At the grocery store

The grocery stores here aren't TOO unlike those in the US, but there are some definite differences. The first difference you notice before you even get in the store.

The "trolleys" are chained together, and you have to insert a €1 coin to release one.  The first few times I went to the store I only used the hand basket because I refused to pay €1 to rent a basket for my shopping trip.  Only later did I find out that you are just putting this down as a deposit (not all stores have this handy sign), and you get it back at the end when you clip it back onto the chain on the end of the next cart.  It's actually a very clever way to make sure the carts end up back in the cart storage area, and not all over the parking lot or stolen outright.

Some of the stores are also combination department store and grocery store.  Kind of like a Super Target, but the food selection is larger, and the clothes and food are on separate levels.  So you can go buy some sheets and some new shoes, then take the escalator down to do your grocery shopping.  Some also have a little cafe!

Once you get inside, the stores are mostly like you would expect, just with different brands, and flavors.

These mostly just tasted like BBQ chips but not quite as sweet.  Surprisingly, they actually listed both Roast Beef and Irish Stout (beer) on the ingredients list!  Also, don't call these chips, they are "crisps."  "Chips" are thick french fries.

Some of the candies have names you might recognize, but most of those don't taste quite the same as the US versions.

Some things use the same words but mean something different.  When people here speak of bacon, it usually means rashers, which is more like ham than bacon, and if you want something close to what you are used to, you have to look for "smoked streaky rashers" or "smoked streaky bacon."  Sometimes they just call it "American style bacon."  While we are on the topic of breakfast, pancakes is another funny thing.  "American Style Pancakes" are usually found pre-packaged and don't look very tasty to me.  I have seen a few pancake mixes, but pretty sure they are not the American style.  When they say pancakes here, they mean something more like crepes, which is confusing because they also have crepes.

We had trouble one day finding lemon juice, like in one of those squeezy lemons or a bottle, so I asked one of the store employees.  She didn't know, so she asked another employee, who sought clarification by asking, "You mean like for pancakes?"  I was totally confused by that, but we did finally find our lemon on the baking aisle.  I found out later from a cab driver two interesting things about pancakes here.  First of all, it is what they eat on Fat Tuesday, it's a big thing apparently. Second, the preferred method of eating them is with a  squeeze of lemon and some powdered sugar, like shown on the cookbook cover below.  Now the whole "for pancakes" thing makes more sense.  I still haven't tried these pancakes yet, but some day I will see what this crepe and lemon thing is about.

Some other things I find interesting are the basics: milk, eggs, bread.  I have only in the last month or so seen stores carrying something called "skimmed milk."  Up until then I have only seen "Milk" and "Light Milk," or sometimes "Low Fat Milk," which seems to be like 2% milk.  The eggs are usually stored on a shelf at room temperature (but recommend storing in the fridge after purchase), and there is a huge selection of free range eggs.  I have only seen brown eggs, and the yolk is more orange than yellow.  Some brands of bread offer both a full loaf and a "Half Pan" of bread, which is half a loaf. This works out great for us, because we can't go through a full loaf before it starts to mold.

And finally as you exit the store, I am again fascinated by the carts.  Every cart we have used have all four wheels that turn in a full circle, not just back and forth, meaning you can push the cart sideways. I actually hate that, I have trouble pushing it when it is full, but still interesting :)  Two of the Three stores we frequent have parking on a separate level than the store.  One of them is in the mall, so you see people pushing grocery carts around the mall on their way to the parking garage, which is kind of funny.  Unlike IKEA, you don't have to wait for an elevator to take you down.  They just use inclined moving walkways instead of escalators.  What's really brilliant about this is that the walkways are grooved, as are the cart tires.  The tires sink into the grooves on the walkway, and now the little rubber stopper that goes partway down the wheel is making contact with the walkway and holding the cart in place.  So genius!  They do shopping carts so much better here than we do in the US.

So if you come over for a visit and hit the grocery store, you'll get along okay, but expect adapt a little :)