"When the rain cleared the sky was gorgeous
and I took these photos of 'le grand ciel' from 'Le Grand Ciel.'"
Lynda Sydney, guest at "Le Grand Ciel"
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, November 15, 2010 • Paris, France
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Dear Parler Paris Reader,
Normally Thanksgiving is spent here in Paris, where I make a big French turkey (that cooks in half the time and is juicier than an American turkey) for American friends who contribute to the meal with all the traditional dishes. We always 'pig out,' get half-way drunk, laugh like mad and DON'T watch football on TV after the meal. It's always a blast...but all that's not on the agenda this year.
This year I'm heading to two of my past home towns to be with family, like most normal Americans do. The first stop is where I lived for 14 years in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and where my sister has lived all of her adult life -- Knoxville, Tennessee. There we will 'pig out' on a big breasted Butterball turkey with two of her grown children and my 93 year-old mother, who will be traveling from New Orleans to be with us. (Yes, she still travels on her own.)
The second half of the trip is to escort my mother home, and then 'pig out' with the rest of the sisters (there are four of us) on New Orleans Thanksgiving leftovers -- which means deep-fried turkey (have you ever had it?), Gulf seafood (there is controversy over whether it is safe to eat now after the oil spill) and pastries (by my niece-the-chef, Allison Gorlin) at the Cake Café and Bakery (http://www.nolacakes.com/). It will be easier to diet here in Paris after such a holiday, believe it or not!
Knowing that there would be family and friends I haven't seen for a long time, I set out on Saturday (in spite of the rain which has been ongoing for over a week now) to purchase gifts -- the kind of things one can only get in Paris, but which are also lightweight, small, unbreakable, etc., etc. -- the kind that one can travel with easily. You know the kind.
In the past gifts of this nature have been things like chocolate (always appreciated), scarves (oh, so French, light and easy), fishnet stockings (although my sisters will never dare to wear them!) and souvenir coasters. They've already received plenty of these kinds of gifts, so now after all these years of making trips home with a small suitcase of such goodies, one has to get more creative.
The "BHV" (Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville) on rue de Rivoli across from the Hôtel de Ville seemed like the perfect one-stop-shopping Mecca for such an excursion. It was, except it was Saturday.
The joke is that it has "everything but the kitchen sink" -- which is actually true. Kitchen sinks are the only thing missing from the store's inventory. If you aren't already familiar with the BHV, you will quickly become a part of the scenery if are living here or have decided to own a pied-a-terre and need housewares or hardware. Some people vow never to enter the store on a Saturday and as you can imagine, Saturday is THE day ALL PEOPLE IN FRANCE manage to land there...or, so it seems.
This Saturday, they were all there as expected, but I think they were all in the toy department specifically. The children's wear is on the same level (logically). There are no bargains, but a nice assortment of typically French-style children's clothing, meaning that it IS NOT COLORFUL or FUN, but ADULT-LIKE and CLASSIC. It is here I found the softest, warmest, fluffiest little boy's "peignoir" (robe) that would be hard to find Stateside. Will an American 1.5 year old wear it? Not sure, but his mother (my ex step-daughter) will love it! I figure he can always use it as a blanket that gets cuddled if nothing else.
Then I headed into the toy department and into the hoards of parents and children pre-maturely purchasing for Christmas gifts. The toys don't look like the toys in a U.S. Toys R Us. The packaging is different, more reserved. The toys are smaller, more delicate, more intellectual. It felt like more of a "Barnes & Noble" gift department than a toy store. I opted for two puzzles -- one of letters and the other of numbers...flat, light and yes, for his brain rather than his brawn.
There is free gift wrapping at one corner of the toy department. As early as it is, there was still a bit of a wait, but worth it.
On the stationery level were many small gift items for adults. You have never seen so many paper book agendas in one place in your life. Some start with a January calendar. Others are based on the school year starting with August. (The French have obviously not graduated to electronic diaries like many Americans have.) The other item of which there is abundance are blank note books in which one can keep a journal, write poetry or just take notes. Among the mix of unusual gifts were Eiffel Tower shaped cheese graters (a winner!).
Chocolate is still on the list of great gifts (never leave home without French chocolate) and believe it or not, of all the chocolate bars available, my favorites are the Leader Price brand dark chocolate with almonds or hazelnuts at one-half the price of Carte d'Or. I bought a stack to leave at least one at every household.
Will I be able to resist purchasing a few scarves or fishnet stockings just in case I've forgotten someone? Perhaps not. For scarves, I love the shop down in the Metro at Opera. For fishnet stockings (I affectionately call "Frenchnets), Monoprix.
At least shopping keeps you out of the rain, if not but a drain on your energy and pocketbook.
A la prochaine...
Editor, Parler Paris
(with Josie Levy Martin and Sibel Pinto)
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* http://www.charentelibre.fr/
* http://www.pause-theatre.net/
* http://www.sudouest.fr/
* http://dlavauzelle.free.fr/
* http://www.ajpn.org/
P.P.S. Thanksgiving in Paris: If you graduated from an American University you may be interested in attending the THANKSGIVING DINNER organized by The American University Clubs on Wednesday the 24th of November -- not many places left! Registration: aucthanksgiving2010/
