Although we didn't spend any real time in France on our recent trip across the Channel, we definitely made sure to stop at a Carrefour supermarket on our way back to the ferry before we came home. It was a little bit of a rushed shopping trip, but I was very happy with what we came back with!
Here's the list:
5 1/2 Bottles of Red Wine
2 Bottles Rose Wine
Cornichons
4 Tins of Sardines
3 Tubs Walnut Cream Cheese
Fig and Walnut Soft Cheese
4 Wedges of Assorted French Cheeses
8 Plain Yogurts in Glass Jars (I love to use these as votive holders, vases, etc.)
A huge block of Local French Butter
Smoked Salmon
Olives
8 Bars 80% Dark Chocolate
Total Grocery Bill: 55 euros! ($69 or £44)
This also includes the unlisted stuff we ate for our picnic dinner on the ferry on our way home!
By the way, I highly recommend keeping a picnic basket with dishes, etc. in your trunk! You never know when you'll need to make a quick dinner (we ended up missing our ferry, and leaving three hours later than expected!)
Mmmm... The good prices and wonderful goodies at the French markets sure do keep me counting the days until our next trip!
What would you shop for?
Here's the list:
5 1/2 Bottles of Red Wine
2 Bottles Rose Wine
Cornichons
4 Tins of Sardines
3 Tubs Walnut Cream Cheese
Fig and Walnut Soft Cheese
4 Wedges of Assorted French Cheeses
8 Plain Yogurts in Glass Jars (I love to use these as votive holders, vases, etc.)
A huge block of Local French Butter
Smoked Salmon
Olives
8 Bars 80% Dark Chocolate
Total Grocery Bill: 55 euros! ($69 or £44)
This also includes the unlisted stuff we ate for our picnic dinner on the ferry on our way home!
By the way, I highly recommend keeping a picnic basket with dishes, etc. in your trunk! You never know when you'll need to make a quick dinner (we ended up missing our ferry, and leaving three hours later than expected!)
What would you shop for?
I can tell you one thing on prices, the wine alone would cost what you paid in our markets. Or perhaps the cheese alone... Great haul. You are lucky! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know! And groceries over here are even more expensive... I think I could justify the six hours of driving and £100 for the ferry ride just for a once-a-month shopping trip. In fact, a lot of Brits do just take the train to Calais (which is actually very cheap if you come back within 24 hours) to go to the huge Carrefour there, load up their cars (mostly with alcohol, truth be told) and come right back! It sure is tempting... If I could actually prove that I was saving money, I think I could convince Jeff...
DeleteSo envious! What a wonderful haul! This is one of the things I am most looking forward to on my trip - can't wait. Have you ever been to Seattle? If so you may know DeLaurenti's in the Pike Place Market? I was there the other day and looking in their refrigerated section and saw the most glorious looking French imported butter - I was SO tempted to buy it after having seen your previous post - but I resisted as it was out of my budget!
ReplyDeleteHi Marisa! So sorry that French butter was so expensive! It is SO delicious. I have never done any appreciable shopping at Pikes Place Market. I will say, though, that we had a fantastic meal at nearby Le Pichet. What do you think you'll bring home from Europe this fall?
DeleteLe Pichet is one of my FAVORITE restaurants in Seattle - I feel entirely transported to Europe in that place! And their baked eggs with ham and gruyere are simply to die for.
DeleteSo far I only have plans to bring home some more of that Greengate pottery I was telling you about. But I'm sure I will have NO problem finding some other lovelies to take home. Apparently Mallorca is known for olive oil and they have tasting rooms just like wine tasting rooms. So perhaps I will bring home some olive oil! Can't wait :)
Oh my goodness, I have such a funny memory of Le Pichet. It was my favorite restaurant when I lived out in Seattle. When I moved back to the East Coast and a couple of years later my now-husband moved to Seattle, on the last night of one of my visits I insisted we go to Le Pichet for a romantic dinner before he put me on a red-eye flight back home. We ended up eating all this heavy food (cheeses, pates...) that, rather than going out somewhere nice afterwards for dessert or drinks, we went back to his place to lie down. We lay there side by side, hands on bellies, moaning and laughing saying "Le Pichet, oh why, Le Pichet?!"
DeleteOh, no Rebecca! Too funny!!
DeleteGlorious! I second Nathan's comment...Those prices are unbeatable...Linda K
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Linda! We'll be shopping in France on our way to Belgium this weekend, because the prices in Belgium were much higher-- so we'll take French groceries to eat there, then buy some more to eat here. All I can say is that those French people are very, very lucky!
DeleteOh, this makes me even more homesick for Geneva! How I miss grocery shopping in France, as well as lovely weekend jaunts!....Monika D (can't log back into google!)
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you again, Monika! What would be on the top of your list?
DeleteThe butter!! French butter is simply the best.
ReplyDeleteA Poulet de Bresse... the cheeses... Mamie Nova yogurts. The wonderful custards -- chocolate and plain vanilla -- from La Laitière.
Also the wonderful produce --peaches and olives from Provence, as well as the pink onions from the north.
I hope you make many, many, more grocery trips to France!
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