Mirror or not to mirror

[hlad00]

Hi,,
I am travelling to europe via hostels. Should i bring a mirror? or are they a decent size?

Also, what kind of food should you eat during the day? ie most people have recommended fruit and yoghurt,will this be ok? any other ideas about food would be good? ie how to make sure own sandwiches? did you bring a plastic knife?#

thanks in advance

[marc873]

Screw the mirror, one more thing that could break in your pack or just one more thing you have to carry.

As for food, most hostels will have supplies ie- silverware/plates. I usually hit a grocery store for cheese, bread, etc... whatever I can find that won't go bad quickly. I also eat most of my meals on the street from vendors. I find I can do breakfast from the grocercy, lunch and dinner on the street, and spend no more than 10 euro a day, and thats a lot, especially if you can take full advantage of a grocery store.

As for the types of food, it comes down to the countries you are in and what all is available. Where ya going?

[florencia9699]

Can u really pull the whole day with 10€ worth of food?? That's great neews!! as I'm trying to cut back on everything so I have more spending money for the day!! If I sepnd 15€ in food that leaves me with 20€ to spend during the day (withut hostel) That should be enough, right?

[marc873]

Well Flo, thats us. I bet I could go for even less than that. My money always seems to go to beer.

Heres a typical day for me: Breakfast - some hostels will provide a VERY basic breakfast, or a Pastry shop- pastry & Coffee 3 E.
Lunch - so many options depending on where you are - France - French Baugette pizza 3 E, Holland - Frittes 2 E, Belgium - Biki burger (very interesting) 3 E. Italy - duh pizza 3 E. I usually eat dinner out of the grocery store. I will grab a piece of bread with cheese and some sort of sausage - salami, pepperoni, etc... 3-4 E.

It all comes down to where you are, and if you are willing to eat cheap just to get a meal in your stomach, or if you are travelling to taste the foods of the region. You can still do that with street vendors, but if you sit down at a table in a cafe or what not to eat, there goes your budget fast. Comes down to what you want.

A really broke traveller can usually rummage throught the hostel kitchen and find pasta or leftover supplies to eat in a desperate poor moment.

As for our daily budget, for 2 of us we are shooting for 50 E. Not including lodging, or large transport costs ie ferries/planes/trains. After the last several trips, we have found ourselves with a lot of leftover money at the end, feeling like we had spent a lot. So to make it even cheaper this year, we are shooting for a lower budget. We shall see

[Brookers13]

In the beginning of my trip I WAYYYY overspent on food, but once I realized that, I just started cooking. I'd buy a loaf of fresh baked bread and some cheese and it would last me like two days! And it was soooo good! Other days, I'd just buy cheap pasta and some sauce and that would last the whole day as well! It's definitely easy to get by on grocery store food...espeically when it's so good!

[BigE]

I eat a lot less than I used to. I changed when a friend of mine commented that I eat like a 17 year old jock. Since then I eat healthy and less. I have lost 30 lbs. Not easy when you are an tall unmarried man and people think I need to eat a lot to stay alive. Now I eat what I need and use my great imagination to make a tastey meal out of small amounts.

Just eat for the energy when you travel and pick a day when you want something nice. I also save my money for the beer.

[aliz]

are you travelling with a friend? this cuts your food costs a lot. we would usually eat breakfast at the hostel as late as possible, have some sort of snack mid afternoon then cook our dinner (if the hostel has a kitchen). I understand some people might find it pretty difficult to go from three meals a day down to two but if you time them right it's usually ok.
another thing we did was buy a box of cereal at the start of every week, a snack-type cereal like fruity bites or weet chex.. they're called different things in every country but something that you can eat with your hands without milk or anything. then each day we'd put some in a zip-lock bag and when you suddenly get hungry while you're out during the day, you already have something to eat instead of rushing into the nearest cafe and paying way too much for a snack.
having said all that, if you see some local treat that looks soooo good, don't turn it down just because a cheese sandwich would be cheaper. you gotta live a little.
oh and i carried a little cheese knife with me all the time and it was indispensable. just remember to take it out of your bag when going through airports and make it a cheap one from the supermarket (so if it does get confiscated anywhere, no big loss).

[patchouli Lover]

Originally Posted by aliz

are you travelling with a friend? this cuts your food costs a lot. we would usually eat breakfast at the hostel as late as possible, have some sort of snack mid afternoon then cook our dinner (if the hostel has a kitchen). I understand some people might find it pretty difficult to go from three meals a day down to two but if you time them right it's usually ok.
another thing we did was buy a box of cereal at the start of every week, a snack-type cereal like fruity bites or weet chex.. they're called different things in every country but something that you can eat with your hands without milk or anything. then each day we'd put some in a zip-lock bag and when you suddenly get hungry while you're out during the day, you already have something to eat instead of rushing into the nearest cafe and paying way too much for a snack.
having said all that, if you see some local treat that looks soooo good, don't turn it down just because a cheese sandwich would be cheaper. you gotta live a little.
oh and i carried a little cheese knife with me all the time and it was indispensable. just remember to take it out of your bag when going through airports and make it a cheap one from the supermarket (so if it does get confiscated anywhere, no big loss).

Man I love the cereal idea! I know I plan to eat cheap, but when I'm in Italy there will be at least one great meal with wine (hopefully my B-day since I'll be there for that!!!!:D) LOL... I have a feeling that I will eat better on my trip than I do now. That's bad, my eating habits are horrible...

[DC_Jessica]

I tend to lose weight when I'm on trips...especially solo. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy food, but I prioritize differently, or maybe I just choose to sightsee a lot of things where you have to take "carry" food with you, so it's not as calorie-laden or expensive. I spend very little when I travel.

Oh, and I ALWAYS take a mirror. They have them at places like the Container Store in plastic cases that are super hard to break. They've come in handy more than once. And you can always be that person who is like Mary Poppins and has EVERYTHING everyone needs on them at all times. (But don't overdo it...)

[MissChick]

yeah we never spent too much on food between the two of us...which was nice....we made alot of our own food which really cut down on what we could have spent....we only ate at restaurants twice...we splurged in cinque terre has stuffed mussles and stuff it was good....we always had left overs in rome...which we tossed off to the people who worked in the hostel that way we didnt have to clean the pot....they liked it free food mmmm

[patchouli Lover]

Originally Posted by MissChick

yeah we never spent too much on food between the two of us...which was nice....we made alot of our own food which really cut down on what we could have spent....we only ate at restaurants twice...we splurged in cinque terre has stuffed mussles and stuff it was good....we always had left overs in rome...which we tossed off to the people who worked in the hostel that way we didnt have to clean the pot....they liked it free food mmmm

So I've been doing alot of research on Italy and while I have no major plans (except to start in Italy) I really want to go to Cinque Terre. How did it fare with you?

[MissChick]

it is sooo beautiful I wish we could of spent a couple extra days there

[MolsonGirl]

I honestly never even thought of bringing a mirror. THen again i really don't care what I look like... ever... haha...