A in for Andorra's duty free Whisky and other Europe Shopping Tips

Name of Shop: About every other shop


What To Buy: Don't end up with paintstripper

When buying Whisky in Andorra be very careful to see where it is made.

Sometimes bottle can look very "Scottish" with the logo and typeface used but the stuff inside has never been near Scotland in it's life.

The Same applies to other drinks like Gin , but, the the quality is usually not quite so distinguishable from the real stuff.

What To Pay: very variable - don't buy too cheap !

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Theme: Food and Drink

Name of Shop: Various, Euroworld, Europlace etc

Ode to joy...or not as the case may be
As an Englishman it seemed a little strange to me that people would willingly pay to have various bits of clothing or souvenirs emblazoned with the symbols of the European Union. I know we are ?All friends together now? but it still seems somewhat naff to plaster yourself with the symbolism of the armies of faceless eurocrats who run our lives.

If however it appeals to you (you good europeans) then there are a number of shops around the Grand place area and inparticular on rue de Marche aux herbes with names like 'Euroland' or 'Euroshop'.

I also found (if your interested) an interesting website that see certain 'worrying' signals in the choice of symbols made for the E.U. check out their complete claptrap at :

www.inplainsite.org/html/ european_union.html



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Theme: Gifts
Directions: Several shops near the Grand Place

Name of Shop: Various

Now you swing from the chandalier !

Bohemian glass is available all over the country at broadly similar prices.

We found the glassware to be attractive, but not especially different to the thousands of other producers all over the world.

We did however fall for the Chandaliers, which come in both traditional and more modern designs.

At around 300 Euros, a larger one represented extremely good value, and the thing packed down into quite a small space - the way it all fitted together with everything safe certainly put IKEA to shame !


What To Pay: We bought ours in Karlovy Vary. You can also visit the factories there, which may work out a little cheaper.

The shops selling them in Prague were marginally more expensive : probably due to more tourist about and higher costs.

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Theme: Gifts

Name of Shop: Clare Jam Company

All natural ingredients...

The Clare Jam company stands in an idyllic position in a clifftop position a mile or so to the south of Doolin.

The Manufacturing area is not much bigger than a good-sized garage but they make a bewildering variety of very high quality jams. The small attached shop sells them from between 2 Euro 40 a jar and 3 Euro (for the normal sized jamjar)

I especially liked the more unusual flavours such as the Orange marmalade I found with added Poitin (a legal version of Irish Potato moonshine) and spices.

They make great presents.



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Theme: Food and Drink
Phone: 065 7074778
Directions: Look for the sign off the main road to the Cliffs of Moher

Name of Shop: Shervington's

Share one with Fidel and Ernest
Shervington's on High Holborn , London is one of the finest tobacco shops in the world.

They have vast ranges of cigars for sale, including every concievable brand from Cuba. They can be bought individually or boxed. They also stock all the vast paraphanalia that goes along with cigar and pipe smoking.

I'm not a smoker myself, but it was nonetheless very interesting to browse around and purchase presents for friends who do indulge in such disgusting habits.

Quite interestingly, nobody (staff or customers) in the shop appeared to be smoking themselves !

What To Buy: If you are American, then I believe you may facesome kind of penalty if you take Cuban cigars back to the states. If you take the wrapping off, then I can't see how they could trace it.

You have been warned !

What To Pay: From a few quid for individual cigars - up to thousands for rarer boxed sets.

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Theme: Other
Phone: 02074052929
Address: 337/338 High Holborn
Directions: Near to Chancery Lane Tube stop.

Name of Shop: Munper (leather) / Orqidea (pearls)

Factory shops galore - some pearls of wisdom

Factory shops have become one of the main moneyspinners for the Majorcan economy, which is a bit odd as I would have thought there was not a big market for people who want to buy factories.

Seriously though, my resident shopping expert (wife) claimed that the pearls were excellent value at Orquidea, but the next door leather outlet - Munper offered an excellent range but few bargains.

You will find these 'factory outlet' shops all over the Island, and although they mainly cater for the captive coach market, they represent a reasonable way to shop for gifts if you can avoid the coachloads of sheep buying up whatever they get their grubby little mits on.

What To Buy: Peral Earing and chains start from just a few Euro


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Theme: Local Craft
Directions: All over the island, but places like Inca and Montuiri have a several such places, usually located with large car parks on the approach roads to the town.
Website: http://www.balearnet.com/mallorca/whereart.htm

Name of Shop: various

Glug you Gluhwein and get a souvenir !
The Christmas market has been covered in the "must see" section, but it also deserves a mention here.

At the various Gluhwein stalls, you can purchase this very warming brew of mulled wine. They charge about 3 Euros on average, but 1.50 Euro is returned when you take the mug back.

As it makes quite a nice souvenir, many people just hang onto theirs.

If you want to remind yourself of the experience make up your own brew
(see this website for the recipe : http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/beverages/gluhwein1.html), light a couple of candles,put on a few Bratwurst and leave the door of your fridge/freezer open. Enjoy.

What To Buy: As with all markets, some things such as food products, and winter clothes seemed to be good value, whilst other things such a wooden toys and games seemed relatively expensive.


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Theme: Other
Address: Central leipzig

Name of Shop: 'arrods

If you happen to live in the Knightsbridge area then Harrods is a useful little place to stock up on life essential - pate fe foie gras, Buluga Caviar, etc.

Seriously though, Harrods is on may people's 'must see' list, and it is an impressive store. I rememeber an episode of the 'Good life' comedy on the BBC when Margo is asked how she will celebrate Christmas. She replied "Oh, we order it from Harrods and a little man brings in round in a van". That kind of sums up the place it has among a certain section of society,

Within the store itself the Food halls are perhaps the most impressive section with their hanging hames, game, seafood waterfalls and the life. The displays and decor are very impressive.

The Egyptian rooms on the ground floor perhaps remind me more of the type of themeing you would get in an American Theme park, but the hundred of thousands Alfayed spent on them in homage to his homeland provide an impressive backdrop to the business of selling stuff.

Meanwhile, upstairs you will find the much quieter departments where the 'old money' spends its dosh - such as the schoolwear outfitters and a sports department that features polo sticks.

You will also find, on a more poiniant note, a memorial to Alfayed son Dodi and Princess Diana at the base of the Egyptian escalators.

Europe A-Z



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Theme: Department Store
Address: brompton road kensington
Directions: kensington tube stop
Website: www.harrods.com

Name of Shop: IKEA - Land of Viking prepacks

Free bus to hell........(for some)

IKEA's are the same the world over. The same flat-packed 'Billy' bookcases hold up millions of books all over the world, and scatter milllions of books when they collapse precisely one month after the guarantee runs out.

On a lighter note, did you know that it is estimated that 10% of all Europeans are conceived in an IKEA bed ?

Oslo has two of these furniture / furnishings behemoths on opposite sides of the city.

Usefully they operate free buses (with plenty of storage room if you choose to buy half-a-dozen Billy's in one go) from the centre of town.

They leave every half-hour to one store or the other (as if it made a difference) from a stop just along from the central rail station (the last one facing the Hotel Opera)

What To Buy: Give Billy a home

What To Pay: Cheap as chips

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Theme: Home Furnishing
Website: www.ikea.com

Name of Shop: Benjamin Pollocks Toy Shop, London

A interesting shop in Covent Garden...

Covent garden has been pretty much taken over by the faceless chains like the Body shop and Monsoon these days, but a few interesting places remain.

This shop is an offshoot of the main Toy Museum and shop (near the British Museum) and is quite cramped, having only a couple of upstairs rooms to display its' wares.

The company is most famous for producing toy cardboard theatres, with full plays, scenery and cardboard actors to stage your own productions.They are beautiful pieces, but I suspect most are just put on show in customers houses rather than actually being used these days. Playstations and DVD's just seem to win out these days !

There is also a good selection of books, Cards, Punch & Judy and Commedia dell'arte, Optical Toys and Visual Illusions, Dolls and Paper Dolls, Nativity Scenes & Miniatures and Tin Flats, Paper Gifts and other unusual Toys.

Adults will love the memories the place will engender, and kids will just love it anyway, even if there are no Ninja Turtles, or Lara Croft branded products to be found.

What To Buy: A good souvenir is to get one of the theatres based on an historic London performing Venue.

What To Pay: From a few quid up. A basic Theatre will be about 12 pounds.

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Theme: Toys and Games
Address: Covent Garden