What Can't you get or Live Without in Europe?

On my last trip, I took a compass. It was absolutely invaluable, both for driving and for walking through cities. I can't count the number of times that I couldn't see any landmarks, but I knew if I just walked in a particular direction, that I would get where I needed to go.

The only item I ever miss is mom, because she savors her travels every bit as much as I do and is a joy as a travel partner. So, a week from Saturday, I'm packing her along for a 4th time and heading to Spain.

Heather, I hope my son has similar sentiments some day. I introduced him to Italy at the age of 14 and I hope he misses me when he begins traveling on his own.

Am I allowed to chip in from my Brit perspective? I too often find coffee a struggle, because I drink it black. Particularly in the coffee capital that is Italy. I don't always want an espresso and americano is usually too watered down for my tastes. Cafe Lungo sometimes works, but more often than not, when I ask for cafe lungo, I get a watery americano. However, I concur with you Degas, the Dutch do a GREAT cup of coffee, particularly for a black coffee drinker like myself - all frothy on top and a biccie on the side!

As a result of all this, I take a mini electric kettle, a bag of my favourite ground coffee and a small cafetiere (what you'd call a coffee press?), so that I can make a cup to my own strength first thing in the morning.

And if I'm self-catering, I take bacon. Proper English bacon to make a proper bacon buttie with. I've tried using pancetta - a grand failure.

The only thing I can really think of is my little battery-operated travel fan I purchased from Sharper Image. I do tend to get hot when I sleep, but more importantly the fan offers "white noise" that can muffle out the sounds in hotels where the walls are thin and my neighbors are loud, helping me sleep much more easily. I never travel to Europe without it.

Tracy

I really miss Mexican food (not impossible to find, but it makes DC mexican look good, and just isn't tolerable for someone who's lived in Texas most of his life).

A lot of European TP really sucks

Sometimes it's a pain to try to find what you need, just because there are so many different stores, when all you really need is a Walmart (easy enough to live without, it just makes life easier)

Besides that, nothing, really

Heather, that is beautiful what you wrote about your mom; I hope you show it to her.

Can't answer the original question yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll miss a good shower like I have at home, and a nice, big glass of soda with lots of ice.

When I went to Spain in the 70's, I brought my own TP, because what they had there was more like wrapping paper.
Right now I am pacing to leave for my 5th visit to the UK - we leave on Saturday. I bring my own Sweet & Low for my tea. It is availalble there, it's just not very common and sometimes hard to find. Also eyeglass wipes - the disposabe kind in foil packets - the last time I was there, I went to a dozen chemists before I finally found some. My travel partner is my mother, and she smokes, and always brings enough of her own cigrarretes to last the duration of her trip - said she bought local cigs once and didn't like them.

I meant PACKING, not PACING! (Though I am eager to leave, I'm too busy to pace!)

As a transplanted Canadian who lives in Paris, I crave Smartfood (white cheddar popcorn), decent bagels and Coffee Crisp chocolate bars. I also miss Neo-Citran (similar French cold remedies taste strange), North American lemony laundry soap/dryer sheets and cinnamon Listerine breathstrips. I stock up on the latter when I go home, but it's hard to fill your suitcase with Smartfood because it takes up so much space.

I am anticipating some serious salsa withdrawal on our trip to Germany this summer. It is only for 2 weeks though. I can make it

What is TP and why I'm missing this?

Blackduff

TP: How funny. The TP I buy is just as good as any old US brand.

Walmart opened in Germany but it wasn't a success. Aldi had already spoiled us with cheap products.

Most US products have made it to Europe except for maple bars. Can't find them anywhere. However, I certainly can live without them.

Gosh, blackduff, I sure hope you're not short of toilet paper (i.e. TP), wherever you are.

I always take individual packets of Splenda with me when I travel. Other than that, everything I need/can't live without can be bought in Europe.

Now, when I'm at uni in Scotland for months at a time, I really start to miss good mexican food and American football on tv. Unfortunately, I can't fit either in my carryon.

For those who use artificial sweetener - my mom travels with a dispenser of Equal tablets rather than the packets. The container is hard plastic and very small, sort of like a breathmint dispenser. Very convinient because the container is really robust, so she can just toss it in her purse, bag, or wherever. Perhaps they make a dispenser with Splenda tablets too? Something to keep an eye out for.

Vegaslocal - I like that compass idea!! I'm going to get one this week to take with me on my upcoming trip. Thanks!

Me? I know it sounds silly, but I miss my Diet Coke when I go. It can be really hard to find in many spots in Europe and their Coca Cola Lite is no substitution. (It tastes like Tab. Yuck!) Sometimes I'll sneak a couple of 16 oz bottles of the "good stuff" in my suitcase when I pack. (Hubby thinks I'm nuts....)

When I'm in Europe, I crave the giant glasses of iced tea we drink here in Texas.

Well degas, in my case it is what I miss when I am home. I miss, long for and crave all the wonderful Italian food and wine!

Kate_W, Coffee Crisps!! I love them. We took a bag of them with us to China last month. Are they only available in Canada?

And speaking of coffee, to answer the question posed by Degas, when we rent houses or apartments in France, we usually bring half a kilo of Second Cup's Emperor's Roast. It's hard to start a day without it.

Anselm

I like Pepsi and Dr. Pepper and its hard to find anything but Coke.

I always pack my little electric coffee maker.

bakergirl

I'm with you only mine is Diet Mtn Dew. I too pack a couple just so I can take a few sips in the mornings to wake me up cause I don't drink coffee and most hotels have those little refrigerators in them so I can keep it cold. I try to stretch them out but it never really works.

I also bring my own travel size TP..it has come in handy more than once.

I don't drink coffee or iced tea, but I am from Florida, and finding a GOOD glass of Orange Juice was mad my first trip. I once made the mistake of ordering it at a small restaurant in Somerset -- got what tasted like watered-down Tang

Other than that... hmm... earplugs? Necessary, I'm a light sleeper. They make my breathing into my own 'white noise'.

Other than that, I miss the cheap gas

Green Dragon you read my mind on the cheap gas, and to that I'll add cheap booze and a consistent supply of ice! Er, that falls under the category of what you can't get, not what we take with us.

Ice!!!

Yea, ice tea and just plain ice are on my list, along with free coffee refills.

Still, one must suffer a bit if one is to be a true world traveler, and the scones and sweets do allow one to endure.

Ahhh, TheVagabondLady, I am a transplanted American and each trip back to Europe I bring lots of diet mountain dew and then ration it out to myself... I also import unscented roll-on deodorant, toothpaste and aspirin...

and I agree with you Kate W, after years here I still do a double-take with lemon-scented floor cleaners and pine-scented dish liquid

I'm with the Splenda, Sweet n Low, Equal crowd. I always bring my own Equal packets. Other than that, I find I miss more things European once I get home.......

Every time I go home to the States, I always stock up on: Lipton Onion Soup Mix, BBQ sauce, Tylenol (because they don't have acetomenophen in Italy), Salad dressing seasoning packets, brownie mix, mexican seasoniong packets, toothpaste (I'm picky about toothpaste)...there's loads more. You can get some of these things here at places like Carrefour and Panorama, but you have to pay about 8.50 euro for 1 box of brownie mix.

Hi d,

I bring my own cigs.

My Lady Wife brings a very large suitcase with all of her nostrums, food supplements, female paraphernalia, pills, medications, creams, lotions, ointments, toilet waters, etc.

That's why we have to rent midsize cars instead of compacts.

I am American. When I'm in Europe for more than a few months, the things I miss are...

apple sauce; bagels; good mexican food.

I probably wouldn't miss them but I always bring Sweet 'N Low packets.

In fact my current European flame says that if we get married he's going to find a way to provide me with bagels and apple sauce, which is kind of romantic in a stupid way

I second the Mexican food. . . ain't nothing like Texas for that (well, in Mexico it is even better).

I also like myself a good sweet sun tea (again, Texas).

Chicken and cornbread stuffing is my favorite food of all time and when I have a craving I get so homesick!

I miss being able to buy shoes, as I wear a ladies 11, which is just 1 size too big for most of Spain.

My current-favourite earrings and a face cloth.

When we travelled to France with my mother-in-law it was enjoyable to watch her excitement when we took her to a grocery store, she searched to find her old time comfort spices for her stews and soups, she has been in Canada for more than 30 years and says she will always miss some of the products.
When we go without her, she gives us a shopping list.
I take coffee and tea bags with me, Our home habit is to have tea/coffee first thing in the morning and before bed. Just a plain breakfast tea and my husband likes a cup of instant Maxwell House Coffee, nothing fancy, just comfort.

We've been staying at the same apartment in London for more than a decade, usually for a month at a time. Our only real complaint is that the bathtub is very slippery. One year we bought a tub mat at Marks and Spencer, but it cost us a bundle. When it was time to leave, I really resented having to leave that hunk of wet rubber behind. Now, when we travel, I pick up a mat for 3 bucks in K-Mart, tuck it in my suitcase, and cheerfully leave it in London.

Maire, thank you ... I told her last night on the phone that traveling with her mad it more fun and special, and she got a bit sniffly. And, Sandi, what a wonderful gift you've given your son - most definitely, he'll be so grateful.

Happy Mother's Day to all the traveling moms out there!

grsing...I'm cracking up. DH and I recently returned from two weeks in Italy and, while the Italian food was amazing, all we could think about was eating Mexican food when we got home (in Austin). I think I had it 4 times in 5 days after we got home!

Bravo Heather! I, too, try to pack my mother in my luggage whenever I can (except when I need my alone time with friends). Mine's a whole load of fun too, there's no one better I can think to travel with.

addendum:
my dog

I can get pretty much anything in Europe that I can't get on my own home island. I have to "go away" to get most things. It's a nice reprieve from "shopping shackles."

dental floss -- how funny. We ran out in Slovenia. We went to a pharmacy and low and behold although it was in a strange language, we found the familiar little white plastic case displayed by the toothpaste and figured out the word "dental" on it. Proudly we bought it, took it back to the hotel, opened and discovered it was full of wooden toothpicks!

I second the iced tea response. On a trip to England, while they were suffering from an unusual drought, we were desperate for iced tea. We were visiting a friend who lives near Folkestone and casually mentioned this. She snuck away to the kitchen and came back a while later very proudly carrying a silver tray holding a glass of iced tea with every ice cube from her very tiny freezer. What a sweetheart!

How about a fresh, cold, drink of NON-mineral water? That and ICE in the drinks (soda, water, ICED tea).

Mark

fun memory, Neo

mcnyc

I have to agree on the dog one. I have 8 beautiful cocker spaniels and I always miss them terribly by day 2 and on the way home they are all I can think of.

Except maybe mexican food.

I also bring my own cigs and dental floss how funny people should mention that, like who would think of dental floss except me...duh...

Buying condoms in parts of Europe can be even more interesting, believe me.

Ditto on the bagels. 99% of the bagels we've tried were bland impostors. Several grocery store chains sell them; none of them are any good. The "best" taste like kaiser rolls with a hole in the middle.
Also ditto on the Mexican or Tex/Mex food.

"Real" Cheerios. Can only get the multi-grain variety, not the original.

Fresh dungeness crab (west coast) or fresh softshell crab (east coast). Neither available in Europe (you can get frozen softshell crab [from Thailand] but you can't get Dungeness, period).

BBQ baby-back ribs. Babybacks are extremely difficult to find, even though Denmark is a major supplier to the U.S. Guess they don't sell em in Europe.

Although I'm usually perfectly happy eating French, Italian, Austrian cuisine, in high summer I long for an old-fashion bbq of babybacks and freshly picked sweet corn. With some homemade sangria to sip after dark on the front porch while watching the lightning bugs. But you can't get front porches or lightning bugs here either.

On very rare occasions, I miss Twizzlers and Cheez-Its. Gibbles cheese pretzels. PA Dutch dried beef.

After 11 years I honestly am stumped when American friends ask what I want brought over and shocked when I cannot think of anything. I then remember Lipton French onion soup mix...forchips and dip that my Irish Partner thinks is gross (more for me!) It's a rare treat I ration to myself.

These days I get H&H bagels in Dublin (frozen but still good) and I have no crazy desire for sugary ice tea and the lot anymore. I eat differently now that I did 10 years ago and probably less junk. My food choices have improved in Dublin as we get more international so many things are available. Possibly the one thing thats would be impossible to get as its a regional thing in America is Jersey white corn...God I loved that!

I would now miss if I left ireland the Brown bread, veggie soups that are in lots of cafes, Chips from my favourity chipper with garlic mayo and my fab selection of european cheeses in the Cheesemonger down the street from where I work.

Couple other things: good peanut butter (you can buy Jif, but it costs an arm and a leg)

Reeses peanut butter cups

As for the TP, the stores sell the good stuff, but the stuff that unis and hostels/cheap hotels have is considerably worse than in the US.

Don't know if this qualifies as a 'can't live without', but something I always take with me are postcards from my home.

When we make a new friend or want to thank a bartender who has been particularly helpful, for example, we write a thank you note on the back along with our contact information.

I think it's a nice way to say thanks, and to leave a little something of your home behind.

There's intra-Europe deprivation, too. After a week of (absolutely delightful) Italian coffee and cuisine, I can't wait for a fry-up and big mug of tea when I get home.

Oh boy, Mexican food tops our list. No matter where we go, we are always on the lookout for Mexican food. We should pack little packages of Taco Bell taco sauce.

My easy to turn on enclosed shower.

If you rent an apartment in Italy and have access to a supermarket you will find all kinds of "Mexican food" that is the same that is sold in our US supermarkets. Not exactly the food one eats in Mexico..but what is sold in the US.

I am planning a trip to Europe, thus my being in this forum. I am living in Korea for a year and a half and I miss lots of things. I was recently ill, and my sister spent a fortune sending me barley soup mix and toll house chocolate chips, now I know she loves me! We cannot find decent steak, and turkey in unheard of. When I came here, I brought Libby's pumpkin and evaporated milk so I could bake a pie at Thanksgiving. It's so weird though, for some reason there is an overabundance of french style bakeries, and on practically every corner there is a baskin robbins and a dunkin donuts! We travel quite a distance to Walmart, where we stock up on bagels. Ovens are not too common here, but I invested in one, as I knew I couldn't live without baking or roasting. I am quite popular with the Canadians here, who love pie. Of course, I have to import crisco from the US. When I was in Paris we went to a mexican restaurant and it was awful, everything loaded with cumin. We don't have mexican restaurants here, but I brought tortillas and green chiles with me and pay a fortune for Australian cheddar and I make us mexican when we crave it. Also, for ex-pats, a great company called Penzey's will ship a vast array of spices. It cost me less to do this than to pay exhorbitant prices for spices here. Once a month, we go to the Marriott brunch for a taste of real bacon and things we miss!

Salad dressing--ranch and thousand island--I get very tired of oil and vinegar after 50 salads with them in a row. Another vote for Splenda as well.

Just thought I'd let all you Splenda addicts know, Splenda is freely available in large supermarkets in Dublin. I get it in a supermarket called Dunnes Stores all the time. I'm not sure if its exactly the same as you use in US, but its a sugar substitute and its in a big glass jar with a yellow lid or it comes in tablet form.

I wish the brand Abercrombie & Fitch was available in Europe as my 14yr old son is obsessed with it! as are many other thousands of teenagers here in Ireland.

When we leave home my kids miss the good old Kellogs breakfast cereals most, they are not the same when you buy them in mainland Europe, they prefer the ones we have in Ireland. I secretly feel very pleased that I always only eat fruit for breakfast and am always trying to get them to eat more fruit, so i feel very superior when breakfast time arrives on holidays!! ( sad aint i) ? lol

lucie, you reminded me of one morning at breakfast (Tournus in Burgundy)
muttering to everyone as she walked about, "why don't they have any cereals?)

koreaprincess: this is probably just my ignorance, but what makes Australian cheddar so special, as opposed to British, which I'm sure is much cheaper (and, as a Mexican food enthusiast, what are you doing using cheddar on Mexican food anyway?!)?

cigalechanta
You made me smile with that! I've heard it muttered so many times, If i had a penny/cent for every time.....

Hi, washcloths and salad dressing

Washcloths - I take Handi Wipes reusable cloths cut in half with me to wash my face.

grsing, if peanut butter is such an expensive item in europe, perhaps I should bring some Skippy with me to barter since the euro keeps going up! Of course, perhaps it is only treasured by ex-pats. Would someone from France appreciate receiving a jar of Skippy as a gift? lol

Ira
You made me laugh with the comment about only renting mid-sized cars in Europe. Sounds like DH and I, but it's HIS stuff that requires the larger car, not mine ... lol

I miss good Mexican food in Europe as well as many on this thread. I'm in Illinois and what we have here isn't all that great, but it sure beats anything I've had in Germany or Switzerland, to date.

I've also had Mexican food in Bangkok, and trust me... it "ain't" the same!

I also need to remember to bring my Excedrin and Tylenol. Friends in Germany always buy Excedrin when they come to visit us in the US and friends from Italy always make sure they pick up the Tylenol when here!

Carol

Ronda: They very well might, if they like peanut butter. The jar of Skippy here (London) is about half the size of the English PB, for roughly twice the price (can't remember exactly how much, just that I was unwilling to pay it). It's not that English (European?) PB is bad, just not particularly great (probably don't add the sugar and stuff that makes US peanut butter bad for you

I'm always gasping for a proper cup of tea when I get back to the old UK. On the continent they just put a tea bag in a cup with some warm water ....it tastes vile. Why can't any other country actually boil water?

Bring your good tooth floss! I brought some cheap travel stuff, hated it and ended up paying 5 Euros for floss at the pharmacy - thats almost 10 dollars floss in Canadian dollars - Yikes!

In general I find the pharmacies very expensive, so I highly recommend bringing your own supply of bandaid, blister cream etc. Also, you have to ask the pharmacist for everything useful and personally I don't like to have that close a relationship with pharmacy staff, so anything you don't want to disuss with a stranger - bring yourself.

Just my opinion,

Cheers,

Murph

I like to miss things while I'm on vacation so it gives me *something* to look forward to when I get home - for me it is Mexican food, my dogs, and the abundance of fresh fruits & vegies here in So Calif (like GreenDragon - a LARGE cold glass of orange juice).

I am meeting up with my ex-in-laws in London on the way home from our Italy trip and I plan to surpise them with a care package from 'home'. Originally from Liverpool, after 30 years here in the states, they retired back to England. Home here was Oxnard 'the strawberry capital of the world' - so I made some jam from fresh picked Oxnard strawberries and was going to bring some mexican fixings - tortillas & salsa. I guess from reading this post I should also bring some seasonings too.

Can't wait to begin missing Mexican food and getting my fill of Italian cuisine!

Sunday papers!

Ditto on the TP - most of the stuff they use is like sandpaper!! And Kleenex!! I do however like the Nivea deodorants they sell in Europe - can't find them in the US...

You can get Kleenex (and I mean the Kleenex brand) easily in many European countries. And I don't understand where this outdated worry about TP comes from. Hotels may opt to use cheap, rough toilet paper, but you can easily find good TP (including some American brands) in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, etc.

As I think more and more about packing, I am realizing that I will, indeed, need some importing of Aveda hair products. I know that they have good stuff over there, but for me, nothing has yet to come close to Aveda.

I also will take cup and teaspoon measures, as I cook a lot and use my mother's recipes, which are in American terms.

..............sushi, sashimi, green tea
ice cream................

When our German exchange student went
back to Landau after four months of
Japanese food here in Vancouver, she
was forced - impelled - to drive all
the way to Munich for a sushi fix!

Crunchy Peanut Butter. I have been able to find some peanut butter, but its really expensive and not very good. I can't stand Nutella.

Laclaire, where will you be traveling? My hair salon in Brussels carries the line of Aveda products; there is also a full service Aveda salon over in the EU district. They are widely available in the UK as well (they are also available in Paris, Toulouse, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Iceland, etc.).
http://www.aveda.com/templates/door/locator.tmpl

a glass of cold milk

I would agree with milk as well. I really miss it whenever I'm over there.

>When our German exchange student went
back to Landau after four months of
Japanese food here in Vancouver, she
was forced - impelled - to drive all
the way to Munich for a sushi fix!<

If I want sushi, I have to drive 0:30 hr to Athens.

If I want fairly good sushi, I have to drive to Atlanta.

I'm like the original poster in that I like to be like locals when I travel. Currently my hubby and I only travel for a maximum of 3 weeks, so if we started missing things from home, I'd be worried!

One thing I absolutely must take is Immodium (for diarrhea). My digestive system already isn't the best, so eating new things can make it worse. However, if you don't have any, the best antidote is Japanese food. This helped me immensely last year in Spain after eating oily Spanish food for only a few days.

I cannot leave home with a few scarves. We usually travel in September, so the weather can be touch and go, depending on where you are. They don't take up much room in the suitcase and can really dress up an outfit and keep you warm!

The other thing I take is a change purse with 2 compartments. I bought one in Paris when I lived there years ago and it serves me really well. The compartments are nice and big so you can see all the change you have, and if it's stolen, you still have your IDs and cards with you.

Cold Diet Coke that doesn't cost nine dollars!

BTilke- That is great news! I will be in Spain, but at least I know it is in Europe. I used to work at an Aveda Salon in Boston and I still buy the huge bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and as my hair is extremely long, I want to buy the gel in economy size as well. I should probably talk to my old boss. . . he might help me with that.

Looks like we know what we're bringing laclaire whenever we're in Barcelona! Who in turn needs to tell us if the Aveda products in Europe are different from the products in the US (for instance, Nivea, which is better in Europe than here, apparently. Not that I've tried or know first hand, but it is something I heard often for one reason or another.)

I guess I am fortunate because I cannot think of even one item unavailable in continental Europe that I want or need. I guess a craving for great Chinese food might strike after a few weeks.

Thevagaboundlady, 8 Cockers!?!?! We have one very high maintenance one whom we love dearly but I could imagine 8! What fun! And we do miss her. On our honeymoon, we brought her picture and put it on the nightstand!

And I third the ice tea! I would have killed for a good brewed glass of ice tea in Italy, not that sweet peach flavored stuff-not even tea IMO!

btilke...i think that the bagels at the brick lane beigel bake (london) are exceptional...and proper sized as well...not oversized and loaded with sugar. it's difficult to get a proper sized plain bagel even in NYC these days. Last time i was in NYC i stopped at H&H (known as one of the best) and was surprised at how sickly sweet and huge it was. beigel bake makes them like everyone once did in NYC...no sundried tomatoes, sugar overload or pumkin raisin flavours.

however, supermarket bagels in europe can be dreadful whereas, in the US it is much easier to find a tolerable bagel.

mcnyc- sap moss shampoo and brilliant conditioner!!!

Muá!

Correction. Now we know *exactly* what to bring laclaire on our visits to Barcelona!

I don't know if they have Desperate Housewives showing in Europe now, but that's one thing I can't live without for sure. Other than my mom and my dog, both of whom I miss after a few days.

Just thought of one more thing I'd miss, a nice strong hot shower.

I take my own Splenda packets and all the food products and ice I miss a little are more than made up for by the great food I can get in Europe that I can't get at home. Except maybe for something to put on a salad in the UK - even oil and vinegar would be a treat - because what is it with that Salad Cream stuff, anyway?

But the thing I really miss is automatic transmissions. Traded that last old-fashioned car almost 30 years ago. Shifting gears is a very useless activitity - have as much desire to do it again as to shovel snow. (I live in FL.) And when you find an automatic - at a premium price - it's generally to big to drive through towns built 800 years ago to accomodate horse carts. (Of course, anything bigger than a shoe box is too large to drive through most Greek villages.) Just shifted gears for a couple of days - first time since about '78 - and had the adolescent experience of stalling out at an intersection in Rhodes. Just don't need that on vacation.

But what about the stuff I can get there that I can't get here? We have pretty good Greek food here but can't get Greek yogurt, the only kind I'll eat. Why can't Orlando have a Trader Joe's so I can get some good yogurt?

I read 1/2 of the posts before I came across a "must pack" for me. A jar of Skippy peanut butter to spread on bread for breakfast every morning. I know peanut butter is available, but I like to have it "at the ready" so usually pack a smaller sized bottle for easy use.

amy_zema: Tylenol in Italy is Panadol. Same chemical make-up. Panadol used to be sold in the US but I have only found it in one store recently. You don't need to bring Tylenol to Italy, just buy Panadol.

I have to laugh about the Mexican food...living in Germany I have a constant craving for it. We have a Mexican place in my village. Ordered a chicken and vegetable Chimi...thinking it would have bell peppers and onions...nope...full of green beans, corn, and broccoli. Guess I'll stick to my own kitchen for Mexican while living here!

Hey SiobhanP, where is that cheese shop you mentioned? I'll be in Dublin in 5 weeks and love sampling new cheeses!!

I am traveling with two girlfriends who have never been out of the country, so it should be interesting to discover what they 'can't do without'

Kate:

I concur with the coffee crisp! We live in Texas and can't get coffee crisp and good red twizzler licorce.

We are looking forward to visiting Paris next month.

Hmmm....non-mineral water. Most of the still waters in London were still mineral waters. Some of them taste a bit soapy to me, but you get used to it when you are thirsty.

I would say that in London, I only missed certain tv shows for those times when i was watching tv before bed.

I would say a good egg is hard to find in London. For some reason the eggs just taste odd to me there.

And crispy bacon is hard to find....they cook their bacon a lot softer in London...so if you are hoping for some super crisp bacon, it is going to be difficult.

When I was in the US, I missed decent bacon. It was all what we in the UK call "streaky" bacon.
I also missed self-raising flour, packet suet and ground almonds.
It's surprising how much you want a bakewell tart or a good old-fashioned suet pud when you can't get the ingredients. I solved the almond problem with a coffee grinder.
I remember my husband getting an absolute craving for kippers one time. We finally tracked down a tin of them, not the same, but not bad.
I also missed good cheese, chocolate and biscuits (cookies in your language).
That was probably good for my figure.
I echo the cuppa thing.
I never order tea outside the UK.
In the US, we used to get packets of real leaf tea sent from home.
We finally found an electric kettle and a brown betty tea-pot in Boston.
How can Americans manage without electric kettles?

The electric kettle thing was very funny to me.......I wonder how sanitary or good those metal coils are....but I can see how having boiling water in two minutes is good.

I get along fine without an electric kettle...I just put a tea pot on the stove, and voila!

Also, America is a huge country and while some places only have lipton tea as an option for tea, in San Francisco I have tons of tea options.

I like the Republic of tea, and have tried various others and I also like the tea I get in London....both whittard's and fortnum and mason.

I get along fine without an electric kettle...I just put a tea pot on the stove, and voila!

You do what?
Wash your mouth out with soap!

How to make a nice cuppa.

Ingredients

1 Teaspoon Tea leaves per person and one for the pot.
Boiling water
Sugar, to taste
Milk or lemon, to taste


Method

Fill the kettle with fresh cold water and bring it to the boil.

Meanwhile, swirl hot water around in the teapot (preferably china or earthenware). This warming ensures that the water will remain at boiling point when it hits the tea leaves.

Just before the kettle boils, empty the water out of the teapot and put in the tea leaves. Take the teapot to the kettle and fill it with the freshly boiled water.
NB, you take the pot to the kettle and not the kettle to the pot.
This must be done immediately. You do not do as one of my American friends does, be so busy chatting that the water goes off the boil.

Stir the tea briefly, then put the lid on the pot and leave the tea to brew for 3-6 minutes, depending on the size of the leaves (larger-leaved teas take longer). Pour the tea through a strainer into the cup, and then add milk, sugar etc.

Drink with cup held normally in the hand.
Any sticking out of fingers will result in instant deportation

I know how to make loose leafed tea. I was saying moreso that I don't necessarily need an electric kettle.

and most of us know never to use the kettle in a hotel room in britain.

and most of us know never to use the kettle in a hotel room in britain.

Enquiring minds would like to know why.
I've used them for years.
After all, they have boiling water in them which is pretty sterile.
What new American phobia have we uncovered?
I was on a forum recently where an American was seriously upset because British lavatories have the handle on the right instead of the left as they have "back home".
I kid you not.

When I was in the UK, I missed decent bacon. It was all what we in the US call "Canadian" bacon. (Hey, somebody tell me how to make one of those little winky faces.)

Winky faces are ; followed by ) for

I prefer my bacon the way they do it in the UK. If I have to have US bacon, I prefer it soft and slightly undercooked (as in not crispy).

The bacon in the UK is good, much different and slightly better than canadian bacon, which tastes a bit more ham-like, if that makes any sense.

But the crispy gristly taste of fried crisp bacon with some eggs is just sooooooooo good!

Thanks, Green Dragon.

Miss Prism:

This American can't live without her electric kettle. It took years after I first used one in Britain until I found one here. Now they are fairly common.
But I still have to import my tea.

In the UK, you can get crispy pre-cooked bacon, smoked and unsmoked, at Marks & Spencers and Waitrose. We use it for club sandwiches.

We don't think British bacon is that great. Our favorite bacon is the thick cut Boars Head brand, which we can't get here, alas.

Well supermarket bacon is often not up to much, but if you have never tasted Gloucester Old Spot bacon, you have never lived.

I'd still like to know why Americans get the vapours at the idea of using a hotel kettle.

Americans don't have kettles - really they don't. I think they think there's something communist about them.

It's the reason they can't make tea.

Americans don't have kettles because they're just not interested in having tea all day.

As for British tea snobs, we have a parade of builders/repairmen in and out of our cottage regularly. I always offer them a full range of teas (British brands, I know better than to try and offer a Brit any of our Mariage Freres teas, even though MF is easily the equal of anything you can get in the UK) but they almost invariably pick the cheapest, lowest quality brand. Tea dust, essentially. The only "name" tea they ever pick is Yorkshire tea--apparently that's as manly as premature baldness.

Yorkshire Tea is well popular – and I have no real idea why – it’s cheap, but that’s it’s main attraction. However builders and tea is an ongoing joke in Britain (mainly to do with the amount of sugar they put in it). Indeed “builders tea” is a recognised type of tea (very strong very sweet). Mind you all builders in Britain are Polish now – so God knows what you’re supposed to give them. Vodka?

Premature baldness? What’s the right time for it then?

Snapple, at least I've never seen it and I'm a diet peach snapple addict. The other thing is washcloths - does any one know why many european hotels don't provide washcloths?

smeyer, washclothes are considered personal items, like underwear or toothbrushes, in Europe, so you are expected to bring your own

The point about British tea snobbery is that it is almost non-existent.
The average person from duke to builder just drinks the stuff without a lot of poncing around about which country/hillside it comes from.

Now I think that it would be an excellent thing if hotels provided underwear.
It would mean that you wouldn't have to take a load of dirty washing home.

I really do enjoy tea all day long, and I am American. I also have access to automatic hot water, so that makes it easier for me.

I would say to use cautions when lumping all of one country's people together....as in ALL Americans, or ALL construction workers are now from XYZ....It is for one, not factual, and two, makes a lot of presumptions and appears to be based on stereotypes, which are very dangerous things.

Handicap accesibility.

Viajero2-- I totally agree with you. On my travels in Europe I noticed how unaccessible the tube and metro is for those who may be in wheelchairs or have other disabilities. There are only some stations that have access and that is kind of sad.

Meanwhile, back home, all of the muni is supposed to have access, though more than half the time the elevators or lifts are not in service.

Miss from USA: Ice. Without having to ask.

Love in Europe: German brand tissues (used to be Tempo Taschen Tucher). Hoarded them for a while, found a stash in NH in 2002, ran out of those recently. Have a cold at the moment and sure wish I had some.

On a flip note, I dooooo soooo love how many of the bathroom stalls in London are like individual little rooms versus in the states where it is just individual partitions, and the bottoms and tops of the stalls are open air.

i was just eating dinner with 2 friends (british) who returned to london after 2 years on assignment in middle america. i asked them what they missed from england when they were out there and the answer was a resounding "nothing". they were glowing. they said that they find themselves being much more friendly now but people look at them like they are crazy for being so nice. they said that they never really noticed how miserable everyone is here until they went to the US. they absolutely loved the food over there.

the only negative, they said, was being "thanked" so much for UK's support of the war. that was annoying to them but they just shrugged it off.

Great thread!

With me it's always something different.

In the fall of '04 I went to Amsterdam/Prague/Budapest. I CRAVED a ham and cheese sandwich from this not very good sub shop (Jerry's Subs). I mean, at every meal for about 4 days it's all I thought about. The FA's on my flight home even went to see if they were serving anything like that in coach, but it wasn' any old ham and cheese but THAT one I wanted.

Last fall went to Costa Rica. Food was great and we were never hungry. As a matter of a fact we were only active a few hours in the AM then retired to relax and read, but we didn't miss a meal. Then I wanted a slice of pizza from Savage Pizza in Atlanta. And their iced tea.

Am getting ready to go to Spain and Paris next week. I'll have to report back what that craving is.

When you are an OZ/Kiwi you must take vegemite as it is worth the trip to give some away to a fellow digger. Had to put that in for the heathens going on about missing Mexican kaikai when in the lands of great cuisine..........But for the great unwashed the 2 things pertinent to all Euro travel is a sharp knife for preparing food and plastic ice making trays.

Here here Roscoe...vegemite is a must. I'll be taking my first trip to Europe next Easter and I'll definately have some with me!
I'm actually hoping most things will be different and interesting and won't it make me appreciate home and the familiar while relishing the new experiences.

This Australian has never taken Vegemite overseas and never will. Carrying the stuff around is a sign of our national inferiority complex, roughly equivalent to Canadians who plaster themselves with maple leaves - all a little sad, really.

The only thing I'd miss in Europe, and probably only after quite a few months, would be the cheerful cynicism and lack of pretension of my compatriots. I certainly can't imagine anything I couldn't live without.

Speaking of wanking .... "I always dress, look, act, think, write, speak and dream like a local when traveling across the pond. However, I often wonder what less globally-aware and culturally sensitive travelers suffer through in the old world." I'm surprised that nobody so far has picked up on this blatant satire of Europhile Fodorites.

I will be taking my jar of vegemite. Always a good one on toast for energy!

Cheers! I will also try the local stuff of course - why else do we travel.

My husband and I are living on the French Riviera for two years for his job. I was stunned last spring when a local store owner informed me that corn was "food for livestock". No way I was going to be happy all summer without some grilled corn on the cob. So, I planted 100 seeds in our garden and the response was amazing when my husband took the fresh corn in to work to share. People had never seen it before and asked for the "American recipe" to cook it.

I, too, crave the Mexican cuisine. So, when we go home to Chicago every couple of months, I bring back stacks of fresh corn tortillas to stash in my freezer. Very easy to make yummy chips for the delicious Provencal tomato salsa. Jalapenos are a struggle to find, though.

One other thing I bring back from the USA is chocolate chips. My friends love the cookies!

If only I could find some canned or boxed chicken stock, I would be very happy. All I see in the stores is buillion cubes and they are just salt. Are french women really making their own stock for rice, sauces, etc?

"Are french women really making their own stock for rice, sauces, etc?"

Yes, actually. At least my MIL always did.

Had the same experience in Yorkshire with corn when the B&B host asked what New Jersey was famous for. "Corn" I said. "Aye," he said. "For the pigs."


------------------
The food I crave sometimes in Europe is cream cheese and lox on a bagel.

The only things I feel I MUST bring are my perscription drugs. Hubby and I take the "when in Rome" advice everywhere.

I want the opportunity to take a vacation in Europe that is so long I can actually miss something I don't have.
Signed, The Overworked!

ilovetotravel29

I am so with you on the toilet stalls. In the US, no matter how fancy the place, nearly every bathroom stall is open at the top and bottom. When I come back from Europe, I miss those little rooms with toilets in them.

Right now I am reporting on an event and am not at home. I am already getting a taste of that initial homesickness/sadness. I cannnot wait to go back, but I got a message on the phone today from my little cousin (5 years old) that said "Hi, Claire. I want you to come over to my house. So. . . you call me and then come, OK? Bye bye." I am so sad I can't just walk outside and go over there.

We miss smiles. So often, we are greeted with barely a grunt when in Europe. European friends, when visiting us, are amazed at how often the check-out people at our supermarket smile, ask about our family, chat about theirs, and wish us a nice day. Our European friends are stunned! They have shopped in the same stores for years and years and yet know nothing, or care to know nothing, about the employees -- and are treated with the same coldness in return. "You Americans," our friends say," you seem so happy --- why?"

I wish American public restrooms had more privacy. In Germany you shut the door and no one can look at you through the slots. AND, their doors always close properly. Why can't American public restrooms figure out how to build stalls that close properly??

prjorange
There is chicken stock in cans or in boxes like Parmalat in our local supermarkets in the NY area. The bouillon cubes made by Knorr are good and aren't salty

Ice and a cooler for a day trip. You can't buy ice in Italy or coolers. Also, they don't have washcloths! We bought small hand towels and cut them in half.

Absolutely nothing - as long as i'm in Amsterdam!

Things I don't travel without: bandaids and anti-bacterial creme (lots of walking in Europe can bring blisters for family members who don't pack the right kind of walking shoes), anti-bacterial wipes or gel (handy for a quick cleanup during the day when out and about...especially before a meal), and a transformer.

This next trip we take (Sept.-Oct.) to Italy, our GPS will probably come in handy as we explore the countryside and cities...we can "get lost" without really getting lost!

As far as food....I miss NOTHING when in Italy. In fact, when we come home to the US, fast/pre-prepared food always sounds very unappealing for awhile! Italians cook everything so FRESH...and it is wonderful to try new foods (especially love gnocchi, gnocchetti, and gelato)!

Moleskin...for my heel spurs which always act up with lots of walking.

Kate_W: I have canoed extensively in Canada and developed an addiction to Coffee Crisp bars!!! When I get back, I buy a pile of them!

high quality green tea
Japanese rice
Seaweed (nori)
I bring my own tea and nori but have to suffer without decent rice

Splenda
washclothes

Ice
Mexican food
soft toilet tissue
contact solution
baby food

Nothing. You simply adapt. Why try to simulate your experience at home when you are abroad?

>>>>>
Nothing. You simply adapt. Why try to simulate your experience at home when you are abroad?
>>>>>

this sentiment is often seen on this board...the feeling that a "real" traveller (whatever that is) never seeks out anything from home.

i completely disagree. it is easy for an average tourist that spends 2-3 weeks (or less) outside his country to forget about home and totally immerse oneself in the country they are visiting.

however, if you spend significant amounts of time away from your home country you tend to seek out some comforts of home occasionally.

going on about the tenth week in taiwan at the beginning of this year, that beer in a british expat pub did recharge the batteries.

I live in France but am from the US. There is nothing in the US that "I cant live without". Do I see out american things from time to time? Sure. But I can live without them. Also when I seek them out in 99 percent of cases I can find the products here in France. I see no reason to try to simulate my US life here in France.

KarenK, it is so funny that you say that about the bathroom stalls. I feel so claustraphobic in the ones in Europe. They go from the very bottom, to the very top with no space.

A couple of times I have been close to freaking out. I try to make it short.

I take my own water, bottled water. For a long time, it was Aquafina. It was just lightly flavored, lightly sweetened water. I cannot find it any more. But I have found Life Water and Vitamin Water which have taken it's place for me.

I have to force myself to drink, anything, and I hate plain water. I don't like anything with splenda or artificial sweetner. It gives me pains in my head, and too much, a migraine. And can upset my stomach.

I took 6 bottles with me last trip. I will also drink sparkling water with lemon. So I was able to stretch them. No ice, so I don't mind that in Europe.

And what is with the fizzy ice tea? I did not like that at all.

MauiMaui

I always carry a softsided cooler as a carry on back. When I get to wherever I'm going, I have an ice cooler. Maybe the decor isn't up to snuf but I really don't care.
I'm like a lot of posters. I don't really miss anything. I usually find the people friendly enough and just enjoy the experience. My wife and I are "follow our nosers" whenever we travel away from the US.
BS

Wow, now I got lots of tips of what to bring my American friends living in Spain: I don't think I would have guessed a single one of the stuff mentioned and I considered myself thoroughly americanized after living a quarter of the century "on the other side of the pond" from Europe.
The only thing I miss in the Europe proper (that is outside Britain) are bookstores with a really large selection of books in English... and ... if I were allowed to be really grumpy... comfortable chairs in bookstores to allow for browsing in comfort. But the only request I ever got for American stuff was... a grapefruit knife. And the request was from another americanized European.

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