Traveling to France and Spain Next Month: What Should I See and Buy?
On Topic
First, what should I see? Are there any wet-shaving shops or related shops that I absolutely must visit?
Second, what should I buy? I'm setting my budget at $150. I've read good things about Martin de Candre and Le Père Lucien soaps. So I'd definitely like to pick up one of those. Is it better to go with Martin de Candre if I have to choose? Are there any other products I should be looking for?
Also, if there are any non-shaving related shops or places you recommend visiting, I'd love to hear suggestions. My interests are far and wide, any and all recommendations are welcome.
Random Anecdote
I remember going to an absinthe shop called Vert d'Absinthe when I was last in Paris in 2009. It was an unforgettable experience. The shop's website had a video of the owner in a fine suit carefully explaining the characteristics of absinthe and the proper way to prepare it. Beethoven played in the background.
On the way to the shop, my brother and I joked that he would become enraged and smash bottles and glasses before throwing us out because we failed to meet his standards of connoisseurship. So imagine the look on our faces when we entered his shop and heard the B-52s and saw him wearing checkered pants and a t-shirt while drinking absinthe with an attractive tattooed woman wearing a tank top and jeans.
We then told him, in poor French, that we had never tasted absinthe. First, he began speaking in more or less perfect English. What a relief! And then he proceeded to prepare two full glasses of absinthe for each of us. As we were drinking, he gave us the most captivating crash course on absinthe—explaining its preparation and allure—and asked us about our taste preferences and what our budget was.
It was still early in the afternoon. We left with two bottles and Paris looked even more dazzling and lively with the green fairy flying by our side (and through our bloodstreams).
