 Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, re the teatowels, they go in the washing machine with the rest of the laundry, but we only leave two. Almost everything in the apartment is dishwasher safe. under a new name, with the restrictions on toiletries in hand luggage, we seem to have a collection of half-used shampoo bottles. Can't say I've noticed that they're using the kitchen roll as loo roll though.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The problem with self catering is you often have no idea what's going to be provided - and you certainly can't take for granted things like washing machines and kitchen roll - or even half a bottle of washing up liquid and one toilet roll. As for tea towels, in a small kitchen I wash things like chopping boards, knives, mixing bowls, as I go along and although I am a messy housewife in many ways I never use a tea towel for more than one day - they are amongst the most potent sources of harmful bacteria. On a big cooking day I am likely to get out a clean one half way through. On an ordinary ski holiday week I wouldn't reckon to do a load of machine washing more than once - and very few apartments have washing machines, come to that. Mine didn't for its first three years - till I got sufficiently fed up with using the laundrette in the village to sacrifice one of my kitchen units.
Are there any restrictions on food products being carried within the EU? I didn't think so (except at times of foot and mouth etc) though obviously there are major food handling considerations.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Seem to be a lot of folk take corkscrews, in my experience it is the one item of equipment that even the most impoverished French appartment has.
Drip dry and dishwashers for me, don't use many tea towels, as for bad bugs I reckon cooking wipes out most of them.
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T Bar,
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in my experience it is the one item of equipment that even the most impoverished French appartment has.
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Mine too. A knife and teabags are all I take, the rest gets bought in a valley (non-resort) supermarket, according to a well-honed shopping list. But that does depend, obviously, on having a car.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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pam w, hmm. good point re hygiene.
Don't know intra EU - I recall there used to be restrictions between the UK and mainland Europe.
Definitely limits on transport into Switzerland.
Butter and cream 1 Kg/l in total
Milk, cheese and other dairy products 5 Kg/l in total
Eggs 2.5 Kg
Vegetables 20 Kg per type
Fruits 20 Kg per type
Meat (beef, veal, pork, lamb), fresh, refrigerated or frozen 0.5 Kg in total
Meat as above (salted, dried or smoked), all types of domestic poultry, sausages and other meat and poultry products 3.5 Kg in total
Other meat and meat products (fish, game) 20 Kg in total
Cereals and flour products 20 Kg per type
Potato products 2.5 Kg
Oil, fat and margarine 4 Kg/l in total
Fruit juices 3 l in total
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I always take a sharp knife on holiday. But I wouldn't take one these days if it meant carrying it in luggage in a public place. In a suitcase in the boot of the car is a different matter.
I always used to have a kitchen knife in the car for impromptu picnics. But after being stopped and searched near Parliament in my car, I breathed a sigh of relief and took it out of the car when I got home. The car having been stopped and searched twice more, I feel vindicated in my decision. (And I have no doubt I am stopped because being respectable middle class and white I help them to keep up their quotas, but even so...)
There are too many stories about ridiculous policemen stopping and arresting law-abiding subjects of HM for carrying knives for me to ignore it.
Just buy one in the resort.
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I always take some stock cubes, Cajun Seasoning and Italian herbs as with these 3 and cream I can make almost any meat dish tasty.
A tin opener is the other thing I always take as the "foreign" ones are awful.
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It's funny that you lot can't carry knives about but I can happily tote a shotgun around and even take it on holiday if i wanted... I heard recently that you can't photo House of Parliment anymore...
It's becoming a strange world.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We always take a toaster, approx £4 from any supermarket. I've never yet been on a self-catering ski jolly where there is a grill or anything that allows you to make toast.
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| James the Last wrote: |
I always take a sharp knife on holiday. But I wouldn't take one these days if it meant carrying it in luggage in a public place. In a suitcase in the boot of the car is a different matter.
I always used to have a kitchen knife in the car for impromptu picnics. But after being stopped and searched near Parliament in my car, I breathed a sigh of relief and took it out of the car when I got home. The car having been stopped and searched twice more, I feel vindicated in my decision. (And I have no doubt I am stopped because being respectable middle class and white I help them to keep up their quotas, but even so...)
There are too many stories about ridiculous policemen stopping and arresting law-abiding subjects of HM for carrying knives for me to ignore it.
Just buy one in the resort. |
Try driving around with a collection of dangerous drugs, needles, scalpel blades, saw, axe (complete with blood) and all the stuff that comes with being a vet. Then imagine walking into Bristol Airport having suggested to darling other half that he might want to consider bringing a waterproof coat to Belfast and asking innocently what he has in his pockets - cue depositing 2 pairs of scissors, a scalpel blade, 3 needles (and a couple of syringes) all unused and in packaging in the "sharps" bin before security - I am pretty glad that I asked him before we got to security! As for the time we drove to France with a bloody axe in the tool compartment in the boot (dimwit forgot he keeps it there for easy access in an emergency (great for demolishing wooden gates I'm told) when he unpacked everything else vet related). I was wondering how long it takes to prove that blood is from a cow, not a human!
That said, that axe did save a couple of lives on the motorway (UK tough) once - we were just passing a crash that had just happened, a car was upside down and flames were starting - the axe was great for removing the front and back windscreens of the car to allow the people and dogs to get themselves out!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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bump
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Shimmy Alcott, I'm doing my shopping list for Christmas Lunch. (or rather dinner) Have decided on pheasant as I have two in the freezer which can defrost on the journey, and possibly a lobster cocktail, as I have two Aldi lobsters in the freezer too.
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You know it makes sense.
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Private owners who spend time in their own places are much more likely to equip them well - but that doesn't stop the local agency or weekend cleaning/keys lady from clearing out all the consumables.
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Something I am musing on at the moment. Although the same people are looking after the apartment this year, our cleaner is different. I've seen her removing lots of stuff from other apartments, I want to make sure it doesn't happen at mine.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Helen Beaumont, Sounds great. I'm going to keep this thread alive and print it off next week as my shopping list  Thankfully towels and linen are provided for us so that's a bit more room for other stuff. I got a big bag of nuts from the co-op but want some honey roast cashews too - nibbles while I prepare dinner. Getting so excited now.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| chaney wrote: |
| We always take a toaster, approx £4 from any supermarket. I've never yet been on a self-catering ski jolly where there is a grill or anything that allows you to make toast. |
True. I wouldn't bother taking this sort of thing on a ski trip, but when I used to go by car to French-owned gites a lot, I always used to take one of those cheap, metal, ridged pans (probably made of aluminium, no wonder I'm getting forgetful) so that we could make toast on the hob. I would have thought that a Brit-owned place would have a toaster?
Shimmy Alcott, there was another thread on this topic last year, which I'd been trying to find for you. I've finally found it - by searching 'teabags'!
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=46198#1104022
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Toast just doesn't seem to be such a crucial thing for the French - French boats don't usually have grills, either - even pretty big ones, whereas even our tiny 19' cruiser has a two burner gas thing with a grill underneath. Our French/Belgian neighbours have a toaster - I've been in their place this morning getting it ready for the kids, and checking what's what. But they're contaminated by proximity to us!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hurtle, thanks for that 
might sample one of those ambient tuna pouches as they'd be quite light.
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Hurtle, that has just reminded me to buy some more peppercorns, and a new tin opener, I noticed ours was getting difficult to use last time.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thinking about it, "toasting" was a way of dealing with stale bread - and the French don't do stale bread. 
One thing we noticed, when we stayed with our friends in Belgium, was that for breakfast, which was tea/coffee, bread, rolls, jam, etc (as you'd expect) they didn't use plates. The table had one of those oil cloth things on, so easy to clean, but it still felt a bit odd scattering crumbs everywhere and our usual habit of putting some butter and jam on the plate had to change - they essentially used the bread as a plate. We'd never breakfasted with them before, though we often get together for proper lunches or suppers, when all seems quite familiar. Come to think of it, I think they did the same thing for quick snack lunches - the makings of sandwiches on the table, but no plates.
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pam w, I toast the left over French bread in the morning to have with our boiled eggs.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Helen Beaumont, Beware, the Aldi lobsters are very small!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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welshskier, that is why we are making it into a cocktail, i've had them quite a few times.
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I am planning to take my slow cooker as we only have a hob + microwave... nice to come back to dinner when you have hungry children +husbands!
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You know it makes sense.
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katedenhaag,
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nice to come back to dinner when you have hungry children +husbands!
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Are you into polyandry or cannabilism? Just curious.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Or the more obvious answer that there is more than one family holidaying together...
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Poster: A snowHead
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For the poster who had to smash the bottle necks, aren't you aware of 'corking' - just push the cork into the bottle with the blunt end of a dinner knife! Better your wine tastes of cork than of glass!
| Lizzard wrote: |
| bertie bassett, you lot live in a police state. You just haven't properly woken up to the fact yet. |
Well, I'd describe it as less of a police state and more a country run via the media and its constant moral panicing, usually leaving the government and police between a rock and a hard place.
Knifes is a classic example. The Government issued ridiculous rules with no exemptions based on the bleatings of one or two newspapers who are 'thinking of the children'. By this point the people who
had been committing the crimes associated with knifes had realised that they were going to get come down hard on, so the standard method of mugging on your local council estate now involves having a large mistreated dog shoved in your face, and the folks being pulled up for carrying knives are chefs, campers and handymen as the police need to show results. Friend of mine was pulled at a tube station carrying a bent knife which could hardly be desrcibed as an offensive weapon, he had to show the police his business card and facebook page before they 'believed' it was for woodturning!
With regard to multitools, i've had one confiscated on boarding a plane out of Liverpool when I went to meet friends that were camping - I had only hand luggage and bought a cheap one specially to see if I could get it across. Don't think the blade was even 3.5 inches, if that still counts for anything anymore. Wouldn't risk taking a leatherman on a plane though.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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k1orange, I stayed at one of the Home apartments - it was tiny and only had 2 electric rings on the cooker, a microwave, and a useless dishwasher.... The supermarket in Foret was generally better than the one up the hill, particularly if you like to eat vegetables.
I'd second (third) the sharp knife, bottle opener, herbs and spices, tea bags, etc and also suggest taking some milk if you use semi-skimmed - that full-fat french stuff doesn't work in tea...
I'm a bit of a foodie  so personally I never travel without green curry paste, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind and palm sugar (trust me, its worth it). But recently I was astounded to discover that you can actually buy a decent-tasting stew in a can in France...  I've no idea how they do it but it tastes like real food. Add a splash of red wine and a loaf of bread and you're laughing.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I'm a bit of a foodie Embarassed so personally I never travel without green curry paste, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind and palm sugar (trust me, its worth it)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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that full-fat french stuff
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 there's plenty of semi-skimmed milk in France.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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pam w, maybe I've been unlucky or thick but only seem to have found full cream or very skimmed. I'm not that fussy (honestly) but tea seems to be very unforgiving - even different water can make it tricky to make a good cuppa. Which is why I drink coffee when I travel... OK, wine, but you know what I mean... 
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dinomartino, definitely unlucky. Demi-écreme is in the fridges of most supermarkets and has a pale blue cap.
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Any suggestions about an Hypermarche next to the autoroute from GVA to Moutiers other than the Albertville Geant whicgh can be horrendous on a Sat afternoon?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Mountain Haddock, I'd start a new thread - people might not look in this one now as it is dying a bit - Good luck 
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Shimmy Alcott, Thats only because you've done your shopping now - are your driving out? Good luck if you are, although it seems to be warming up a bit.
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FAQ
I would like a big "poulet fermier" but it was far too early to buy one in a supermarket yesterday and up here I think they'll cost a fortune. Ah well. Will do bread sauce (hard luck the wheat intolerant, but I will make the gravy without wheat flour) and som slightly nasty French chipolatas and pancetta.
