Beatchick

A friend of mine wants a unique souvenir from Paris. None of the obvious suggestions sufficed for him: food products, tea, candles, snow globes, t-shirts, paper products, miniature Eiffel Towers, keychains, Christmas ornaments. He thought maybe a hat might do, something like a New Yorker cabbie hat but I'm not sure if they have anything like that in Paris. He says a Basque beret won't do.

He's really into sports & is not into art, so much suggestions of calendars or postcards from one of the museums fell flat.

I thought maybe a t-shirt or sweatshirt from one of the universities might be cool. He thought a sweatshirt saying "Sorbonne" or "Universite de Paris" might be cool. Another lady suggested the American University might do logowear. Is there such a thing?

lawchick

What about "Notre Dame"?

BTilke

Yes, you can find Sorbonne sweatshirts around. I believe they are sold in some of the souvenir shops near Notre Dame and along the Blvd. St. Michel.

jsmith

What about a shirt that reads "My friend went to Paris and all I got was this lousy shirt". I know, pretty sad.

Beatchick

LOL, jsmith! But thanks for trying.

Thanks, BTilke. I've never noticed them before. But do they have ones at the university, something of better quality?

Lawchick, I don't know - I'll have to ask.

BTilke

I highly doubt they have any at the university; they certainly didn't when I was there--however, that was longer ago than I want to acknowledge ;-)

I bought myself one and it was fairly high quality. Truthfully, I haven't seen one as nice as that in recent years. They're just average quality, probably all made in China now.

BTilke

The Sorbonne sweatshirts are usually in the back of those tourist shops as they're not the most popular tourist item.
Is there any chance he'd be interested in a mousepad with the Paris metro map? I bought one a few years ago, although now I use the London Underground mouse pad instead.

SAB

Get him a shirt from the Paris-St.Germain football (soccer) team--it has an emblem that incorporates the Eiffel Tower. You can probably find them on line--I think that is actually where a friend got one, although he insists it was given to him by someone on the team.

jsmith

What about a football shirt or scarf in the appropriate team colors? They are ubiquitous in most European countries.

lawchick

What about a cool lounge CD from Costes or the Buddah bar?

Travelnut

There is currently a black Sorbonne sweatshirt, size Med, for sale on E-Bay for $10...


Or you can 'make' one yourself with a photo and an order from Cafepress.com

Beatchick

"I highly doubt they have any at the university"
BTilke, I was afraid of that as I'd never heard of anyone buying one from they university campus bookstore (do they even have such a thing?). If I may be nosy, did you attend the Sorbonne or the University of Paris?

"mousepad with the Paris metro map"
That might actually be a good idea. I will ask him tomorrow. However, he is looking for something that he can keep forever as a souvenir which is why he didn't want food items. And he is also looking for something one may only purchase in Paris, although with the web I'm not sure there are items one may purchase only in Paris.

So lawchick, he is not quite as into music as I am. I've let him listen to my Buddha Bar CDs but he is more interested in bands like Maroon 5. He wasn't even moved by Malcolm McLaren's CD. He is a nice guy, a wonderful friend, but his interests are not like mine which is what's making this so difficult for me. I'd say he's more of a frat boy type, if you know what I mean.

That makes SAB's & jsmith's ideas perfectly good ones, too.

Hee hee, Travelnut, you really are a nut, aren't you?!? Love your suggestions!!

Keep 'em coming, folks, although these are great ideas so far. I'll run them by him tomorrow.

OK, haha, lawchick, I'm finally getting it about "What about 'Notre Dame'?" I'm a little slow tonight - only 7 hours later & I'm just getting that one!! That was good. We're not too far from Indiana so he could always drive there to pick up an authentic "Notre Dame" tee.

BTilke

BC, I have no idea where my certificate is, but the program was at the Sorbonne, and I believe it was noted as being part of "Universite of Paris IV." I was in the advanced class at the Sorbonne's year-long program on French civilization, language and culture. One thing I do remember clear as a bell was the entrance examination. It lasted a few hours and was both verbal and written. At the end, everybody piled into an auditoreum and the program administrators assigned people to the various levels. If you weren't assigned to a class by the end, it meant you had failed the exam and tant pis, they didn't want anything more to do with you. I remember the shocked, appalled faces of the many Chinese and Russian students who had failed--thinking of all the hoops they had had to jump through to get visas (and funding) that would allow them to study in Paris for a year and poof! all their aspirations gone in a moment.
From what I remember, we bought our textbooks from the stores operated by specific publishers rather than a general university bookstore.
I also remember having a good laugh at one medical bookstore. I had worked the year before at Springhouse publishing (now Intermed), which publishes nursing books and magazines. They had a series of photobooks illustrating various medical procedures. We staff were the ones posed as patients for the photos. While walking around the Latin Quarter one day, I saw one of our photobooks in a store window. The book had been translated into French, of course, and we patients all had been given appropriate French names and background. There were my coworkers, Martin the "metro conductor" injured in a work accident, myself as "Elisabeth" the trainee chef suffering from a deep cut in my thumb sustained while chopping fish for bouillabaisse, and so on. I bought a copy; will have to dig it out again.

Beatchick

BTilke, I was just telling my friend this morning that I didn't think they even had such a thing as campus bookstores and now you've confirmed that.

"program was at the Sorbonne, and I believe it was noted as being part of "Universite of Paris IV.'"
That's right! The universities are separated & numbered now.

BTilke, I think it's so cool that you attended the Sorbonne. What a wonderful experience that must have been. Very exciting - memories you'll cherish always.

"I was in the advanced class at the Sorbonne's year-long program on French civilization, language and culture."
I'm so proud of you! No wonder you're such a Paris expert.

"appalled faces of the many Chinese and Russian students who had failed--thinking of all the hoops they had had to jump through to get visas (and funding) that would allow them to study in Paris for a year and poof! all their aspirations gone in a moment"
That's so awful.

LOL, we'll have to start calling you &quot;Elisabeth&quot; on this board then! Incidentally, that is my daughter's middle name - same spelling. My sister, who's name is Eli<b>z</b> was so mad at me. &quot;You always have to be different, don't you&quot;. But she's happy with anything.

Beatchick

Actually, that should read she's NOT happy with anything.

Thanks all! I'm so happy with these suggestions. I have forwarded the suggestions to him &amp; we'll see how it goes.