Parislog 70
October 11, 2006

Thank you Flocon! I found the earplugs that have solved my sleeping nightmare. I searched everywhere and finally found them at the pharmacy.

The pharmacy has everything. The pharmacy is a little slice of heaven but I never think about it because it doesn’t match what my brain thinks about when looking for something. To me a pharmacy is the place one goes to get all those things that the doctor prescribes and the big, got it all drugstore is where you go to get everything else.

If you are in Paris, even though the pharmacy is the size of a shoebox, it is still the place to go for it all. You just have to ask for it because most everything is hidden behind the counter somewhere. The stuff out front is just a bunch of cellulite removers and lotions. I exaggerate. Sort of.

When I want the progesterone cream, it was behind the counter. When I wanted dental floss that was waxed, it was behind the counter. The only type available at the grocery store/ department store was un-waxed on the spool or un-waxed bayonets. When I wanted earplugs that wouldn’t hurt and would block the sound, that’s right, behind the counter at the pharmacy. I bought others at the BHV, huge store that has everything, but they were making my ears sore and swollen every night. I would wake up because of the pain and then I couldn’t sleep because of the noise after removing them.

The trick of the pharmacy here is to ask for everything. You either need to know a local brand name or know the latin root for the problem you want solved. Then make sure to pronounce it with a French accent. Failing that write it down and they might be able to figure out what you are referring to.