uhoh_busted

I like to pick up reuseable shopping bags and typical candies.

cathies

Triangled

Gretchen

OLD thread, but I guess people still buy souvenirs. I buy pretty post it notes at a museum shop.

mmmooommm

for teens, t shirts from restaurants (that say london/paris in the address, but not huge!!) or bars, etc. not the airport t's with LONDON plastered across the front!!! and, just for the tip, I prefer the massive logo on the back, with just a pocket small logo on the front. just ALOT more 'sophisticated'. massive logos across stomachs just don't look good on most.

so many of the food items (walker's shortbreads, etc.) i can buy at my local grocery store!!! but, at least foods are consumable, and houses get pretty junky with various nick nacks. something useable, not just another item to sit on a shelf (that they didn't pick out!) garage sale items i guarantee!!

marlene_

bookmarking

janisj

marlene: Just an FYI - instead of topping these old threads -- see the 'Share with a Friend' link up top? You can click that and send the thread to yourself.

HappyTrvlr

Dijon mustard from Paris at Maille in the Place Madeleine.

flpab

Dehillerin, Paris has actual made in Paris affordable items. I bought Eiffel tower cookie cutters that were stamped made in Paris on them. They also have some of the best tongs that are stamped with their name. Julia shopped here.
Harrods has the best shopping bags in the butcher shop. They are very sturdy and made for using but half the price of the plastic ones in the gift shop. I like stuff that lays flat like tea towels, bags etc that don't take up room. I bought some of their cute pen sets with the westies on them. I try so hard to get items made in the that country but not easy now days. Made IN China everywhere.

BigRuss

C'mon folks - the thread is from 2009.

janisj

Blame Marlene. . .

stokebailey

Sometime I'd like someone to explain why old threads are a problem. Have souvenirs changed all that much, for instance?

flpab

no, they have not and it is better than starting a new one on an old subject. I didn't even notice the date, just saw Dijon mustard from Paris at Maille in the Place Madeleine and remember Denise saying they brought some back.

stokebailey

I'd think we're more likely to get a variety of interesting answers this way.

kovsie

I often trawl through old threads - most of the info is just as relevant now as in 2009.

In London: the shop at the Globe Theatre sells interesting and affordable memorabilia. I bought erasers printed with 'out out damned spot' for my colleagues - £1 each. They also have coffee mugs with Shakespearean quotes, nice coasters ... you get the idea. I enjoyed browsing there!

Guenmai

Since I've been bagging my groceries with reusable bags, since the 1970s, when I'm in different countries and cities, I like to pick up reusable grocery bags from different grocery stores; both for myself and friends. Plus, they're easy to pack as they lie flat and they are something that folks will actually use. Well, the people I buy them for actually use them.

My Parisian friends like it when I bring them reusable grocery bags from L.A. Their favorite one has been the Trader Joe's one with the surf boards on it. I don't think one can get it anymore and I think it was only here in California as I never saw it on out-of-state trips.

When in Paris, I pick up the ones from La Grand Epicerie. I'm sure that other stores also carry them, but I can easily walk to that one. It's also easy to get to by subway as the Bon Marche department store is right at the Sevres Babylone metro stop. The La Grand Epicerie grocery store is next door to the Le Bon Marche department store.

http://www.specialtyfood.com/news-tr...ande-epicerie/

http://www.lagrandeepicerie.com/en.html

Happy Travels!

Guenmai

"kayd on Jun 1, 12 at 7:07am
Tea towels (linen dish towels) make an inexpensive and easy to pack souvenir. Many many choices--Union Jack, London tube map, tea-related designs, images of royals, you get the idea."

Yes, tea towels are great. I buy them for both myself and others. I used to buy them annually, in Paris, for my aide at work. Then one year I decided to buy something different and and when she opened her present and it wasn't a tea towel, she said, "Where's my annual tea towel?". LOL! We still laugh about it and that was a good 15 years or more ago. Although I left that job long ago, I still pick her up a tea towel, when in Paris, and either mail it to her or meet her for lunch and give it to her. LOL!

This thread has brought up a lot of funny souvenir shopping memories. And since I plan to go to London, in the years to come, I will definitely put tea towels on my list to bring back. I've been going to Paris, regularly since the mid 1970s, but have never been to London.

Happy Travels!

surfmom

I'm a coffee mug fan. A bit of a pain to bring home sometimes, but I love mine from the British Museum (hieroglyphics).... I love the French monuments one... I also love my minion one! One of my favorites that has survived 20 years and about 8 moves is one of the Opera House from Sydney.

A small easy one for girls or women is a colorful bracelet with the Eiffel Tower on it - I think you can buy them in the gift shop there? We used those as gifts and they were hits.

MarkcTravels

In London, I bought a delightful, old-looking London map (from Wellingtons Travels) at a Waterstone's bookstore. The funny thing is it's not actually an old reprint, but it has all the modern buildings and streets. I got the map framed and then put some photos that I took in London on either side of the map. So I have a wonderful London wall in my bedroom now to remind me of my time there.

IMDonehere

This topic started in 2009. One assumes that the gifts were already given and either lost or broken by now.

bvlenci

I'm sure the Marmite hasn't been finished.