Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Can you order iced tea at restaurants in Paris and Rome????

Can you order iced tea at restaurants in Paris and Rome????

Old Jun 4th, 2001, 10:08 AM
  #21  
TexasNOW
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Santa Chiara & TexasEx are correct --- and if the originator of this thread is from the southern US, then the short answer to your question is:
No, you won't get ice tea in Rome --- or at least the American version as you understand it.

Ice is a rare commodity throught Italy. They don't serve their drinks with a glassful of ice as you'll find in Texas. At best, you'll get 1, MAYBE 2 cubes.

And as everyone else has explained, there are other beverage options rather than alcohol. I rather do enjoy the "Pesca" (peach flavored iced tea in bottle) --- and "Agua Minerale" (con gassato or con gas for 'fizzy water' --- 'sans gas' or 'naturale' if you don't want the bubbles.
 
Old Jun 4th, 2001, 10:32 AM
  #22  
J T Kirk
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
As many others have noted, you can find canned iced tea in both Italy and France. (Lipton's and Tetly both sell bottled tea.) What's interesting is that in Italy, the tea is (usually) "lemon" flaovored whereas in France, it's usually peche ("peach")(although, non-flavored bottled tea is readily available as well). Yes, they are sweetened. And it's not quite the same thing as getting home-brewed iced tea here in the U S. But, it quenches the thirst.
 
Old Jun 4th, 2001, 10:56 AM
  #23  
world-veteran
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
As Ursula said, just ask for te freddo in Italy. It's everywhere.
 
Old Jun 4th, 2001, 11:07 AM
  #24  
Shanna
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Just back from gay Paree - iced tea is available everywhere - and served with ice, by the way, as was almost everything we ordered that would have been served with ice in the US, even the Armagnac had crushed ice in it. We never asked for ice and ordered in French, although probably not good enough to pass for non-tourists. Not a lot of ice, 3 cubes. So it wasn't really chilled and wouldn't do a number, as others represented, on your stomach. The tea was peach, sweet, probably bottled or canned, although we saw the bottles for orangina, but not the bottles for tea. Whether we asked for the glace (sorry about the accent marks) or iced tea, it was the same: sweet peachy stuff. Pass the wine, please. Unless you're a teetotaler, drink the wine - you'll be in France (and Italy) for pete's sake!
 
Old Jun 4th, 2001, 01:01 PM
  #25  
Gerry
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Hans:

Thanks. That was my theory. I've been told that in Rome if a person is thirsty, restaurant, bar owners etc are required by law to give them water free of charge. Thus, they cannot charge for tap water in their restaurant. And, so they "expect" you to order bottled water so they can charge you for it. The price is quite reasonable ($1.50 or so per liter). So you just consider it a cost of the meal like the "bread" charge and don't complain.
My point was that because everyone is drinking bottled water doesn't mean that the local tap water isn't safe. Way back in the 1960's I lived in Rome for a year as a student. No one in my group (100+ Americans) ever got sick anywhere in Europe from the water. Now the gelato-that could make you sick. But we noticed that Italians from out of town would always order an aranciata or bottled water while we drank the tap water. We found this very comical.
Of course, some people are sensitive to the unique bacteria each water system contains when their body is not used to. But they are just as likely to get sick from the water 50 miles from home or even the different bottled water they will get in Europe.

Gerry
 
Old Jun 4th, 2001, 01:24 PM
  #26  
Gerry
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Shanna:

There are a large percentage(perhaps 15%) of people that cannot drink alcohol even in miniscle amounts under any circumstances even though they would very much like to. Consider it a potentially fatal allergy. This can cause some concern when traveling to wine culture countries. Not only can't you drink the wine or beer, but you have to worry about what they put into the food and cook it in. Contrary to popular belief, the alcohol does not cook off.
Fortunately this problem need not prevent one from having an enjoyable trip to Europe. There are lots of alternatives to alcohol in Europe and elsewhere as have been pointed out on this thread. But, for those with this problem a little forethought and caution is warranted.

Happy Travels,

Gerry
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -