European source for herbs and spices

[phoebe]

We have a friend who has moved to Southwest France, but can't always find all the herbs and spices he needs in the village markets there (hard to believe, I know ). He'd like an internet or regular mail-order source in France or at least within Europe that's something like Penzeys. Penzeys will ship to France but only for a rather large mailing fee. Any thoughts?

[Anneke]

I always thought it was strange too! I was in Auvergne last February, and was trying to find ingredients to make a nice dinner for my hosts. It was impossible to find herbs. They sell prepackaged fresh bouquets garnis, and if you're lucky you might find parsley, but beyond that, you're out of luck. No chives, no rosemary, no sage, and forget about anything more exotic. They are very serious about buying local I guess, and they stick to local tradition when it comes to growing their fresh produce.

It makes me realize how much we take our food diversity for granted in North America. Yes, we have red flavourless pulp for tomatoes and peaches that give a new meaning to the term stone fruit, but we also have lots of great flavourful stuff from all over the world.

Sorry, I can't offer you a source. I just thought you brought up an interesting point.