- Canned, diced green chilis
- Marshmallow cream
- Canned pumpkin
- Pumpkin-scented candles
- Preferred shampoo and conditioner
- Reese's Pieces
- Starbucks whole bean coffee
- Yellow cake mix
- Cinnamon baking chips
- Peanut butter baking chips
- Chocolate baking chips
- Jeans (we don't yet know our sizes in European measurements)
- Dishwashing wand sponge refills
- Preferred cosmetics
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Brown sugar
- English paperback books
At the airport, I heaved the duffel bag on the scale. Sure enough, it was 54 pounds. I moved two glass candles to my backpack, along with the boxes of cake mix and graham cracker crumbs, and a bag of cinnamon baking chips. The bag's weight dropped to exactly 50 pounds.
What I didn't think about was how security would view me bringing candles onto a plane.
Nobody said anything until I went through security at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. When the carry-on bag X-rayers noticed the candles, they diverted me to a separate security line where they asked me about the candles and then went through my purse, presumably to find matches. Then I went through one of those full-body scanners. After that, I was allowed to continue on with my pumpkin-scented candles. Whew. Pumpkin is my favorite flavor and scent, and it's non-existent in Europe. I REALLY wanted those candles.
It felt so good, when I got back to our apartment in Busingen, to unload all our new goodies. Ahh, I love the feeling of a restocked kitchen pantry. Let the autumn baking commence.
Hello! I have a list similar to that. I always try to bring peanut butter (Jiff preferably), cake mixes, brownie mixes, preferred deodorant and other such like toiletry items, chocolate chips, peanut M & Ms, and a few other things. Books are always on my list of things to be brought by me and others when they come to visit. The canned pumpkin, french fried onions and jellied cranberry sauce are also requested early in the year so they get here in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
ReplyDeleteAs for packing, if you take the cake mixes and such out of boxes and pack in ziplock bags it saves a lot of room and some weight. Remember to put the type/ flavor of cake along with the cut out of directions from the box in the baggie as well. For Graham cracker crumbs you can always use digestive biscuts if you don't have them. I would think they would be available in Germany as they are made in England I think. I don't do the marshmallow cream but a teammate does. I do ask for mini- marshmallow packets so I can make apple salad with them. I also ask for parmesian cheese as it is hard to find here too.
I would have never thought about the candles either. What a strange world we live in now! At least they let you keep them. I have seen some things confiscated. That would have been a bummer! I am glad you made it back safely and with all the goodies. It is always fun to get stuff from home. I always feel like a hoarder, but I love having the stuff for special occasions or just when I am feeling homesick. So, enjoy the goodness!
Glad you made it back with all your necessities! :o)
ReplyDeleteLynn, doesn't it feel good to have a stocked pantry? I'm like you, I almost hesitate to use any of it because then it will be gone. I got the marshmallow cream so I could make pumpkin fudge, but b/c of the pumpkin shortage back home there was no canned pumpkin. I was also afraid to take the bags of cake mix out of the boxes, in case the customs and security personnel were alarmed by unidentified powders. -- Gina
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