drchris

We will be traveling to Italy May 2014 and have been thinking about staying in apartments so that we could prepare some meals on our own. But as I think about that more, I'm not sure what we would cook! I know we could do eggs, cereal, yogurt, pastries, etc. for breakfast; make sandwiches; and buy some fresh fish or other meat and cook it in the oven (assuming there is one) or on top of the stove, and cook some pasta or potatoes and veggies and have fresh fruit. Since we would only be staying 3-5 days in a given location, we wouldn't want to buy more olive oil, herbs, spices or whatever else we needed than we could use during that time (we will be traveling by train and use only a carry-on suitcase and a small backpack, so we couldn't take things from place to place). We would want to make things that are simple and quick, to save both time and money. Ideally, it would be nice to stay in a B&B with a small refrigerator and microwave so we could buy prepared foods and keep them in the frig and then warm them up (which I know, of course, we could also do in an apartment).

We simply can't eat dinner at 9-10 pm and go to bed full, and we would rather not live on pizza or whatever else we could pick up at the "American" dinner time we are used to (between 5-7 pm). We may get a larger mid-day meal and "eat light" for dinner.

Also, given the cost of food at markets and supermarket in Europe (which nearly makes me faint!), would we be likely to save money by cooking food ourselves or buying prepared foods??

Suggestions from those of you who have done meal preparation in apartments while traveling would be very helpful (and help us decide whether to rent apartments or just stick with hotels or B&B's). Thanks in advance!

MarySteveChicago

Many of the fresh outdoor markets sell rottisseried chickens with amazing cooked potatoes. I yearn for that meal! We also buy chacuterie, cheese and fabulous olives and a baguette. I have cooked green beans once and we had them cold with the above. You can purchase sanwiches from the pattiseries also. Bon apetit!

jamikins

In France and Italy you don't need to wait till 9pm to eat! Restaurants open around 7 or 7:30.

We have found most apartments don't have an oven, but a stove top only...you need to check that when you rent.

We go to markets or supermarkets and have pasta, or gnocchi, or bread with meats and cheese. Very simple stuff. Or pick up a roast chicken at French markets and eat it for dinner.

Most apartments will have oil, salt, pepper...we just pick up some garlic or Parmesan cheese as needed...and of course oil if we have to.

It's a good idea to make lunch your bigger meal and just make something light at home.

michele_d

Hi drchris,
We routinely stay in apartments during our stays in Europe. Most apts have a few ingredients but you never know what until you arrive.

At our first location we go the market and buy a small vinegar and a small olive oil, salt and pepper and a small bottle of all purpose mixed herbs. We also buy some hard cheese for grating. These we carry with us from location to location in our daypack. We freeze a water bottle and pack it with the food we transport, inc case there is anything perishable. It will stay cold all day like this.

Regarding the cooking part: we just get creative. Meals are very simple, but very filling. We always buy fresh fruit: melons, berries, vegees: tomatoes, zucchini, onions, etc., fresh baguettes and pasta of some sort. Then we pick up a small quantity of meat. Our meals are not meat based on our trips, as we have found this easier and cheaper. Many times we don't even have meat, and we are stuffed.

We make the pasta and toss it in a bit of olive oil and herbs and cheese. We just parboil the fresh vegees and add to the pasta. We make a basic vinaigrette with the oil, vinegar and herbs. This will last a few days and can be used on salads, tomatoes and cheese, or cut up vegees along with the cheese. We usually just cut up the meat and pan fry. We can add this to the pasta or have on the side. We make a dipping sauce with the olive oil and herbs for the bread.

It really is quite a bit of fun to come up with different ideas based on what is available at the local markets. We prefer to shop the outdoor markets. This is our very first 'activity' in each place we stay and we really enjoy it. I always take a pic of the foods we bought, so colorful.

We've bought fresh apples and cooked them to have alongside fresh pork chops. A bit of pasta and some zucchini and you have a fabulous meal. I routinely take pics of our meals and people are surprised how well we eat with such few ingredients.

Don't be intimidated. Just go back to the basics of cooking. It really is quite enjoyable, and rewarding and doesn't have to be a chore. Think about how much money you will save.

Morgana

The idea of making lunch your bigger meal is an excellent one. At home we eat our main meal in the evenings but when we travel abroad we do the opposite - have lunch out. It can make financial sense too with lunch dishes sometimes being cheaper than dinner ones.
Then in the evenings you can pick at bread, cheese, olives, pate, cold meats, salad or whatever and not have to worry about lots of food prep.
I'd far rather do this and have the freedom of a villa, apartment than stay in a hotel.

kerouac

You can eat in a restaurant at 7 p.m. or if you don't want to do much cooking, you can buy all sorts of ready-made frozen dishes of excellent quality in the Picard frozen food supermarkets or just ordinary items like pizza or dishes to heat in any supermarket.

And if you want to do even less work than that, the traiteurs (delis) of Paris have tons of ready made items, not to mention the ultra famous roast chickens at most of the butcher shops. (Just to keep things honest, the normal price in my outer neighborhood for a roast chicken is 4.50€ but in the inner city, you will unfortunately have to pay double that amount -- or more.)

Christina

I don't know where exactly you are going, but they don't really have "B&Bs" in France that are like you are describing, at least not in cities. And the B&Bs I know about don't give you kitchen privileges, that means bed and breakfast, and that's what it is, a room and they serve you breakfast.

YOU can save money by cooking yourself if you eat a lot. I don't (I don't snack and don't eat much breakfast), and don't really want to eat dinner in an apt when I travel, so I don't really do anything in the apt but make coffee (and maybe an occasional dessert or some cheese and bread or a breakfast pastry). I could never cook the type of things I get in restaurants anyway (like potatoes Dauphinois). I don't think the prices in supermarkets in France are any more expensive than in the US that I've noticed, I don't know other countries that well.

If you buy prepared foods, it isn't in restaurants, so the restaurant dinner hours don't really apply to them. In fact, local people would be buying that to take home for dinner, also, so they would be open earlier.

I think you have to think more simply in terms of meal preparation, because you won't have a lot of spices, and I've been in vacation apts that had literally nothing in terms of cooking ingredients. Others only had something like salt. I've never been in one that provided oil or any spice (maybe pepper but I'm not even sure about that). I've only rented them in Barcelona and Paris, though, but I've rented about 4 in Paris and none had oil in them.

janisj

I almost always rent apartments w/ full kitchens. I almost <i>never</i> do any serious cooking in those kitchens. Occasionally but not often.

The main advantages for me are being able to have snacks on hand, breakfast foods, picnic things, have ice, (I usually take an ice cube tray because sometimes the fridges don't have them), a washing machine,

If I do cook an evening meal it is often something like a baked potato w/ some sort of filling, a salad or prepared foods from a market. For me it is all about convenience, not really gourmet cooking.

Ackislander

We are among those who usually eat our larger meal out at lunch when we are traveling abroad and have salad, bread, cheese, fruit, items from the traiteur, and in Italy the fantastic porchetta and roast chickens from the market vans.

But we have traveled with friends who plan -- and we all prepare together -- elaborate meals from food bought fresh from local markets that day. Whatever you enjoy most.

And we have never rented an apartment that did not have an oven, so places vary.

Finally, I need a high protein, low carb breakfast, which can be difficult to find in France or Italy. Apartments make that easy.

PRLCH

Get back to basics and cook simple meals with fresh produce. We make pasta sauces from lovely fresh flavoursome tomatoes, adding zucchinis, mushrooms etc. Sometime add mince, sometimes not. Serve on pasta. Sometimes it is a tuna casserole, or perhaps chicken breasts cooked in wine. Stir fries (lots of vegies and diced chicken) are easy if you are limited to a stove top (although we often rent apartments with ovens). This last trip my new staple included couscous - extremely quick to prepare, cheap, and limited utensils required. I usually take disposable microwave containers with me and some foil disposable baking dishes.

outwest

We had a tiny kitchenette in Paris (hot plate, microwave, no counter space) but found that we could have casual, easy dinners with deli meat/cheese/olives, great bread. To add a bit of protein I made super quick bean salads (bought tins of cannellini beans etc.) and used the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper that were already there--

To this day, whenever we have bean salad at home my husband says, 'Just like Paris!"

rialtogrl

I bring good salt from home in a baggie and buy a bottle of good olive oil when I get there. I transfer the oil to an empty water bottle to cut down on the weight.

Pasta in many forms is a no-brainer but you also might master a basic risotto recipe before you leave because once you have the basics down you can add all kinds of things to a risotto; it is also very forgiving with what kind of liquid you use (wine, broth, water.) Veggies, meat, seafood - all can be added to risotto with great results.

It is fun to get creative with local ingredients. Go to the local food markets and let your senses be your guide.

One traveling "staple" I use is chicken with vinegar but the recipe I use requires an oven. Here's the recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/30/di...sant-dish.html

I've made a ton of omelettes - you can get pretty creative there too... eggs just seem to taste better in Europe

Cowboy1968

Just wondering if this is your first trip across many time zones..
If so, keep in mind that during the first days your awake/asleep cycle will be out of sync anyway.
While you don't have to wait till 9 to have dinner in all the places you mentioned, you can easily set your inner clock to a slightly later schedule than at home, e.g. eat at 7 or 8, go to bed around midnight or 1, get up at 8.
If you are used to get up really early, say at 6 or even earlier, I doubt you will find many B&Bs where the lady of the house will be willing to prepare breakfast at that ungodly hour.
Even if you want an early start to explore your destinations, museums rarely open before 9, stores often not until 10.

Re. costs for groceries..
last time I was in the US (in April), and filled up the fridge for a friend where I was staying I almost dropped dead at check-out.. even with the very favorable exchange rate of the euro against the dollar..
Aside from bananas, it felt as if I paid 20-30% more than here.. exception: Switzerland.

jamikins

I have never stayed at a b&b that provides a fridge and microwave to guests so you might find that difficult. Perhaps some agriturismo in Italy...?

And I agree with Cowboy, I find groceries significantly cheaper in Europe (and I live in London) than North America.

MaineGG

Here's a link to a thread I started two years ago, but I think most of the suggestions were still valid when we went into our neighborhood Picard when we were in Paris last spring.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rom-picard.cfm

asps

Staying in apartments and cooking on your own makes sense when you are staying for a week or longer. It is somewhat difficult to buy exactly what you will eat; and while looking for food in a foreign land is often very enjoyable and a way to really know how the people live, it somewhat takes time from your official sightseeing. Also, the better stocked supermarkets are mainly in the suburbs and reaching them takes time also.
So, a few adviced for Italy. Buying prepared food (from "rosticcerie" or supermarkets) is cheaper than restaurants but more expensive than cooking your own. Cooking pasta, if you have the necessary (a pot, a colander, fresh water and a pinch of salt) is easy and relatively fast. Pasta may be served with ready sauces (available in any supermarket) and some parmigiano (available alredy grated in small packets at any supermarket). Another easy recipe: buy some diced prosciutto or ham or speck (again, available in supermarkets), fry it in olive oil and pour the pasta on it. Add grated parmigiano. As easy as that.
Ready salats are available again at any market, as well as season fruit. You are not going to starve in Italy and long kitchen hours are not necessary. Still, it takes more time than seating at a restaurant.

Heimdall

I don't know how many apartments have microwave ovens, but that would open up some possibilities: in the UK you can get ready-made meals in M&S. Waitrose, etc. I'm not talking about frozen TV dinner type meals, but chilled foods, ready made salads, etc. that could be put together to make an easy meal.

annhig

when we have rented apartments we have generally eaten out and used the apartment facilities just for breakfast, juicing oranges etc., though I have cooked entire meals on occasion.

in Italy you can get take away pizzas from proper ovens, and ready made meals from rosticcerie as well as supermarkets and delis, and in France there are traiteurs which well made up food.

with that and some salads and fruit, you should be fine.

fourfortravel

"...and while looking for food in a foreign land is often very enjoyable and a way to really know how the people live, it somewhat takes time from your official sightseeing. "

asps, ha! Looking for food in a foreign land is a big part of my official sightseeing!

MissPrism

We change our eating habits in Italy. We go to the supermarket for croissants, orange juice, coffee, milk etc. for breakfast.
We then have a proper, large slow Italian lunch, at least two courses plus wine and might even return to the flat for a rest, read of newspapers etc. all the shops will be closed anyway. We then buy stuff from a small local shop, like bread, rolls and ham for a light supper.
Unfortunately, in Venice we discovered a very good patisserie. It's a good thing we did a lot of walking, or the return
plane might have had trouble taking off.