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Spotted this in a tabac and love the fun unabashed ad. What else can you say about Camel Balls, except that they’re liquid filled…and EXTRA sour!
Remember the Roast Chicken Flavored Potato Chips? That was five years ago, already! Anyway, we’ve been traveling recently and road trips mean coke bottle gummies, ice cream bars and even more unhealthy food alternatives like crazy-flavored potato chips. We couldn’t help but notice the usual suspects like BBQ, plain, Roasted Chicken Chips (Lays are good!) but there seemed to be a new kid in town: Cheeseburger Potato Chips! We couldn’t resist.
These are…perplexingly excellent. They taste EXACTLY like a McDonald’s cheeseburger, and while I haven’t eaten one of those in so many years I don’t even know how many, I liked these (I almost hate to admit it) and was happy they didn’t give me a stomach ache like the real cheeseburgers did. So, there you have it. It does make me wonder, though, why there aren’t typical French meal flavored chips. Wouldn’t it be fun to have Croque-Monsieur chips, Cassoulet chips, Steak-Frites (in pepper sauce) chips and Tete de Veau chips? Confit de canard chips, boudin noir chips, moule frites chips, rabbit terrine chips…
I know you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to, so I thought I’d pop in and tell you: I’ve been eating these potato chips!
Nevermind that the French don’t have pepperoni pizza here, at least with the same name. When I first came to France I simply didn’t think they had pepperoni pizza as a choice. What a fool I was. They call it “chorizo” here but since I’m from California, I imagined the Mexican chorizo, which is a spicy ground sausage but it’s more like the Spanish chorizo, which is actually pretty close to pepperoni. So. Will the French realize what this is? I guess the picture helps. But oh the mysteries of life continue en France. Oh well. Anyway, these chips are good but it’s only the first chip that tastes like pepperoni pizza. After that one, the rest tastes like bbq (aka paprika in France) potato chips. (NOT knocking those, of course.)
If an ad could be cute while being punny even when advertising ointment for hemorrhoids, this is it.
This is a guest post from Why Travel to France contributor, Patricia. (Thanks, P!)
I thought readers would appreciate this funny, French item I found in a supermarket the other day. It made us laugh out loud but somehow I’m not sure any French person would notice it. It’s an ironic twist on air fresheners: a foot! Just guessing, but I have a feeling who ever came up with this item, was another marketing exec who had no idea that some consumers (like me) might see it as “funvertising.” I mean, using a foot to freshen a car … is brilliant, isn’t it? I love it. Frenchies, you are priceless, and you made my day when I found this Smelly Foot Air Freshener.
Maybe the tagline should be: Rafraichissez l’intérieur de votre voiture avec un pied qui pue...
Wait a minute. Do French people LIKE the smell of feet? I didn’t think of that.
Ikea has moved into four Parisian subway stations for two weeks only. Cute idea, but will they have to burn the furniture later? Oh, maybe they’ll go in the “As is” sale section! [via]
After years of complaining about the lack of pancakes in France, I’m at it again but this time to moan about pancakes attempting to infiltrate the palettes of French people all across the Hexagon. I have mixed feelings about this, obviously.
These were part of a freebie bag handed out from a road toll booth leaving Paris. It looks like the packaged brioche company, Pasquier, is testing out a revolutionary new product: pancakes.
To be fair, these pancakes were not horrible, but I wish they had been giving out free wine.
The grace and beauty of window design in France never ceases to amaze me all year long. But with Christmas being one of my favorite times of year, I MUST get out to see the festive displays. This is when true artistry emerges. The beautiful window display below is from Fabrice Gillotte, who happens to be a MOF of chocolate. Not only is he a master of his craft, his stuff is cute! And different. I LOVE his Santa.
Fabrice Gillotte, Chocolatier
21, rue du Bourg
21000 Dijon
Telephone +33(0)3 80 30 38 88
From the nytimes:
NOTHING about Châteauneuf-du-Pape is sleek or polished. It’s a rough-and-tumble wine, sometimes ungainly and fierce, but just as often warm, open, generous and full of pleasure.
It can be intense and complex — it’s not at all simple. Yet it sometimes can be as friendly as a big good-natured dog. Occasionally, it’s too friendly.
I was thinking about the overbearing side of Châteauneuf recently after the wine panel had completed a tasting of 20 bottles from the 2007 vintage. For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two guests, Vanessa Treviño Boyd, sommelier at Adour, and David Gordon, wine director at Tribeca Grill, which offers what is most likely the widest selection of Châteauneuf in New York.
We found some wines we liked very much, yet on the whole the 2007s left me unexcited. Stylistically, they presented Châteauneuf’s too-friendly side. Châteauneuf is always a big wine, but these wines were huge — full of lush, opulent fruit with powerful, jammy flavors.
If you like fruit-bomb wines, you will love …
I think I’ve lived too long in France because when I saw this ad booklet from a supermarket chain, everything looked fine, nothing out of the ordinary. No French person would find anything unusual about it except my sweetie.
Click on the image to enlarge it
He screams, “foire au gras! foire au gras!” Me looking at the ad, “et alors?” (So?) He continues, “for your blog!” Me: “It’s just an ad.” Him: “Yeeessss, but it’s GLORIFYING fat. Does that not seem blogworthy?” Me: “Fat is good, though.” Him: “They’d never celebrate and dedicate the virtues of FAT for FIVE pages in an American food ad, EVARRRR. Let alone sell tubs of fat, which they’re doing here.” Me: “Oh yeah.”
From the cult of mac:
Apple today opened the first of a series of stores planned for Paris. The first, located near the famous Louvre art museum, coincided with the release of the Musee du Louvre iPhone app showcasing among other exhibits, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
The Paris store, first reported in 2008, includes a 7,700-square foot two-story layout with diamond-shaped windows.
Apple will quickly open a series of stores in France, including a location in Montpellier in the southern portion of the country. By the summer of 2010, the Cupertino, Calif. company hopes to open its third location in France, near the Garnier opera house.
Ron Johnson, an Apple retail senior vice president, said France could witness the fastest growth of the company’s chain of stores.
Evian releases a limited edition bottle annually, and this year’s contribution is from British designer Paul Smith. I like the colorful and light-hearted edition with five different color bottle caps, and I definitely appreciate that it’s not plastic.
The bottles are not available to purchase at the moment but will be during the holidays.
Paul Smith for Evian – video.
Although I don’t know when they were ever in, the timeless designed Palladium Boots are apparently back! In 1947 the legendary Pampa boot was born, and the functionality, comfort and durability were so outstanding that the French Foreign Legion adopted it for their use. The Foreign Legion put the boot to the test in the harsh desert conditions of North Africa, and throughout the rugged terrain of the Atlas Mountains.
Palladium Boots $50 – $70
From the latimes:
I’d seen pictures of this oddly unsettling Barbie Foosball (a.k.a. table soccer) table floating around the Internet for months, but figured theChloé Ruchon designed “Barbie-Foot” — the game is called “babyfoot” in France — was just a one-off piece of art created for the doll’s 50th birthday.
Then, just this morning, I received an e-mail informing me that: 1) said table is part of the current window installation at Colette in Paris, and 2) a supply of just nine of these limited-edition Barbie torture devices, manufactured by Bonzini, a French company that’s been making such contraptions since 1936, and are available through the store (though, as of this posting, I couldn’t find an online link to purchase the table).
The real kicker isn’t anywhere on the table, though — it’s the price tag. The perfect accessory for your Barbie Dream House will set you back a cool 10,000 euros. At current exchange rates that works out to just over $654 per player.
Take that, G.I. Joe.
– Adam Tschorn
From wired:
“1693: Champagne is said to have been invented on this day by Dom Pierre Pérignon, a French monk. It almost certainly isn’t true.
Because Dom Pérignon lived at the Benedictine abbey in Hautvillers at the time of his “invention,” the village in France’s Champagne region, not far from Èpernay, is generally regarded as the birthplace of the bubbly.
But like many historical claims, the night they invented champagne appears more …”
Related: The Making of French Champagne, Radioactive French Champagne
Small grater for Eiffel Tower-ophiles! Measurements: 6″H x 3-1/2″W.
Related: Eiffel Tower Sugar Cubes, Eiffel Tower Necklace, Eiffel Tower Stockings
There are few things more fun than wandering around toy stores in France to see what they have here that they don’t have in the U.S. In most cases, however, I find few original French games; I suppose it’s much easier to sell games that are translated rather than creating new ones, but that is okay, and even fun, too. Here’s the ever popular board game, “Operation.” Remember that one? I do. I love what the French called it: “Docteur Maboul.” Docteur Maboul means Doctor Crazy (and crazy doctor). It’s not funny but it cracks me up for some stupid reason.
With the most famous landmark in Paris as his muse, designer Alexander McQueen, reinvents the Eiffel Tower to put a new spin on women’s apparel. The leggings cost 85 euros, the matching top is 125 euros.
Sugar purses!
A sugar company doesn’t usually, for any particular reason, merit much attention but Belle de Sucre is so very different. Their various forms and sculptures, are truly works of art and are boundlessly creative and playful, perfect for weddings, promotional items, food photos, theme parties, fashion runways, even to put a little fun and color in daily life. The assortment and craftsmanship of their sugar is so absolutely mind-bogglingly enormous. I just love these works. (no, I don’t work for them!)
Promotional company sugar
Companies are always looking for fun promotional knick-knacks. These are just that and functional, too.
Sugar necklace
These brilliant necklaces might not be very easily wearable but they will attract attention.
Window Display
Dazzling window displays for stores. Who wouldn’t want their windows dressed in sugar?
Paris Landmarks and Monuments
These are adorable and tiny Eiffel Towers, Arch de Triumphs, and Pantheons, and might be perfect for Paris B&Bs and for unusual souvenirs for tea drinkers!
The fun button sugars would be so excellent for a party of fashion designers.
Do you spoon?
Aren’t these cute?! I can just see them in Bea’s photos.
From appletell:
“Apple is extending its European reach by confirming the opening of two retail stores in France. One of these we’ve known about for a while, and will be situated in Paris. The other is more of a surprise, as Apple has chosen Montepellier, found on the south coast, as its second store location according to ifoAppleStore.
The exact location of the Paris store has been confirmed as being inside the underground shopping mall, Carousel de Louvre. Apple have gained about 7,700 square feet of floor space from the two previous stores that occupied this space, Lalique and Résonance. Design and construction of this new site has already begun, according to local people around the area, and it’s quite possible they’ll be following the new plans for Apple’s retail stores.
The second location, in Montepellier, has not yet been confirmed. Montepellier has its own university, and we all know how much students like Apple products, whether their student loans can afford them or not. Place de la Comédie, the city-centre features many elegant buildings, that you could see with an backlit Apple logo above the flush glass front.
It is expected that both of these stores will be open at some point over the summer. Whichever is the first one with its doors open will be the first Apple store in France.” [source]
Santa Monica California-based artist, Eva/Effunia, makes the most adorable custom-made mushroom plushies ever. This one is called Le Champignon Jean-Michel, who sports a removable painter’s palette, paint brush and beret, with a requisite black and white striped shirt. The moustache is perfect. The polka dotted head is brilliant and reminiscent of the mushrooms in Mario games. This French mushroom’s favorite colors are red, blue and white and his favorite drink is a cafe au lait. His favorite expression? C’est la vie!
Mignon!
This is only one of many cute plushes she’s made. You can order from her directly from her Etsy store. Her blog is here.
From kotaku:
“Just as researchers in Scotland say Brain Age works, researchers in France say it doesn’t. According to data from University of Rennes, Brittany, Brain Age failed to show any significant jump in memory.
What’s more, the game apparently made memory worse.
The research had a sample of ten year-old children split into four groups: The first two groups did a seven-week DS memory course, the third group did puzzles with pencil and paper, while the fourth group just went to school as regular. Before and after started each program, the groups did logic tests.
The results? The DS control group did not do significantly better — save for a 19 percent increase in math. (However, the pencil-and-paper group also had the same increase in math, and the just-go-to-school group had a 18 percent increase in math.) However, the pencil-and-paper group showed a 33 percent increase in memorization, while the DS groups did 17 percent worse. The kid who just went to school showed a 20 percent increase.
According to Alain Lieury, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Rennes, “The Nintendo DS is a technological jewel. As a game it’s fine, but it is charlatanism to claim that it is a scientific test… There were few positive effects and they were weak. Dr Kawashima is one of a long list of dream merchants.”
Professor Lieury is publishing his findings in a new book, Stimulate Your Neurones, which is out this month.”
Hmm. Speaking of M&Ms (the other day), they are holding a writing contest where the winner gets the grand prize of a getaway to Paris. Just in time for Valentine’s Day. See details here. But remember not to eat too many M&Ms.
