Must haves on holiday

I'm going away for a few days and will be taking away with me some decaff tea bags for me, nescafe coffee sachets caramel latte mmmm some biscuits maybe a bottle of prosecco we'll see.

When I'm abroad, I'm willing to eat or drink whatever the hotel provides. It's called sampling the local culture! Anyone, unless they have severe allergies, can surely survive for a week without a certain brand of things.

I wouldn't dream of taking my own food and drink but I try never to travel without my own pillow.

I have stopped taking anything if I am going on holiday abroad as you can get everything you need in the supermarkets these days and I am trying to keep my packing down.
If I am going self catering in the UK I take quite a bit of stuff like TBags, coffee, cereals, salad cream etc as it saves spending time food shopping as I work everyday in my guest house my holiday time is very precious.
We are very generous in our guest house as the trays in our bedrooms have lots on them, coffee, decaff coffee, green tea, earl grey, red bush, PG tea, various fruit, camomile and mint teas, hot chocolate, biscuits. Plus if you run out we have a dish in the hall full of sachets that the guests can help themselves to.

It depends on your likes and dislikes and taking one or two isolated items like preferred brands of tea or coffee doesn't mean that you are not fully participating in local culture, including the food culture. Coffee and tea, which is what most people take, are universal beverages.

I have just come back from France after a short stay. We sat at a beachside cafe and ate Moule frites and later in our visit stopped at a more upmarket seaside restaurant, where I had a plate of fruit de mer, most caught locally, followed by a trio of fish in a coconut sauce (menu description) and finished with a platter of French cheese. Not to mention crissants at breakfast, and pate and local bread for lunch.

My inclination to have a cup of my preferred beverage first thing in the morning and last thing at night hampered me not at all when sampling local culture

Peppermint teabags - for the first brew of the day.

I don't take tea bags, although it is sometimes difficult to find a decent cup of tea when you really want one. However, I have two kinds of infusions, of which I like to have a few sachets handy. (One for the digestion and one to help sleep.)

They are just herbal brews, but they both work, and taste nice, and boiling water is usually available somewhere.

I also have a travel toothbrush and small toothpaste at all times in my handbag, and if I'm travelling, I always have a small towel in my bag.

I take wire coathangers, as there are either never enough, or they’re those wooden ones attached to the rail. My friend ( who always stays in high end accommodation) takes flip flops for the shower, paper lavatory seat covers, and her own pillowcase!
I never take anything edible/drinkable, as I can do with whatever’s there. Or just drink gin and eat chocolate.

Don't take anything.

I always take my green tea with lotus and orange to start my day!

Dolcelatta
Did that make a nice cocktail?

Teabags (PG Tips) and a jar of our homemade marmalade (made from Mamade).

Trying to explain “jam made from oranges” was exhausting.

I take a small kettle and something to make coffee in, but buy coffee wherever I am.

I am considering taking my own pillow with me though.

And I always take my own washing powder with me and soap, as I am allergic to all perfumed brands.

I eat very little when abroad. Only those comestibles which can't be mucked about with including hard cheeses, breads, butter, fruit, and rice. I never eat meats, seafood, fish or salads to be sure that I will never be ill from undercooked or bacteria-laden food which has often been under hot lights on buffets or prepared in less than sanitary conditions.
I also take a large plastic seat cover to use on the flights.

I can usually find English tea whatever country I'm in, but squash is an altogether different category! Too heavy to take on the plane - or train for me. People say "just squeeze some lemon in the water"! Pffft. Not the same.

A jar of Nescafe is our only necessity.

I’m from the US and see a lot of references to Builders Tea. I’m curious to know what you tea loving gals think the best tea is for me to drink.

Yes I take Redbush tea bags to Greece every year. We only drink this brand & it is very good for you - anti-oxidents or something. Having said that we don't drink much tea while away but the odd cup first thing in morning on balcony is nice. It's about all the 'cooking' I do over there as the local tavernas have such amazing food & I love Greek cuisine .
Just back & planning next year!

Isn't the pleasure of going on holiday abroad to do as the locals ?. Although I recall on return from my first overseas holiday in the sixties that in arrivals I went straight to the café! no Costas then and had beans on toast and a pot of tea.

Pjkocktur. There is no best. Its as we Brits say. 'one man's meat is another's poison'. Not literally I must add.

I live abroad, GabriallaG, so by your standards, I ought to have lost a load of weight over the past 40 years! Of course, there are people who come from where I live and go to the UK, which, to them, is abroad, and are very dubious about drinking the water or eating salads, etc.

Which seat do you cover with the plastic? The loo seat or the actual seat you are sitting on ?

'Builder's Tea' really just means a good powerful brew of any typical everyday tea such as Typhoo or PG tips.....calling it Builders means its been stood in the pot (or mug) for a good five minutes before you drink it!
All the builders I've ever known also tend to have whole milk and two sugars as well!

Pjkoctur As Sarahellen says, one man's nice "cuppa" would be someone else's "Gut varnish" (which is what my father used to call very strong or stewed tea).

Try "English Breakfast Tea" which you should be able to get in the States - and see if you find that strong enough, too strong or just right.

No ....no need ! when we lived in Menorca, the small local supermarket stocked English Tea bags, biscuits, salad cream and lots of other things ....so the holidaymakers could buy them ! Why cart all that stuff with you .....wouldn't want to pay excess baggage for a tea bag !!

The only thing I used to take was a pillow cover after an experience of a sweaty smelling pillow.