<BR> <BR> <BR>My family and I will be traveling through France for about 4 weeks and I wondered how easy it is to get ice for the cooler. We are so used to stopping in at convenience stores in the States to get bags of ice, I was just wondering if it also that readily available in France and other countries (we will also be spending time in Germany and Belgium). <BR> <BR>I did try doing a search for "ice" in France but nothing came up. <BR> <BR>Many thanks for your help! Alice

The word for ice is "glace" in French. <BR>I've made a quick search with "France ice/glace camping" at www.google.com and found that most camping grounds will sell ice for coolers. In my area (Haute-Savoie, near Geneva and French Alps), you'll find signs saying "Glace" near camping grounds. <BR> <BR>However, you won't find many convenience stores selling ice like in the US (one of the things I really appreciated when I visited AZ last year and wish would happen here).

Alice: <BR> <BR>It may be available at campgrounds, though in the Dordogne I have never seen a sign for "glace" at a campground, but surely you will waste valuable vacation time searching for ice in France - it's just not readily available. A better idea is to stop at any LeClerc or Mammouth or Intermarché and buy those hard plastic freezable ice packs. Ask the hotel/B&B where you are staying to keep them in the freezer at night, and pop them in your cooler in the morning. If you find yourself at an outdoor market, you can usually get the fishmonger to give you some from his stall, too.

We drove for a week in France two summers ago carrying an ice chest. Every medium to large sized supermarket carried bags of crushed or cubed ice at reasonable prices.At least in the towns between Burgandy and Provence.

<BR> <BR>Thank you so much for your responses. I just never thought of checking the campgrounds and we will be in areas that have them. I have used the refreezable units and never thought about taking along a couple of those. And, of course where there is fresh fish there is ice!! <BR> <BR>Spot on... appreciate all the advice. <BR> <BR>Best Regards, Alice <BR>