Le panier pique-nique

[MichaelC]

I think I'm set with all the important details (bags, shoes, rain gear), and now it's time to turn to the really important things in life: lunch.

Most of the gîtes offer to pack a lunch for between five and nine euros. How are these, in everyone's experiences? I can't find many concrete details beyond that they might include a sandwich or tartine, cheese, a piece of fruit, a salad composée, and maybe a sweet and a drink.

I can picture this being a great way to sample a better variety of local foods than I might manage on my own. I can also see this being an expensive way to buy a basic sandwich and apple.

I like the idea of visiting the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie each afternoon (am I forgetting anyone?) and making a picnic for the next day ... it all sounds so very cultured ... but I also like the idea of being a bit lazy and letting someone else do it.

*********************************************

Interestingly, the packing advice I see on French-language websites is a bit different than on the English sites. The French advise pilgrims to both pack a lunch for the next day, and to always carry an en-cas consisting of:

- 2 packs of sardines or tuna
- cereal bars
- un morceau de pain: some bread

So far, this isn't too different from what everyone recommends. But then they'll include:

- pain d'epices: spice cake. I assume this keeps longer than a baguette.
- un tube de lait concentré sucré: a tube of sweetened condensed milk! Because it is rare to find sugar in the albergues and gîtes.
- fromage à tartiner: cream cheese.

They also often mention that two small pieces of tupperware are indispensable.

I was surprised that the sites don't talk about buying a chunk of cheese and some sausages, which would've been my stereotype of what a French person would always pack.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

- pain d'epices: spice cake. I assume this keeps longer than a baguette.
- un tube de lait concentré sucré: a tube of sweetened condensed milk!

Say what? Pain d'épices at Xmas time ok, but a tube of anything long life, ok, other tham their horrendous tetra pack milk???

Think not.

 

[HeidiL]

I think the ginger bread may be a chocolate substitute, suitable for warm weather because it won't melt.

I'd rather lick melted chocolate off the inside of the wrapping...

 

[Purky]

Talking about indispensable on the French routes: I brought a small insulated cooler bag about the size of a sixpack with me. It weighs next to nothing and is awesome in more than one way. It keeps food cool(er), separate (unless you like the smell of French cheese in the morning) and easily accessible.

 

[MinaKamina]

It's available all year round and has a shape similar to toast bread. Belongs to the category of trail mix, energy bars etc but quite sweet.
I've not walked Le Puy, they may be more geared to walkers than elsewhere in rural France where there is often no épicerie, boulangerie, fromagerie, or charcuterie at all in villages, and the only shop is closed on Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday ...

By the sound of the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie each afternoon MichaelC is problably happiest walking around in Paris.....

 

[notion900]

un morceau de pain

French bread goes stale in about 2 hours, so an en-cas of it would quickly be more like a ship's biscuit.

 

[domigee]

French bread goes stale in about 2 hours, so an en-cas of it would quickly be more like a ship's biscuit.

When you're hungry it doesn't matter the bread is stale. You just feel lucky to have it

 

[FLEUR]

I remember carrying my picnic baguette from Orisson, the waft of pate got stronger and stronger as we struggled to cross the Pyrenees in a howling gale. It wouldn't have mattered what we had for lunch as we took shelter to stop and eat a bite in a grotty concrete bunker.
Mostly for lunch we bought a prepared sandwich from a boulangerie. Be warned, some of those Spanish bocadillos are massive and mostly consist of bread ( the baguette type) and filling, cheese, ham but no butter.

 

[Kitsambler]

I like the idea of visiting the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie each afternoon...

The problem on the Le Puy route being, apart from the larger towns, these shops are closing. The population is moving away from the countryside, and those remaining drive to the supermarkets, which are unfortunately not located on the GR 65 route.

Interestingly, the packing advice I see on French-language websites is a bit different than on the English sites. The French advise pilgrims to both pack a lunch for the next day, and to always carry an en-cas consisting of:

- 2 packs of sardines or tuna
- cereal bars
- un morceau de pain: some bread

So far, this isn't too different from what everyone recommends. But then they'll include:

- pain d'epices: spice cake. I assume this keeps longer than a baguette.
- un tube de lait concentré sucré: a tube of sweetened condensed milk! Because it is rare to find sugar in the albergues and gîtes.
- fromage à tartiner: cream cheese.

They also often mention that two small pieces of tupperware are indispensable.

All quite excellent advice; several times I've been hungry on the Le Puy because demi-pension wasn't available and the restaurants & shops were closed (Cahors on a Sunday night). Be sure to carry at least two days' worth of lunches.

I was surprised that the sites don't talk about buying a chunk of cheese and some sausages, which would've been my stereotype of what a French person would always pack.

The cheese tends to be softer, and the sausages quite wet (rillettes packed in jars), so maybe these things are thought to do better with refrigeration.

 

[FLEUR]

You can buy dried sausage to slice and eat with bread. This sausage lasts for ages, washes down well with a glass of the red stuff as well.

 

[kmrice]

Don't count on finding local shops on the Le Puy. There will be some, but not that often. The Le Puy does not have anything like the pilgrim service economy of the Camino Frances. Which, for us, was one of its strong points.

We took the box lunch when offered by the gites and they were sometimes outstanding (local cheese and sausage), always nourishing, and usually very tasty.

We carried gorp which got us through the occasional times when we needed food and there was no shop.

We soaked up the local culture mainly by hanging out at the local Café, if there was one. We visited local shops, but didn't count on them being there.

 

[newfydog]

Am on the Le puy route now. Many more shops than towns off the route (where many have closed as Kitz pointed out) and far more cafe-snack places catering to pelerin than 15 years ago. Better hours too.

To answer your pic-nique question, they are usually pretty good, and occcasionally do have some local or home made item you would not have tried.

 

[gittiharre]

I think I'm set with all the important details (bags, shoes, rain gear), and now it's time to turn to the really important things in life: lunch.

Most of the gîtes offer to pack a lunch for between five and nine euros. How are these, in everyone's experiences? I can't find many concrete details beyond that they might include a sandwich or tartine, cheese, a piece of fruit, a salad composée, and maybe a sweet and a drink.

I can picture this being a great way to sample a better variety of local foods than I might manage on my own. I can also see this being an expensive way to buy a basic sandwich and apple.

I like the idea of visiting the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie each afternoon (am I forgetting anyone?) and making a picnic for the next day ... it all sounds so very cultured ... but I also like the idea of being a bit lazy and letting someone else do it.

*********************************************

Interestingly, the packing advice I see on French-language websites is a bit different than on the English sites. The French advise pilgrims to both pack a lunch for the next day, and to always carry an en-cas consisting of:

- 2 packs of sardines or tuna
- cereal bars
- un morceau de pain: some bread

So far, this isn't too different from what everyone recommends. But then they'll include:

- pain d'epices: spice cake. I assume this keeps longer than a baguette.
- un tube de lait concentré sucré: a tube of sweetened condensed milk! Because it is rare to find sugar in the albergues and gîtes.
- fromage à tartiner: cream cheese.

They also often mention that two small pieces of tupperware are indispensable.

I was surprised that the sites don't talk about buying a chunk of cheese and some sausages, which would've been my stereotype of what a French person would always pack.

I think the packed lunch is overkill.
I usually got half a baguette, a bit of cheese, olives and almonds. Often there were fruittrees along the side of the path with fruit falling off and berries.
I personally never need much food while walking. I have a small saucisson sec on me as an emergency ration. It lasts forever and does not suffer in the heat.

 

[notion900]

I always carry salted toasted almonds and dried figs. The salt and sugar keep your electrolytes up when you are drinking loads of water, they don't go off, melt, leak or smell, and you don't need to shop for them daily. I don't really take a packed lunch as such, only these snacks. I just eat well in the morning and evening, like a dog!

 

[Purky]

I don't follow the camino packing list threads but have the impression that they often don't include such items. I myself never leave without my plastic lunchbox container in my backpack, and sometimes add another small round container for good measure. Perhaps that habit is more rando than camino which, in Spain, is peppered with bars and restaurants . We've gone hungry several times in France and we weren't exactly in wilderness areas (roughly along the voie de Paris/Tours).

My motto in France (on the Via Campaniensis and the Vezelay route) was: eat what you can, where you can, and prepare for meagre days. And I still lost 12 kilo's of bodyweight...

 

[domigee]

My motto in France (on the Via Campaniensis and the Vezelay route) was: eat what you can, where you can, and prepare for meagre days. And I still lost 12 kilo's of bodyweight...

Ditto! I was totally unprepared for it and lost at least 10 kgs. (Walking from Calais to Besançon).

 

[MinaKamina]

My favourite survival food from the French supermarché is a tin of Salade Mexicaine au Thon. The tin comes in the form of a small bowl, and the 'salad' is made of corn, kidney beans and tuna. There are other varieties, like the Salade Niçoise au Thon but imo the Mexicaine is the real superfood. The Salades au Thon are classics, they have been around for ages.

 

[domigee]

My favourite survival food from the French supermarché is a tin of Salade Mexicaine au Thon. The tin comes in the form of a small bowl, and the 'salad' is made of corn, kidney beans and tuna. There are other varieties, like the Salade Niçoise au Thon but imo the Mexicaine is the real superfood. The Salades au Thon are classics, they have been around for ages.

Sounds lovely but you have to find a supermarché first!

 

[newfydog]

Keep your eyes out for the small trucks or just plain cars selling goods. Many small towns are visited by the roaming Boulanger or fruit truck. They were life savers on the Francigena where half the businesses seem closed.

 

[MinaKamina]

Sounds lovely but you have to find a supermarché first!

Aaah, domigee, it will not take long before you sit down underneath an oak or an apple tree, you grab your phone and log in on the website of the supermarché and while you take a little nap, a humming sound is heard. It comes nearer and nearer till you wake up and see a drone with a croissant, un demi bouteille de entre-deux-mers and your tin of Salade Mexicaine au Thon.

Ye olde Pilgrimage will never be the same after that. If you happen to see a tree with drones humming around it like wasps, you have a fat chance of finding MichaelC there, waiting for his orders from the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie.

The future looks bright and filled with interesting calories! Until it finally arrives, try the supermarkets in the provincial towns. Even the smaller marchés may stock these tins.

 

[Thornley]

I think I'm set with all the important details (bags, shoes, rain gear), and now it's time to turn to the really important things in life: lunch.

Most of the gîtes offer to pack a lunch for between five and nine euros. How are these, in everyone's experiences? I can't find many concrete details beyond that they might include a sandwich or tartine, cheese, a piece of fruit, a salad composée, and maybe a sweet and a drink.

I can picture this being a great way to sample a better variety of local foods than I might manage on my own. I can also see this being an expensive way to buy a basic sandwich and apple.

I like the idea of visiting the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie each afternoon (am I forgetting anyone?) and making a picnic for the next day ... it all sounds so very cultured ... but I also like the idea of being a bit lazy and letting someone else do it.

*********************************************

Interestingly, the packing advice I see on French-language websites is a bit different than on the English sites. The French advise pilgrims to both pack a lunch for the next day, and to always carry an en-cas consisting of:

- 2 packs of sardines or tuna
- cereal bars
- un morceau de pain: some bread

So far, this isn't too different from what everyone recommends. But then they'll include:

- pain d'epices: spice cake. I assume this keeps longer than a baguette.
- un tube de lait concentré sucré: a tube of sweetened condensed milk! Because it is rare to find sugar in the albergues and gîtes.
- fromage à tartiner: cream cheese.

They also often mention that two small pieces of tupperware are indispensable.

I was surprised that the sites don't talk about buying a chunk of cheese and some sausages, which would've been my stereotype of what a French person would always pack.

Keep the distances reasonable , you will be ok
Try longer than required , you are in trouble for food

 

[domigee]

Aaah, domigee, it will not take long before you sit down underneath an oak or an apple tree, you grab your phone and log in on the website of the supermarché and while you take a little nap, a humming sound is heard. It comes nearer and nearer till you wake up and see a drone with a croissant, un demi bouteille de entre-deux-mers and your tin of Salade Mexicaine au Thon.

Ye olde Pilgrimage will never be the same after that. If you happen to see a tree with drones humming around it like wasps, you have a fat chance of finding MichaelC there, waiting for his orders from the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie.

The future looks bright and filled with interesting calories! Until it finally arrives, try the supermarkets in the provincial towns. Even the smaller marchés may stock these tins.

 

[MichaelC]

It's available all year round and has a shape similar to toast bread. Belongs to the category of trail mix, energy bars etc but quite sweet.

That makes sense; one article talked about spreading the condensed milk on the bread for an impromptu dessert. I might give that a pass. I was surprised at how many of the French sites talk where to find sweets on the trail.

By the sound of the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie each afternoon MichaelC is probably happiest walking around in Paris.....

Well, I think I'd definitely be happy living in Paris. I've only been once, and I actually bought packed lunches each morning from the boulangerie in my neighborhood. It was much easier than trying to find an affordable restaurant when I visited the tourist areas. I never learned if this was geared towards people heading to work, or towards French visitors from outside Paris; I definitely never heard English in the shop.

I remember carrying my picnic baguette from Orisson, the waft of pate got stronger and stronger as we struggled to cross the Pyrenees in a howling gale. It wouldn't have mattered what we had for lunch as we took shelter to stop and eat a bite in a grotty concrete bunker.
Mostly for lunch we bought a prepared sandwich from a boulangerie. Be warned, some of those Spanish bocadillos are massive and mostly consist of bread ( the baguette type) and filling, cheese, ham but no butter.

Yikes. I'll definitely include tupperware in my packing list!

I know those Spanish bocadillos. I'm sure they're delicious after you've been walking for a few hours. The Spanish part of the route seems to require a lot less daily planning than the French side.

Don't count on finding local shops on the Le Puy. There will be some, but not that often. The Le Puy does not have anything like the pilgrim service economy of the Camino Frances. Which, for us, was one of its strong points.

We took the box lunch when offered by the gites and they were sometimes outstanding (local cheese and sausage), always nourishing, and usually very tasty.

Thanks. I'll probably do the same. Though I think the "pilgrim service economy" might be changing. I'll try and find the article, but one of the papers talked about the different departments along the route forming associations this summer to promote the Camino.

Am on the Le puy route now. Many more shops than towns off the route (where many have closed as Kitz pointed out) and far more cafe-snack places catering to pelerin than 15 years ago. Better hours too.

To answer your pic-nique question, they are usually pretty good, and occcasionally do have some local or home made item you would not have tried.

Yeay!

I think the packed lunch is overkill.
I usually got half a baguette, a bit of cheese, olives and almonds. Often there were fruit trees along the side of the path with fruit falling off and berries.
I personally never need much food while walking. I have a small saucisson sec on me as an emergency ration. It lasts forever and does not suffer in the heat.

I think I have a higher metabolism - that would last me about two hours ...

Aaah, domigee, it will not take long before you sit down underneath an oak or an apple tree, you grab your phone and log in on the website of the supermarché and while you take a little nap, a humming sound is heard. It comes nearer and nearer till you wake up and see a drone with a croissant, un demi bouteille de entre-deux-mers and your tin of Salade Mexicaine au Thon.

Ye olde Pilgrimage will never be the same after that. If you happen to see a tree with drones humming around it like wasps, you have a fat chance of finding MichaelC there, waiting for his orders from the épicerie, the boulangerie, the fromagerie, and the charcuterie.

As long as the wine is included, I'm in

 

[pudgypilgrim]

one of the papers talked about the different departments along the route forming associations this summer to promote the Camino.

There are pilgrim associations in most dèpartements already. If you know the number of the dèpartement you want, try just typing compostelle28.org or whatever, substituting the number of the one you want. However, just because there are associations doesn't mean they do much. Some are splendid, others just barely exist.
For instance, two years ago when I was walking the Voie de Tours par Chartres, Eure-et-Loir was the best, with all the info you could want, very helpful people, and good way marking, but the group in Loir-et-Cher maintained a web page with suggestions for non-existent places to stay (which matters when it's the only place in a 40 km area) and their only suggestion for a route was to follow the GR655, which will take you in the right direction but winds around a lot so you walk many surplus kilometers.

 

[MichaelC]

There are pilgrim associations in most dèpartements already. If you know the number of the dèpartement you want, try just typing compostelle28.org or whatever, substituting the number of the one you want. However, just because there are associations doesn't mean they do much. Some are splendid, others just barely exist.
For instance, two years ago when I was walking the Voie de Tours par Chartres, Eure-et-Loir was the best, with all the info you could want, very helpful people, and good way marking, but the group in Loir-et-Cher maintained a web page with suggestions for non-existent places to stay (which matters when it's the only place in a 40 km area) and their only suggestion for a route was to follow the GR655, which will take you in the right direction but winds around a lot so you walk many surplus kilometers.

I found the article I was thinking of, but I remembered it wrong. The association I was thinking of was 1 000 mains à la pâte, but on re-reading the article I see that this is a volunteer work group that started in Lalbenque-Limogne, then expanded to Quercy-Blanc. Now Grand-Cahors and Grand-Figeac are forming these volunteer groups. It sounds like a nice group, but they're not a 'promotional group' in the way I thought at first.