42 Comments
User's avatar
Kim Del Rance's avatar

Ha ha, panties in a knot. love it.

Bret's Potato Chips )of Bretagne-Brittany!) are my favorite now and my mom's cousin is Herr's Potato chips so we know our chips. These are awesome! Miel et Moutard (Honey and Mustard) is my absolute fav.

I noticed the Philadelphia Cream Cheese here is a slightly different recipe (due to rejected ingredients?) and isn't as tasty, little more bland. I never even like bleu cheese/Roquefort until I tried it here--delicious!

I had your same panty twist recently and found some absolutely nice soft cotton in...Intermarche! (grocery store).

But...is there a substitute for Goo Gone? Absolutely need it to remove sharpies and adhesives from everything. I may have to have a visitor bring some from the US next time over!

Daniel Burgoyne's avatar

2 tsp of baking soda and 1 tsp of oil to remove glue and adhesives.

Isopropyl alcohol for Sharpie.

Theresa Conroy's avatar

I found Goo Be Gone here. I think it was from French Amazon.

Bette Shifman's avatar

Ok - I’ll definitely need that curly hair product link when I get there!

Diane Evans's avatar

Me too! I'm here and have tried a couple but am always up for suggestions 😊

Theresa Conroy's avatar

I LOVE Pretty Curly Girl products, from The Netherlands. I've also been happy getting products from LookFantastic.fr.

Theresa Conroy's avatar

I LOVE Pretty Curly Girl products, from The Netherlands. I've also been happy getting products from LookFantastic.fr.

Pamela Clapp's avatar

Also a fan of Typology, Bret’s and Madame Loïk (kids love it, too!)

Cynthia's avatar

Great way to look at things. But I have to admit, when my sister came to visit this week, we had her bring our favorite toothpaste, fiber supplements and my SkinMedia brand skin care products. I know France has good skin products, but I've been using for SM for over 25+ years. I'm 64 years old, and recently I had a medical procedure and while the anesthesiologist(slash reanimator...that cracks me up) asked me before she put me under, what I did for my skin to keep my skin looking so good. Botox? she asked. I said no - topical Vit C, SkinMedia serum, and sunscreen. EVERY. DAY.

Theresa Conroy's avatar

I wish I had tried SkinMedia. It sounds wonderful.

Avram Butch Kaplan's avatar

Very Smart Choices - Embrace Your Locale !!

elle's avatar

I do miss my wild Alaskan salmon. I am skeptical of the one I claim to be in Picard.🤔

I've seen the fish farms in Norway where they wear hazmat suits. No thanks.

Le Simple Sudiste's avatar

Man socks, underwear, sheets, towels. All sooo expensive on this side. Then there are the problems I have of being a giant compared to the French men. I can never find my size. I’m a 2x in France and a large in America. Size 13 feet in America which is like 47 here I believe. Nearly impossible. Shopping is indeed different over here. :)

Theresa Conroy's avatar

I have been complaining about the insult of clothing sizes here. I mean, my bra size is in triple digits!

Le Simple Sudiste's avatar

Had to buy a cute little Speedo for the pool of course. Bought an xl. Thought certainly that will fit or at least stretch. Nope. Sent back for an xxl size. Ridiculous. I bought xxl underwear thinking okay I’m safe. Nope. Too big. Had to buy xl. It’s a guessing game over here.

Signe Wilkinson's avatar

Loved the Duralex and most of the other things you

mentioned. Time to go to France. Sigh. Not this week, alas.

Theresa Conroy's avatar

Soon, I hope!

Jim's avatar

We've pretty much converted from American to European brands across the board except for Nyquil and Benadryl. For colds and allergies, we have yet to find anything comparable.

In Spain, Philadelphia Brand cream cheese is considered a near delicacy. Often, we've heard wine experts discuss what pairs best with "Philly."

We're still trying to locate the perfect artificial, pre-lit Christmas tree. The Spaniards aren't really into Christmas trees and the ones for sale we've seen in Barcelona leave a lot to be desired. We had a gorgeous Balsam Hill in the US but sadly, their French outlet does not ship to Spain. If anyone has any ideas (please, not Amazon or Shein) we'd be grateful. Maybe a trip to Strasbourg is in order.

Theresa Conroy's avatar

We bought a small, sparse lit tree for the years we were traveling close to Christmas. It’s only about 4ft tall but I can try to dig up the brand if that will do. I am picturing the larger, fuller trees, though.

Jim's avatar

Thanks, Theresa. Our ornaments are still boxed up after 3 years but we really want to display our Gritty ornament!

Theresa Conroy's avatar

A Gritty ornament !! That sounds amazing.

Nancy's avatar

Another great piece, Theresa--and useful, too! Though traveling to different countries is quite different from moving to a foreign country, I actually tend to gravitate to local food products and clothing when in various European countries. The varieties of Walker crisps fascinated me, and I l prefer Yorkshire tea to almost all others and adored Droste cocoa. In DC I often go to Rodman's to buy these brands. In toiletries I would experiment, too. Especially liked visiting the pharmacies in France.

Stephanie Vanderslice's avatar

Has anyone found a European equivalent to Poshmark? I have tried to set up a Vinted account but am having technical difficulties. Is there anything else out there?

From Now to France's avatar

Citadelle gin is actually my budget-friendly go-to! It’s lovely.

Carolyn Smagalski's avatar

It’s heartbreaking to hear there could possibly be a better cream cheese than Philly cream cheese! Ha ha!!

Theresa Conroy's avatar

I also like their flavors: garlic and herb, fig, shallot!

beaux arts's avatar

I really enjoyed the reminder to embrace a new culture by being open like this!

gilenchan's avatar

Great article! We just moved to Pennsylvania and I’m having to make adjustments (though I just replenished my jockey undies) 🤣

Theresa Conroy's avatar

You made the move! Great. I hope you are loving it.

Niculina Mcclanahan's avatar

Good job with integrating into the French lifestyle, that's how one does it! French skincare is good, and I believe that some cleaning chemicals in Europe aren't as toxic as in the USA.

Theresa Conroy's avatar

It is pretty amazing how effective the simplest things are when cleaning. I used to have a cabinet filled with cleaning chemicals.