TPaxe, your information is very helpful, although I am a fan of Crystal Light which if compared to KoolAid seems much healthier??!!

If available we will look for the "boutique" fruit drinks you mentioned.

The cooler months of May and September are our usual time to visit France so I know I will be missing the absence in France of my "bottomless" glasses of iced tea that I enjoy drinking in warm weather Deborah

I have to disagree, kerouac, limonade is not the same as Sprite or 7-Up. It's more like a fizzy version of the lemonade we have in the US. But it's not a clear, crisp soda like Sprite. I supposed there are variations, but it wasn't in our experiences. It's a very different taste. And a different color. It's like lemon San Pellogrino.

You must have never seen real limonade, manda99. It is colorless, just like Sprite, and tastes exactly the same. Just go to any French supermarket and look at the bottles.

What you are describing sounds like the various sodas along the line of Schweppes "Bitter Lemon" or Gini or some of the nameless store brands that copy those. Just for the record, any lemon flavored soda is a form of "limonade" so, yes, you will find the name on some of the sodas that are not clear.

If you just ask for "limonade" in a café, it will be crystal clear.

This sounds like a fun trip.
They will enjoy the grocery store.It is fun to see familiar products with different labels.
My kids used to also love seeing their favorite cartoons in French (Spongebob always made them laugh).

The indiviual packets of Crystal Lite are really good to have on a trip. Gives a little twist to the volumes of water you find yourself drinking. Easy to pack, carry and use!! Do not buy soft drinks in restaurants $$$ !!! Skim milk is available but european milk doesn't taste like No. American skim..different cows, different grasses, different methods of storage. I personally didn't like the "boxed" unrefridgerated milk at all when we were in Spain. Didn't try any milk in
France, was distracted by other available drinks!!

"november moon, you are as bad as the boys I don't think they can get past the texture difference of full fat milk to enjoy all it has to offer the taste buds!! Deborah"

Yep, even my own mom thinks I am strange for preferring fat-free milk. I am sure that it does taste better with some fat in it, but it is definitely a texture thing.

Ingredints in Crystal Light: malic acid, propylene glycol, citric acid, contains less than 2% natural flavor, sucralose and acesulfame potassium (sweeteners), potassium citrate, red 40, blue 1, potassium sorbate (preservative)

POISON

Can't believe people give this to their kids. Child abuse.

Why can't kids drink water. It's very good quality in Paris and free.

POISON

Can't believe people give this to their kids. Child abuse.>

If it were really poison half the planet would be dead by now.

do you give you kids any processed foods - if so that is child abuse to you I guess.

Get real.

but bringing anything into a posh restaurant and adding it to water to avoid paying for a drink would be rather uncouth IME.

The false friend of cidre is a good one to watch out for, on this side of the Atlantic cider and cidre means fermented apple juice (though 2% is a bit low in my experience, more like 4%).

So don't order cidre, order apple juice or jus de pomme.

France has laws against serving alcohol to minors and I'm sure restaurants would be aloof to serve booze to kids - a few years back fine to sip some wine with parents and may still be allowed some places but I notice a crackdown on minors drinking in France - one reason the age to drink was recently raised.

When my children were small, we didn't have soda at home, so it was a treat on vacation. We only allowed them one soda a day, and I'm afraid that we weren't always honest with them. At dinner, if they asked, "Did I have a soda at lunch?", our answer was always yes.

In the supermarkets you will now see about 50 kinds of flavored water, next to the unflavored water.

I suppose you are aware that Orangina is just a soft drink, full of sugar. I don't think kids should drink soft drinks with dinner, except maybe occasionally at lunch or something special. In most of the places I go in Paris, Coke isn't any more expensive than Orangina, actually (or other soft drinks). They are expensive, but Coke doesn't cost more. Some brands of fizzy water actually cost more than Coke, if I recall (Perrier is really expensive for some reason I don't get).

And citron presse etc are full of sugar, also (and a nuisance to make, it will be sour at the begining and too sweet at the end, possibly).

Maybe they'd like gassy water if they want soda, at least it won't have sugar in it.

The young son of French friends who were our neighbors for a year developed a real liking for root beer; for several years after he returned home we sent him kits for making his own. Then he told us that he had finally found a source in Nice for the real thing. Apparently root beer has landed in France.

No, root beer has not really landed in France, but in the Asian supermarkets you can find the Singaporean "Sarsi" (owned by Coca-Cola) or the Vietnamese "Xaxi" -- they are sarsparilla sodas, which is what root beer is.

What strange comments.

When I am in Franprix or Monoprix or even Coop in Switzerland or Billa in Venice I see the same items in the aisles as I do in American supermarkets.

Go to the Food Halls at Galeries Lafayette and you will find 200 different types of yogurt. Same with chocolate bars.

You aren't going to Mars.

Let's raise the intellect here a little.

Thin

The purpose of travel is to see and do new things. Going to France to replicate home is weird. Tell the kids that there will be many new things to try and they can get their usual stuff when they get back home.

Thanks for the helpful and sometimes entertaining?? comments.

It's obvious the boys will have many choices for beverages and over their two week stay in France will have the opportunity to try some that will be new to them.

Since this is the first international trip with our grandsons and their parents , as the trip planner, I appreciate using this forum for even the simplest of question like beverage choices. Thanks again, Deborah

I'm with you Deborah. This is our first trip with a 13 yr. old. Yes, she will drink water with meals but I found the info on milk quite interesting.

Why do some to belittle a question? If you think it's silly pass it by.

Deborah-I'm not sure why several posters gave rather nasty answers to your grandson's question of "what will be served to us to drink in restaurants". Sounds like they were indeed wondering if it would be different from what it is at home-not necessarily worried that they wouldn't like it. And maybe many posters have never traveled with younger children to foreign countries because I know that different food is one of the things that may be a bigger issue for kids than for adults. I think it's wonderful that you're going to do this trip with them and hopefully you will feel free to ask other "simple questions".

We had funny food experiences with my son who was 11 when we went to France. He was a normal picky eater at home so when he found that he liked Croque Monsieur and Croque Madam, he ordered it whenever he could, including at one place where he just ordered 2 of them when he was especially hungry. At the same time he also enjoyed cheese plates-the stinker the better-as well as being the only one of us to finish his entire portion of foie gras. So your comment of not limiting the boys because of your own preferences is right on. They will find things they like that you probably wouldn't think of. I hope you have a great trip!