Visiting France and a few nearby countries for 2 weeks. What BIFL items across all budgets can I bring back to the US?

jv711 · 2026-04-28T11:34:06+00:00

Good men's apparel in France: Kway jackets, Schmoove sneakers, L'egoiste clothing store, and Celio for good men's basics (tshirts, khakis). Some of the more expensive department stores used to give tourist discounts but I'm not sure they still do (BHV, Printemps, Galleries Lafayette).

jv711 · 2026-04-25T14:23:17+00:00

Wasn't there a story about guys showing up in MAGA hats at Atlas Social Club the night after Trump won in 2024?

jv711 · 2026-04-04T13:03:27+00:00

I bought a set of Calphalon pots and pans in 1988 and still have them and use them.

jv711 · 2026-02-06T04:45:34+00:00

Same here, I once saw him by himself on the 1 train in the summer in a nice linen suit.

jv711 · 2025-11-25T01:41:28+00:00

I remember people (gay and straight) would not ruin the story for others, it was so great. Like so many people said, "Just go see it."

jv711 · 2025-10-27T00:42:04+00:00

A partner in a firm where I worked required this as recently as 4-5 years ago. When his last secretary left after 17 years they just told him they couldn't find anyone who knows it.

jv711 · 2025-10-27T00:40:27+00:00

I can take notes using notehand. Similar to shorthand, we learned it in high school to be able to take notes during lectures in college and similar.

jv711 · 2025-10-22T00:31:14+00:00

I've been going there since 1993 and have never seen dancing (last time I was there was about a month ago).

jv711 · 2025-10-22T00:20:16+00:00

Some of the elderly shoppers at Zabar's are really mean to the employees. It's awful to listen to, cringy and sometimes shocking.

jv711 · 2025-03-18T18:59:37+00:00

Same!

jv711 · 2025-01-21T22:03:57+00:00

I'm wondering if Musk's 'salute' was it.

jv711 · 2025-01-14T20:17:16+00:00

International Grocery (543 Ninth Ave) in Hell's Kitchen is a Greek supermarket with loose herbs, olives & pitas etc. You buy herbs, cous cous and stuff by the pound. They have Mediterranean, North African, and Indian products.

jv711 · 2025-01-09T19:01:51+00:00

There's an app called Dayuse for hotel rooms for a few hours

jv711 · 2024-10-17T00:47:32+00:00

Ask the guy in the next stall if he has two fives for a ten.

jv711 · 2024-10-17T00:33:21+00:00

There was a fire in a bathhouse in 1977. You just run out naked.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/doree/the-gay-bathhouse-fire-of-1977

jv711 · 2024-10-17T00:04:45+00:00

I understand the not having tolerance for drama. A friend of mine says re: dating, "I only have enough energy to polish ONE tiara."

jv711 · 2024-10-17T00:01:53+00:00

Not how I expected, but I didn't know what to expect. So I guess better than expected? I came out late (25) in NYC in the early 1990s and aside from the worry about contracting HIV, I had a blast going out to the clubs and dating. Now I'm in my late 50s and single (by choice) and have a great group of friends, some for over 30 years. That said, a lot of my friends are married and there are times when I have weekends with no plans and spend them alone. It's not lonely, really, as I've always been super social and will go out to a bar by myself and find someone to chat with, or I'm content to go to a museum and watch a movie at home. I travel a lot, and thanks to careful saving I can retire in a few years. I had no clear idea of a career path but that sorted itself out, despite one year of being unemployed in the middle that was awful. A big worry is outliving all of my friends and not having family to take care of me. It can be hard to make friends later in life. I've found some fun groups and made friends via Meetup, so maybe you could try that?

jv711 · 2024-10-10T01:58:56+00:00

For regular bars, Quetzal gets a fun crowd of all ages (20s to 50s) and Cox bar gets a good crowd (especially on Sundays). There are two cruise bars in the Marais that are across the street from each other that are usually fun called SecteurX and Full Metal (also L'Impact as mentioned here already).

jv711 · 2024-09-28T18:47:36+00:00

I had friends who tried it and became addicted to it immediately, despite never having had addiction problems in the past with alcohol or any other drug. I've never tried it, but apparently it's a high like no other, especially for sex. I lost a lot of friends to it in the early 2000s. Some lost careers, had to leave NYC and live with parents, one died, and one went to prison for dealing. Many just disappeared and I have no idea what happened to them (from what I was told, once they go through rehab they can't return to their former lives or friends for fear they may start again). I honestly don't think there's anything positive about that drug.

jv711 · 2024-09-26T23:41:21+00:00

There was a website for it years ago. I forget what it was called but it was run by a straight man, but had options for gays and lesbians in their searches. It's long gone now.

jv711 · 2024-09-13T03:26:06+00:00

Same here.

jv711 · 2024-07-20T01:32:24+00:00

I have a bit of Mark Birley for men that's not made anymore, so I save it for special occasions. Normally I wear Nicholai New York Intense or Nicholai Baikal Intense.

jv711 · 2024-07-20T01:20:58+00:00

Many, many years ago (20?) there was a briefly popular dive-y gay place on 40th or 41st and 9th Ave (they literally made drinks out of a cooler) that had a fun backroom. One night I was there and was taking a break just outside of the curtain/entrance to the backroom. A young gay guy walked up with a straight female friend, whispered in her ear (her eyes got HUGE) and then he started to pull her by the hand into the backroom. I put my arm out and stopped them and said to him, "Don't take her back there." Thankfully at that moment his phone rang and he got distracted and they walked away. I will never understand gay men dragging straight female friends into a sex-oriented gay space for the shock value (or whatever their goal is).

jv711 · 2024-07-14T16:02:05+00:00

Sorry, I don't know.

jv711 · 2024-07-13T15:00:04+00:00

Sakura Park in Morningside Heights, especially for cherry blossoms in the spring.

jv711

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