barbara33

One month until I leave, with my husband and two teen daughters, for 4 weeks in Europe, including a three week road trip. We're picking up the rental car near Gare St Lazare, as we leave Paris to head towards Nancy.

We're trying to save a little money, and keep appetites satisfied, by eating out of the cooler in the car some of the time. But just were should we buy that cooler? Intermarche, Carrefour, Monoprix, Auchan?

And will they have ice?

We'd like to be able to just make one stop and head off to Nancy (via Reims). All of the above stores seem to have locations that are conveniently located either near Gare St Lazare or the Peripherique. I think a previous post here said that Intermarche sells ice, but would they have a cooler? Not having been to any of these stores, I don't know what to expect.

As an aside, does anyone know the French word for "cooler" (as in "ice chest" rather than as a description of temperature)?

Bear with me. This could be the first in a number of questions in the next several weeks that may appear to reflect some obsessive over-control of our travel plans, but actually I just like to annoy my 13 year-old by hogging the computer (If I knew how to do it, I would put one of those little smiley faces here).

kerouac

An ice chest is called a "glacière" -- all of the hypermarkets sell tons of them, as do camping stores and even Monoprix in season. Anyway, hypermarkets have the best selection. Ice is another problem. I have found ice for sale at Carrefour and Auchan in July in the south of France, but ice for sale is not all that common. I have a way of getting ice that takes a little nerve but which has never caused a scandal (yet) -- just about every hypermarket has an attached cafeteria with one or more ice machines. I just nonchalantly walk up with a plastic bag and fill it as needed. I have chickened out a few times depending on whether the cashiers were facing the ice machine or whether there were a zillion customers, but then I just go to another place and get it.

Linda431

I've seen coolers at grocery stores like Casino but I've never seen ice for sale.
You might have better luck outside Paris buying ice near a fishing spot/marina.

I doubt you'll see it big bags like we have here unless you can find a commercial outlet as opposed to retail. They're very stingy with their ice over there, 2 cubes to a glass is the norm.

I have a friend who travels to Europe with medication that has to be refrigered. I'll ask him how he keeps it chilled.

georgiegirl

I would rec a collapsible cooler from USA. Ice, I don't know. They don't use that much of it. You should be able to pick up food for the day from a supermarket or a fresh market. We traveled in June in the south of France for 2 weeks and we did not need any cooler. I just got back from Paris. It is expensive there but the food from the street is not too bad. You can get decent French sandwich for about 3-4 euro. I bought all my bottled water from Monoprix. I got a sack of celmentines as fruit since they are okay room temp.

hanl

Hello
The French word for cooler is "glacière" and they will be easy to find in most larger French supermarkets during the "summer" season. Monoprix is not the cheapest of the supermarkets as it caters for the city-dwelling, "shopping- on-the-way-home-from-work" market. Carrefour or Auchan are the biggest hypermarkets and are likely to have a range of coolers in their camping/picnic/outdoor aisles. We bought a cooler from Carrefour a couple of years ago for a few euros, and I remember there was quite a wide variety of models,from the super cheap to the high-tech.

I don't know about ice, though I think the hypermarkets might be your best bet. It's not something I've ever bought! A good idea might be to buy those plastic, liquid-filled cooler packs from Carrefour or wherever, and then ask your hotel/accommodation to put them in the freezer for you overnight. They stay frozen for ages and work well for keeping food cool.

If you are heading out of Paris towards the east, then you could stop at the Bercy 2 shopping centre just outside the peripherique/ 12th arrondissement. There is a large Carrefour supermarket there. Or wait till you arrive in Reims, as you go past a Carrefour as you arrive off the motorway into the town.

Hope that helps

starrsville

Barbara, I often take a soft sided insulated cooler as a carry-on. I stick my purse, reading material, other things I want on the plane with me in it and then I have a cooler for my destination.

I HATE the noise sytrofoam coolers make in the car. I just can't stand days or weeks for that squeaking.

Then I have a cooler for the car ready to roll. I also tuck in a canvas bag so I can use it to store other snacks and food items.

A friend borrowed a smaller lunch size version to carry meds in Germany. Don't know what she did about the ice.

Scarlett

FranPrix, they are everywhere in Paris. They are the same as your local grocery, selling wine, water and staples ..

barbara33

Kerouac and Linda, thank you for your replies. Are Intermarche, Carrefour, and Auchan what you mean by Hyperstores, Kerouac? Thanks for your tip on getting ice from the cafeteria, K. Have to see how gutsy we feel. It did just occur to me I could buy some bags of frozen vegetables to use as ice packs in a pinch.

Linda, I would be interested in how your friend keeps his meds chilled.

barbara33

Thanks for the additional replies. Franprix is good to know about, Scarlett. They have ice, too, or no?

I had rejected a collapsable cooler as taking up to much space in my luggage, but I had not thought about using a soft-sided one as a carry-on. That is very clever!

Scarlett

I seem to remember bags of ice but we were right around the corner from rue Cler and in and out of the stores all the time, in addition to the FranPrix, so I could be mistaken ( It has actually been know to happen )

starrsville

When I am heading to a beach location, my two carry-ons are the cooler and the snorkel bag. The cooler contains purse, camera, maps, reading material, etc. The snorkel bag carries snorkel equipment, swimsuit and coverup and thin beach towel from Wal-Mart.

I've been lucky enough never to have had luggage lost, but if it were to happen I have the stuff I need to start the vacation. The other stuff can catch up to me later!

starrsville

:
-
)
All together now,
Give it a try!

starrsville

That didn't show up very well...
colon, dash, close parentheses =

barbara33

Thanks, starrsville It worked!

I love to snorkel. Hope to squeeze my snorkel and mask into my 22" carry-on, but, alas, I will have to rent flippers. (Oh, good, now I can start an obsessive-type thread about where to rent flippers in Forte dei Marmi and the Cinque Terre! I'm serious.)

easytraveler

I'd worry about the space in the car - European cars are generally smaller than US cars and the trunk ("boot&quot can be miniscule.

Four "adults" with at least four pieces of luggage PLUS a cooler. Ummmm

barbara33

We've rented a "Citroen Picasso or similar" which from the photos looks similar to a minivan - maybe just a tad smaller? Or am I terribly mistaken?

AGM_Cape_Cod

We bought a softsided cooler locally that folds flat. It is big enough to hold a bag of ice on the bottom and tall enough for a half gallon carton. It is about an inch thick when folded but probably could compress more. It was about $4 at Ocean State Job Lot. We planned to take it with us but forgot it.

starrsville

I'd find room in the tiniest car for a cooler and snacks, even if that meant we had to sit on luggage or fill up the floorboard with stuff and have knees in our faces!

I hate whining - so I keep stuff to eat and drink in the car at all times.

To each their own.

elaine

somebody take pity on me
what is a collapsible cooler, and where in the USA are they sold?

easytraveler

barbara: I'm not familiar with the Picasso.

However, in looking at autoeurope's fleet, the Picasso is listed as a mid-sized car with 18 cubic feet of trunk space. I don't believe that it's equivalent to a minivan. A lot of European cars don't have a concealed trunk space. You might want to check further on the internet to see exactly what kind of car you have.

Sorry I can't be of further help!