Stuff for camping in France - fridge? tarp? kitchenette? etc.

[bealos]

We're off to France this Summer! I have memories of amazing campsites as a child and we're seasoned UK campers, but this is our first trip abroad as a family (I have a 5 month old baby and a 7 year old).

We have our lovely bell tent, a second-hand VW Passat estate we bought a few weeks ago... what else (apart from the usual bedding) do we need?

I have my eye on this poly/cotton awning from Obelink (found through a previous mumsnet thread!) and this 'camping cupboard' from Decathlon to put the stove on and keep the food in.

I think we should splash out on some camping chairs too, and a table probably. We always eat on the floor, but I think doing le picnic for 3 weeks might get tiresome. We might need a sun tent too for the beach for the little 'un. Blimey, all investments I guess!

And a fridge? Do we need a fridge? We will have beaucoup de vin to chill, of course, and stinky cheese. Currently, we have a coolbox and ice packs, but we're going to the Dordogne and various other Camping Municipale sites, so it's going to be HOT HOT HOT (here's hoping) and our current set up barely keeps food and drinks cool for a day in the UK. I've been looking at portable fridges. One of the campsites we're going to hires fridges - do you think this would be an actual fridge, or one in a central area? (no luck finding this out on the website and they don't seem to reply to emails, even in amazing rusty French).

Anyway, hit me with your camping-in-France- must haves!

Oui Lucy. Je suis acheter un bag pour le baguette!

And yes a moat pour les juices de poulet. My hairdresser says you can just cut it up in the bag though. I will test it out.

Is your hairdresser a poulet en le sac expert? I trust mine to cut hair but I'm not sure about poulet roti.
Is it a transparent bag? although a black bin bag would make it a more interesting challenge.
Please do test and report back

Well I'm vair confused now because in my head when you buy your poulet roti they place it in a most special heavy duty paper bag with a special lining to stop the grease seeping out onto your linen trews. I had a vision of sort of cutting the bag open a bit but not flat and sort of wrestling the meat off the chicken in its safe and confined paper-bag-environment and then lobbing the carcass still dans le sac into le trash.

Reducing washing up and increasing caveman fun.

How many baguettes can you fit in the baguette bag Lucy? Do you think a family of 4 would eat 2 per day? I'm sure we'll work it out but if you say NO YOU MUST BUY THREE then that's what I'll do. Breakfast and lunch innit.

Skin So Soft ordered Quenelle, thanks v much

PS bought a bucket of it for £3.50 seems to be half price....

Amazing - I return from camping (in the UK, possibly hotter than France will be!) to talk of toilets and meat juices.

@shiraz where did you get your Avon skin so soft from?

@Bealos I got it directly from Avon. £3.50 delivery though. I chose the Skin So Soft original dry oil spray bonus size for £3.50.

First found it on amazon and the reviews were fantastic.

That's the one I got Shiraz. Although the bottle looks different in real life to the one in the photo

The pump stopped working a couple of days before the end of the holiday so I was having to tip it into my hands and rub it on which meant I used more than necessary but I still have about a third left in the bottle. There were three of us using it.

I couldn't believe how magically it worked. And it smells nice too.

Slubber we'd eat 2 a day I reckon and you can definately fit two in. They tend to go a bit soft in the bag so need removing for a while before eating to 'firm up' but at least you don't break your teeth on them by tea time! As for the poulet roti you have me wondering now...