Pau Shopping

Chuckle... I realise Pau is described as a very English city, but I didn't expect to see a shop filled to the brim with British food :-)

The Little London Larder opened in 2006 and is run by a friendly and knowledgable French lady. She previously lived in London selling typical French food!!

You will find all the 'home comforts' from Britain here - baked beans, Marmite, curry paste, Jaffa Cakes, Newcastle Brown, Liquorice Allsorts, Cheddar Cheese, tinned haggis etc. etc. The prices are all at a premium, but allegedly still less than the big French supermarkets. And all lovingly procured and transported from the UK.

As a concession to Englishness there are a couple of small tables with lace tablecloths ;-)

Open Tuesday to Saturday. Let's hope it survives its first year!!

*BAD NEWS! TLLL succumbed to the high exchange rate of the British £ and has closed*

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This is essentially a mall, and there is nothing that really makes it special or unique when compared with other shopping centres. The thing is that this is the best place to go for decent priced goods that are name brand, and also a good place to go for coffee or food where you needn't fear falling into a tourist trap. Here you will find SFR, FNAC, Sephora and a few women's clothing stores.

What to buy: Pretty much the standard goods you would expect at the stores listed above.

What to pay: Standard retail prices

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When I visited the place with my boys late afternoon, the workshop was about to close, and we only could see few activity there. One of the workers was still busy with chocolate (First picture), but nearby were lots of racks laden with the famous “coucougnettes”, where I learned they were dried with ventilators. . . . . Other parts of the workshop were already deserted (picture 3) and only people were busy at packaging, near the shop in a nicely decorated room (picture 4). After a free tasting session (the kids love free tasting!), we went through the shop, and found back the huge copper buckets which welcomed us when we arrived. . . . .
This was only virtual for you reader, but I can ensure it is worth for the eyes and the palate in real!
Monday-Saturday 10:00 to 12:00 and 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Shop open till 6:00pm
visit: one hour and 30 mn
Entrance:
Adults : 4.60€
Children (less than 12 Y) : 3€

What to buy: COUCOUGNETTES, CHOCOLATE, OTHER SWEETS AND CANDIES....

What to pay: Expensive. . . .

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Like in a technical museum you can see tools, metals, raw material, but then you also see the result of how they are used (well, the modern version of the tools), and what they produce with the skills of the creators and workers. There are two sorts of creations, basically: unique productions, which are only for display there, and the products you can buy; of course, there is a shop and all products so well displayed can only appeal for a bit of shopping after the visit of the museum and workshop.
On the main picture is the raw material I like so much when it is well processed. . . . sugar cane and cocoa. . . . in the museum you may see a giant chocolate elephant (second picture), as a tribute to the cocoa growers, and more “exotic” creations like this 4 metres high centre piece (picture 3) made with sculptured white chocolate featuring little angels, sirens, flowers. . . ((picture 4) and a very incredible white chocolate sculpture ordered by the court of England as a tribute to Lady Di (picture 5)! So, we walked through the museum, but still dit not see where all these things are fabricated. . . .
Monday-Saturday 10:00 to 12:00 and 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Shop open till 6:00pm
visit: one hour and 30 mn
Entrance:
Adults : 4.60€
Children (less than 12 Y) : 3€

What to buy: CANDIES AND CHOCOLATE. . . AND COUCOUGNETTES

What to pay: Expensive, but worth it!

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The gourmand fairy: don’t be afraid your valet slims. . . . your waist will widen inverse proportionally. . . .!
Well, the féerie gourmande is a museum, a sweets workshop, a shop, exactly the place where to take the kids who are fed up with visiting boring “serious” museums, attending cultural events, excited or exhausted by hours and hours sitting at the back of your car, wanting something for them, not only the parents. . . . . . So, take the opportunity to show them how excellent sweets are made, show them the sweets (and their industry) have a history, that there is technology behind the caries providing sweets; they will enjoy, and you too! And, last but not the least, this place is run by Francis Miot, the creator of some world famous award winning sweets, who sometimes is on location to tell the children and adults some funny stories about sweet addicted people. . . . . interesting paradox from this man.
One only tip is not enough to describe and write about that place.
From outside, the place located in a suburb of Pau does not look attracting, except the colours on the façade, but arriving you immediately see the big copper buckets where sweets, jams and jellies were cooked not long ago(main picture).
When you get inside you first visit the museum, quite educative, displaying a number of tools where copper or brass dominates, see displays of sugar pots, can try your taste (the kids like to have confirmation of how sweet or bitter tastes. . . ) at some educative displays, learn about the origin of the base products (sugar, cocoa. . . ) how they are processed, look again at tools, forms, well all you wanted to know about sweets, jams, chocolate, candies and did not know before. . . . . Look for the other pictures to have an idea of what you can see.

What to pay: Expensive, but it is worth!

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In the high Pyrenees valleys (and elsewhere), shepherds stay with their sheep whatever the weather can be, hot, fierce sun or thunderstorms, hail, heavy rain. . . . For this they have an umbrella which is a wonder of local craft industry; this umbrella (le parapluie du berger, it is a trademark) is almost unbreakable, never folds axially because of the wind, can last more than 20 summers in the mountains (then, the shepherds replace the cloth only and ask the craftsman to check if all is well in the mechanical parts), is wide enough to house 3 persons, or one photographer with his equipment on a rainy day, etc, etc. . . An incredibly practical tool. Only one workshop located in Pau still manufactures this sort of umbrella, and if you have umbrella “problems”, whatever the part of the world where you live, if you pass by Pau, I give you that tip: check “le Parapluie du berger” shop in Pau, there may be what you were looking for, since years.

What to buy: There are two types of this umbrella, the one for the shepherds (the real one: parapluie du berger) and the one for the person walking in the mountain to visit him (le campagne, which is mine, in fact), but except the width and the shape of the handle, they are the same: nine wooden stretchers, beech wood grip and axis, heavy solid cotton cloth, steel springs and notches, brass rings. . . etc. . . And the manufacturer claims it also is a lightning rod protecting you from lighting when walking in high mountain exposed to that danger; I must confess, I would not like to try it for that!
A bit heavy, but incredibly efficient, solid and –yes—elegant.
A bit expensive (the campagne model was about 100 Euros, few years ago, the professional one 130 Euros), but think this one has a guaranty for life, and you may use more than ten umbrellas worth 20 Euros within 20 years. . . . not only a good investment (my father in law used to say: cheap is always too expensive!), also something nice and elegant!
And if there is a problem, the umbrella will be repaired at the workshop (euh, if you are overseas. . . ), but cases for repair are very rare.
On the main picture is my umbrella at work with two nice persons in the “Jardin des Plantes” in Paris. I show here a “professional” model in the show window, on the second picture, my umbrella again, in the shop-workshop, on the third picture, a part of the workshop on picture 4 and the shop seen from the street on picture 5.
There are also other sorts of umbrellas on sale in this shop and the Basque walking stick: the Makila, walking stick and weapon, as a dagger or a sword is inside the stick.

What to pay: Expensive, but worth it!

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Josuat , in my opinion makes the best chocolate in Pau and surroundings; well, nothing special or original, just very good chocolate, I could eat and eat and eat! The black pure cocoa chocolate truffles are just to die. There are lots of others, truffles, cherries, and of course one with the Henri IV arms (picture 2).An assortment of chocolates . . . and prices are seen on picture 3
There are two shops in Pau, in the main shopping area.

What to buy: Chocolate, lots . . .
Ask for the black ones, truffles and the orangettes (candied orange skin coated with black chocolate)

What to pay: Average to expensive : look at prices in the picture

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Le Russe, (the Russian) is a famous pastry, “native” from Oloron Ste Marie, a city located 30 km South West of Pau. Not easy to describe, but rather easy to eat! First of all it has nothing to do with Russia (except may be the flat shape with white iced sugar reminding the flat Russian plains with snow. . . ); this flat creamy cake of rectangular shape is essentially made of almonds, almond cream, and . . . (? ? ? very well kept secret!); I just can tell that if you do not order, or come at the shop quite early, you will not get your “Russe”; this cake is wonderful at desert with a sweet Jurançon wine, but you can have small pieces to take away at the shop; Artigarrede also produces chocolate candies and other sweets.
The shop is located Rue Gassion, crossing the western end of Rue Henri IV, close to the Chateau. The main picture shows the typical box for the Russe, picture 2 shows the shop and you can see samples of cakes on picture 3. Other sweets on picture 4.

What to buy: Le Russe is a speciallity originaly from Oloron Ste Marie, in Southern Bearn:
Maison ARTIGARREDE
Oloron Ste Marie: 1 place de la cathédrale - Avenue Tristan Derême - 3 place Amédé Gabe
05 59 39 01 38
it is a flat creamy cake made essentially with almonds, but it has a real special taste, a very very little bit smoky, which gives this cake its character.
It is sold from individual parts to 12 persons cakes.
Other pastries and sweets.

What to pay: Expensive, but wonderful !