I would love some suggestions of souvenirs to bring back home from our Nice trip for teachers, school friends, etc. They%26#39;d need to be inexpensive and easy to pack, and pretty hardy since we can%26#39;t take things (like mustards or jams etc) in our carryons anymore. Perhaps some vials of sand would be allowed? Is there some spice or linen or toy that we could be on the lookout for that would be good?
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I bring friends some placemats and other fabric items in those lovely Provençal colors and prints, including the baskets that are flat but when tied up with their ribbons turn into quite a nice holder for bread rolls and such. Lavender products also travel well: sachets, wands, and soaps are always welcomed by our friends. Lastly, packets of Herbes de Provence are great for cooks.
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Greetings moonstruck,
A very unique, and functional souvenir could be an olive dish which has three sections in it. One that holds the olives,(nicoise of course), one that holds toothpicks, and one that is for pit disposal. They are sold in almost all of the ceramic shops in the old town, and cost about 6 Euros, for a convenient size dish. Usually the individual sections are designated in French. There are also other gifts in these shops, but I have always found that the olive dishes, always well received. They are also easily packed. Enjoy!
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We always bring back one %26quot;Santon%26quot; from every trip to the south of France. Santons are hand-made eartheware figurines that are traditionally used to decorate Nativity creches in Provence. They come in a vast array of designs, religious and Biblical figures of course, but also Provencal village and country folk in traditional costume — shepherds and shepherdesses, bakers, gypsies, housewives, priests, the mayor and so on, as well as animals. They are made in various sizes, from little over an inch high to seven or eight inches or even more, small simple ones costing a few €€, large and elaborate ones as much as 100€ or more.
Here%26#39;s the site of one of the most famous makers http://www.santonsmarcelcarbonel.com/ but since even its (patially) English language site is not easy to navigate, here is another direct link to a page of images from another maker http://tinyurl.com/s4yec
In Provence people build amazingly elaborate creches using these figurines. I%26#39;ve seen them in churches with running water in the stream flowing past the village and a real miniature fountain in the village square, even a working clock in the village church that chimes the hours and lighting effects that take you through the whole cycle of a day and night.
Over the years we have amassed quite a collection, and we only bring them out at Christmas. They are a lovely reminder of the warmth and sunshine of Provence in the middle of a cold Ohio winter — and provoke great nostalgic reminiscences as we try to recall which one we brought back fromt which village on which trip...
Candies — you can find candies which look uncannily like small pebbles from the beach at Nice (I%26#39;ve forgotten the name for the moment), or the delicious almond candies from Aix-en-Provence called Calissons.
Otherwise various small things made of Provencal fabrics. or useful and/or decorative items made from olive wood or from one of the many local potteries all make great gifts.
No end of choices really...
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Hello, I like all of those ideas above. I found this on-line shop in Provence which will give you a few more ideas plus photographs of the items that will be worth looking out for in Nice:
www.provence-online-shopping.com/index.htm
It will give you some idea of price too.
I quite like the garlic grater; a smalll ceramic saucer with a rough bits in the centre, quick and easy way to grate garlic and it is decorated in provencal colours etc.
A good set of roads to hunt for presents is to work your way along the Old Town starting from Palais de Justice and head up rue du marche, rue de la boucherie, ruedu collet, rue st francis and rue du pairoliere; they all lead into one another and finish at Place Garibaldi. You will find everything you need along these roads.
For a free present, then one of the famous %26#39;galets%26#39; or pebbles from the Nice beaches makes a good paperweight. My daughter decorated one with her felt tips and I varnished it with clear nail polish, it%26#39;s one of my most treasured items. This was before I read in the papers this year that it is forbidden to remove pebbles from the beach, whoops. I wasn%26#39;t the only one though; I saw this postcard with the same idea:
http://www.allaboutnice.com/galetdenice.jpg
best wishes
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Howdy IrisRovr,
I also considered recommending the Santon Figurines, as I bring one home on almost every trip, but there were two deterrents as to why I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d suggest them, as great as they are. First, moonstruck mentioned the fact that the souvenir be inexpensive, and as you know, they are far from cheap. A 9%26quot; crafted doll might cost about 60 Euros, and that doesn%26#39;t seem in the budget. Also, with the new security at the airports, and the delicateness of the figurines, I would be concerned with them being damaged, no matter how they were packed. What are your thoughts, old wise one, without a baseball team this year?!!
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O funksterious one...
To address the most important issue first, this is a football city, not a baseball city*...
As for the santons, as you know they come in many sizes, right down to a couple of inches tall. The smaller ones — 3 to 4 inches even — are quite affordable, IMO. I gave a range of prices in my earlier post. I%26#39;ve not had any concerns with this size in checked or carry-on luggage, and they haven%26#39;t always been very well wrapped either. (But then I%26#39;ve been known to bring home wine glasses in checked baggage with less than perfect packing and no breakage...) I think the larger figurines are probably more delicate than the smaller ones, simply because they tend to be more elaborate.
*A coule of months from now we will have transmogrified seamlessly into a basketball city again...
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O Wild Irishrovr,
That%26#39;s true, they do have those rather miniscule Santon figurines, but even they are kind of pricey. I remember trying to take home one that was 5%26#39;7%26quot;, and had a hell of a job getting her in my luggage. I can still hear her screaming. Seriously though, they are great souvenirs.
By the way, I hope Kellen Winslow can catch balls better than he rides motorcycles. You can always look forward to Lebron, when the season starts. Have a good one!
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The inexpensive/easy to pack thing suggests fridge magnets, Provencal fabric and soap items, lavender items, Les Olivades has great shakers of herbed salts,soaps, olive oils, my friends loved the packets of Herbes de Provence. The little ceramic graters are sweet but might be heavy and fragile.Olive wood items such as %26quot;salad hands%26quot; or knives are lovely.Oil and vinegar cruets. Carry bags and purses made with Provencal fabric (some shops have huge prices on these so shop around, local markets are fabulous for napkins, placemats etc)
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Someone already mentioned the locally made soaps. I got a huge cake of olive oil soap for about 4 euro last year. But the souvenir that I still frequently use is a large plasticized shopping bag from Carrefours. I saw someone with one and thought it was so nice. Imagine my surprise to find one in Carrefours for less than 3 euro. Sone of them have a separate pocket/s for bottles. This meets your requirements: inexpensive, study, light weight. Plus its really useful. Have fun shopping.
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