Hannala's Profile

*dies*

This looks amazing. As in, worth hunting down molasses here in France. Thanks!

I actually have been considering getting one. It may seem silly if you just make a small batch of cupcakes occassionally, but I tend to make them for bake sales and friends' parties so not having to ladle (and not having the ladle drip on the edge of the paper - which is always a problem no matter how careful I am) gets to be much slower and definitely more messy.

Also, how does an ice cream scoop work on pancake or cupcake batters (both are runny)? I do use one for cookie batter, which is a stiff dough that wouldn't go through one of these anyways.

Anyways, I think it depends on how frequently you make cupcakes/muffins/pancakes and in what quantities. Everyone has a tool that makes cooking/baking faster/easier/more fun for their individual needs.

As to other uses - anything that is runny and needs to be poured into multiple containers. Melted chocolate into moulds, for example, or filling verrines (little glass cups filled with layers) which require precision so that they don't look sloppy.

Paris' water is such a new degree of hard water that we've debated calling it something else entirely. Unfortunately diamond water just sounds too flashy for something so frustrating.

Baking soda (bicarbonate de soude) and white vinegar down the drain regularly does help, and they're both cheap & easy to find (if you're having trouble finding baking soda, it is sometimes in the cleaning aisle at grocery stores, although Monoprix has it next to the salt).

If drains get really bad or if it seems that whatever buildup is not being handled by the baking soda/vinegar then I pour a bit of washing soda (cristaux de soude - found in some small hardward stores and possibly the cleaning supply section of BHV).

For those of you suggesting water softening systems for the whole building, you obviously don't live in Paris. 1) it would likely take 2 yrs for the syndic to agree to have it installed and 2) that would only happen if the it were all paid for by the person proposing it - at what would likely be 5x the cost of having it done in the US. Having it installed just for the apartment is unlikely due to lack of space (water heaters are often visible either in the kitchen or bathroom as there's no space to hide them away for example), unless you're in a more modern building. Of course, you just never know until you try. You can find water softening equipment at Leroy Merlin or Castorama if you want to check it out.

Just a note, from a Californian who moved to Paris three years ago with nothing and has decorated/furnished an apartment from scratch: BHV is fantastic for many things, but sometimes the prices are significantly higher than other stores. Also, there actually ARE other Home Depot type stores IN Paris: Leroy Merlin & Castorama (not to be confused with horrible Conforama).

I have found BHV to be great for things like good quality paint (and yes, the staff in the paint department is awful) and wallpapers, specialty wood products (bamboo poles) and random projects that require odd little pieces. Their small appliances, plumbling supplies, kitchen supplies and bathroom furnishings are generally way overpriced - for those, I go to Leroy Merlin (it's near the Pompidou Center).

For little things that can be packed in a suitcase, there's some cool home decor/design shops near the Marché Enfants Rouges in the Marais and Lafayette Home (multiple floors in a modern space near the Printemps and the other Lafayette stores)

Oh, and Samaritaine has been closed since 2005.

Teflon is definitely here in France at the very least (there's even a Teflon Europe website http://www.tefloneu.com/cat.asp?c=100185) Maybe more so than the US. Not sure if they're actually Teflon, but definitely NOT just ceramic - they're all just like the awful non-stick pans that I hated back in the US.

After living in France for the last two + years, I've eaten a lot of cassoulet. The Julia Child recipe, while time consuming, is fantastic, although my French friends debate the addition of tomato paste (apparently, it's a Toulouse thing to add the tomato). I usually omit it now and have been happy with the results.

I can't say if the canned or jarred versions are "good" (never been tempted to try) but you do see them in many shops, both high and low end. The French don't really cook often nowadays, so I wouldn't be surprised if they generally use pre-made cassoulet (although, they'd likely serve something from Picard to guests as cassoulet is not considered very fancy).

O M G - drewparadise, that map is awesome!

I live in Paris and I thought that I'd read, seen & heard everything about everywhere to go, but this is AMAZING. Bookmarked!

Glad you went to Berko (cupcakes and cheesecakes for homesick Americans) and Krishnabhavan is perhaps my favorite new Indian place in the city.

I have some suggestions not listed above, but will have to post later

I moved from SF to Paris a couple of years ago and while much of the info in Sarah's post is helpful for international moves (esp. thoughtful purging - I checked replacement prices on French sites before getting rid of most things, although forgot to check the price of ironing boards - if I'd know they were so expensive here, I would have shipped my old reliable one!), there are some specific things to consider.

Regarding moving companies - most important is to use a company that does the packing, shipping and delivery and does NOT outsource any of the steps. They're way more expensive (Meridian is one - they were fantastic about providing info and coming to make a quote but way out of our budget). The issue w/ companies that outsource is if there is a problem (and there almost always is a problem) each party - outsourcer, packer, shipper, deliverer - can deny responsibility.

Another thing with movers for US to France is to see if you can find a company that ships to the UK first and then drives it to you in France. It may take a bit longer, but you'll save on import taxes & fees that way.

The time of year you move is also very important - Summer is much more popular, so if your dates are flexible (which they often are - you can generally get by w/out your stuff for a few weeks) ask the moving company for prices for a few different dates. It's often possible to have your things packed and held in storage either before or after shipping abroad. Ask about storage prices, as they very greatly company to company.

If you don't have much stuff, it can get really expensive to ship (half containers are more expensive than full containers). If you don't ship furniture, there's a company called U-pack, We-ship that I found good reviews for when researching our move. Do not use UPS or FedEx b/c they're wildly expensive for international and delivery here in France is very unreliable.

As for your paintings (and other valuable, irreplaceable items) - take as a carry on whatever you can if at all possible. I'd even consider keeping things in storage and bringing them over bit by bit if you're going to be going back and forth a bit. Shipping things in a container is really hard on your belongings - the handling is much rougher than a truck move and then there's the corrosive factor of being at sea. Good packing can limit these factors, so you'll have to weigh doing it yourself but then taking full responsibility for the item or trusting the moving company to do it properly.

Photograph and catalog everything before it's packed & shipped in case of damage or loss. Also overestimate when buying the moving insurance.

One small correction: Musée du Quai Branly actually has arts from all over the world (not just Oceana) - I definitely recommend a visit, especially in the evening when you can enjoy the illuminations in the garden.

Also, don't forget the following in some lesser visited areas and arrondisments:

5th: Institut du Monde Arabe - designed by Jean Nouvel in 1981. One of my personal favorites.

8th: There's the Citroën showroom on Champs Elysées

13th:
Bibliothèque Nationale de France (aka Bibliothèque François Mitterand) (although many don't love it, I've heard it's lovely at night)
Cité de la Mode et du Design (lovely when seen from the Seine at night)

Additionally, there are also some interesting modern design to be found in the following parks: Parc de Bercy, Parc de la Villette and Parc André Citroën.

Finally, there's the renovation of the Forum des Halles
(and the park next to it) which is scheduled to be completed in 2012. There's the potential for awesome in a space that is currently a fine example of what not to do.

What I've really enjoyed since moving to Paris, is that there are little bits of modernity mixed in with all of the older 17th, 18th & 19th century buildings and spaces. The pillars at Palais Royal for example, or the sculpture "L'Ecoute" by Henri de Miller in front of Saint Eustache.

There's a show here in France called C'est du Propre! (It's Clean!) that might be like "How Clean is This House" where two French ladies help someone with a messy & filthy (really filthy) apartment/house get clean and organized. Then they come back later to see if the person was able to maintain it (here they often do, at least to a reasonable extent).

What I love about the show is that they show how to clean things that I didn't encounter until moving to France (tomettes, plaster of paris walls, 17th century exposes beans) and they tend to prefer non-toxic and/or low fume cleaning options - lots of baking soda & white vinegar, savon noire and sodium carbonate (washing soda).