry, get a "regular" one, rather than stainless steel. It will keep the sharpness better. Frenchmen in the country mostly have one of these in their pocket.

I have one, and take it on my bicycle touring trips.

Moni

Islay, Customs took my tinned meat. I did carry on since I bought it at a fabulous food shop in FCO airport. I asked them if it was their lunchtime.

I agree Florence is a must. That's where I had my daughter's wedding.

The Louvre-I said to my redneck travel partner "You don't want to see the Mona Lisa?". She replied "the real one?". I said "No, a signed and numbered print."

@SnidelyWhiplash that's what i meant -- if you liked stone buildings and historical sites, Carcassonne and Mont St. Michel

@azmom: the tour of MstM, which I think is included in your ticket, is well worth it. It's too bad you arrived too late. It sounds like you've really enjoyed Carcassonne. Some other options for a day trip include Minerve (a nice tiny village on a canyon), the Pyrenees/Andorra and further afield, the Pont du Gard. There are also some really nice sandy beaches (and some bad touristy ones) during the summer.

I do like linens. Pack easily. Though a bit difficult for someone else to choose.

I have many from years ago and have them stacked in my closet. Find them and have nice memories from trips. Mostly dish towels. Some with French and Italian woven into the fabric. After all these years i remember where they were purchased. I even have two extra large bath towels from Guatemala bought in a grocery. Love them. Would never find such a thing here. And some fabric i made into pillows.

Mustang, Your daughter is a lucky young lady. Not many American brides could have their weddings in Florence.

Islay, over the years we have been making cassoulet at home with white beans, duck legs and sausages. Mustang, I cannot believe custom took away your tinned meat. I long for confit de canard. looks like I have to remove it from shopping list, not fair!

Gooster, Pont due Gard is such an engineering master piece. My favorite Pyrenees chocolates always makes me want to take a trip to Pyrenees/Andorra region.

Sleevendog, I thought about getting another Provence table clothes, then decided to pick one myself in future trip.

Snidely, I have never heard of salt marsh lamb. It surely is an amazing bi-product of the spectacular Mont Saint-Michel tidal waves.

Moni, an Opinel folding knife, so interesting! I will pass this suggestion to Hubby.

Many thanks to all of you for sharing your fantastic French experience. After a stressful day at work, reading this thread definitely is a treat.

I don't understand why you can't take home tinned meat. Azmom, I'm sure your cassoulet is lovely but sometimes the ingredients make a difference - sausages vary so much from one country to another, for example.

My husband is glued to his Opinel. Even eats with it.

If you love old linens, there are the brocantes where you'll find lovely antique ones very cheaply.

Best beaches are more up my way than down in the south.

If you like flavoured mustards that may be a good choice. The Cevennes region and around is famous for chestnuts so many things are flavoured with that. I brought back some chestnut mustard last summer that was interesting. Also, some delicious biscuits.

I'll keep thinking!

As of October 2012, USDepartment of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Inspection Service, fact sheet for returning travellers:

Meat, milk, egg, poultry, and their products, including
products made with these materials, such as dried
soup mix or bouillon, are either prohibited or restricted
from entering the United States, depending on the
types of animal diseases that occur in the country
of origin. Fresh (chilled or frozen), dried, cured,
and fully cooked meat is generally prohibited from
most countries. Canned meat is allowed entry,
except beef, veal, lamb, mutton, venison, elk, bison,
etc., from countries affected by bovine spongiform
encephalopathy.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/plant_health/2011/faq_return_overseas_travel.pdf

There's another whole section just about pork.

France is on the list of moderate BSE risk so even though you're unlikely to be exposed to it while eating in France, you're not allowed to bring canned meat (or any food prepared with meat) from there.

I'm not sure why a tin of meat eaten by you here is a greater threat than you eating meat there and coming home with the exposure. It may be more about politics than agricultural health. Or they're worried you'll feed affected meat to someone who didn't know it came from somewhere where they could have BSE. But you can't bring in canned ("tinned") meat.

Thanks for the info, Plllog. I understand the worry of undesirable things being imported into a country and BSE is terrible but I've never heard of a "mad" duck!

IC, I posted that in response to your question about bringing in tinned meat, which I thought was in response to Mustangs post about having hers confiscated. So I looked further, hoping for clarification about poultry and pork. There are a slew of regulations about pork which seem like they could allow tins, but not sausages unless they were tinned/canned, but then there's a lot of reference to the list of swine diseases which apparently changes daily as to where you can bring it from and where you can't. Similarly, it would appear that by the regulation your tinned duck would be admissible. The same paragraph is listed on the Customs and Border Protection page. Higher on that page, however, it says under permissible items to bring in: "-Canned goods and goods in vacuum packed jars (other than those containing meat or poultry products) for your personal use". Even though this probably meant to go by the more explanatory section, the customs worker might well just stop there, and unless you're of a lawyerly frame of mind, arguing with someone in that kind of position is rarely fruitful.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/82/~/travelers-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use

It's a minefield!

I found it!!!

I was talking to a student yesterday and she said - Violets, of course! It's the city emblem and they make all sorts of things from violets - sweets, chocolates, liqueur to make lovely kir with..... sounds like a lovely thing to take home.

IC, Wow, it is a super idea, never occurred to me, actually think about that it is obvious. thank you so much for the suggestion.

The internet search says it is used to make kir.. crème de cassis, it is one of my favorites, yet liquid is not allowed, thanks to airline policy again.

There are lots of different fruit liqueurs that are used here for kir. The original was cassis (blackcurrants) but raspberry and blackberry are lovely too. Lichee is good in white wine.