No, You Can’t Get Everything on the Internet

In today’s world, it feels like you can literally buy anything you want with a quick click of your mouse. When I was a kid, I remember how special it was when one of my parents’ friends would come back from a trip to Europe and bring milk chocolate that tasted better than anything we could buy here in the U.S.

But now you can just go online and click, and it’s delivered in a day or two. Right?

Not necessarily.

I’ve discovered a couple of things in my recent trips to Paris that, unfortunately, I can’t get here, which means I either need to buy in bulk next time, or get back to France soon!

1) Ricore au Lait

Ricore is an instant coffee drink that you mix with milk or water. It is a blend of 40% coffee, 60% chicory. It is smooth and creamy tasting, and has almost no caffeine, so I find it to be a perfect hot beverage at 4:00 in the afternoon. I’ve been a fan for a long time, but only recently discovered the variation pictured here: that is, Ricore with the milk already mixed in, so all you need is boiling water. This makes it possible to have almost anywhere without the hassle of having fresh milk on hand.

So when I ran out, I of course just went online to buy more, but it’s not available– at least not in this version. All I could find was regular Ricore (which is better than nothing, for sure, but I’ve now been spoiled).

2) Ariake Bouillon

If you’ve never had Ariake Bouillion, (bullion in English) you do not know what you are missing. There are several varieties and I can tell you, they are delicious. The chicken bullion actually tastes like chicken stock from a roasted bird, not something that tastes vaguely of poultry. The vegetable bullion actually tastes like the vegetables it contains (carrots, celery). I’ve used up all of my chicken and vegetable versions, so now I have this one– shellfish, to try (not as many recipes come to mind as for the other ones, but I’ll figure it out). So I went on the trusty Internet to buy more and it turns out it’s not available in the US. I even tried fooling it and went to Amazon.fr, and it was available there, but it said it was “not deliverable to the US.”

3) Aesop Hand Soap- Good news! You CAN get this one!

My girlfriends and I were at a restaurant in Paris, and the restroom had this hand soap in it, which smells heavenly, and also includes finely milled Pumice which exfoliates while you are cleaning your hands, leaving your hands smooth as silk. As I was fretting about how I was going to bring this home, I found out that it is available on line and also, luckily for me, there is a physical store close by in Georgetown. So here is a product you CAN get in the US! The one negative is that if you do not happen to live near a physical store, you won’t be able to smell the products (amazing), try them out, or ask one of their very helpful salespeople which product is best for your skin. They are expensive, but I think they are worth the splurge.

Anybody going to Paris soon with extra room in their bag?