What will I drink besides water?

I just got back from a trip to England, France, and Italy. Soda is everywhere, so you won't have any trouble finding it. Yes, it is a little expensive, but so is mostly everything in Europe right now, atleast when converted to the American dollar. You could probably buy larger bottles in food/convenience stores to save a little money. Maybe you could drink tea as well, especially in London.

Yes, you can find soda all over. I didn't really find it any more expensive than it typically is at convenience stores here, though. As as "insurance policy" you might want to take caffeine tablets, like Jet Awake or No Doz, with you to take if you really NEED the caffeine and haven't found a source for awhile. I carried some when we went to China because I didn't know what I'd find there, but I never opened them -- I could get soda, even diet, everywhere.

Soda is everywhere. Soda IS expensive if you go into a touristy place and order it at a sit down cafe/ bistro etc. If you go into a small corner store, or a grocers , then we found soda to be about the same price as at home. We bought a six pack of cokes and kept them in the mini bar fridge in our room. When we went out to eat I allowed my teenager to order one over priced coke for dinner, the rest of the time he had water. For lunch we often ate at street crepe stands and the coke was cheaper then the cafes.

I don't drink coffee or wine either.
Sodas were 3.50Euro. when eating out at your average place, nothing fancy.

Yes, drink tea in the UK.
In Italy, I drank (tap) water.

chocolate.. and some of the very best chocolate in the entire WORLD is in Europe...

I used to drink anywhere from 3-9 Diet Pepsis a day, but when I went to China a year ago I had a hard time finding soda (they generally only offer "leaded," full sugar soda with meals), so I switched to tea. I then got an idea from some Chinese tourists I saw walking around - I don't like to drink water (I won't drink as much as I should if there's only water available) and you HAVE to drink bottled or boiled water in China (even in the cities) - there were people walking around with bottled water with TEA in the bottom of the bottles - I used the tea bags in the "snack tray" provided at most every hotel (loose tea works too),put them in the bottles & left them to "steep" overnight in the mini bar fridge. We carried them during the day & it was MUCH more pleasant than sucking on a lukewarm bottle of plain water (flavored tepid water is preferable to plain tepid water). As a matter of fact, I kicked my Diet Pepsi addiction & keep a gallon of iced tea in the fridge at all times now!

Walmart sells a couple of varieties of caffeinated drink mixes called Morning Spark. They come in the little packets sized to mix in with a standard half-liter water bottle. As for diet soda, everywhere I've been (including China) Diet Coke (Coke Light) has been much more prevalent than Diet Pepsi.

I too dont drink wine or coffee, and thought I would have a hard time when I went to europe, but it was fine. I was in both London and Italy and had no problems as regular and diet sodas are regularly avaiable.

With the exchange London is generally expensive, you can get any size bottles of almost any flavor soda at sandsbury, which is like a large grocery store and tesco shops, these are great little convience stores!

As for italy there are alot of street vendors, for the most part cans were around 1 euro and bottles 1.50 - 3 euro. Resturants do charge more for soda than even some wines!

In Italy if you get a chance try their ice tea, comes in a bottle I think the brand name starts with a B it's really good, and cheaper than soda.

Nancy - Ah yes, I remember the "Coke Light" (apparently Europe's favorite diet soda substitute), it has 100 calories (per 8 oz, I think) and doesn't exactly taste like Diet soda OR like "real" soda. From what I can see, most Europeans don't sweat the "sugar free" thing - they just generally don't drink a lot of soda (except the younger people who are at risk of developing the unhealthy eating habits we Americans are renowned for!).

I've also noticed that in Europe you can buy bottles of Coke with Bacardi Rum already mixed in. Or is that bottles of Bacardi with the Coke mixed in? :)

Soda is expensive in both those places and generally not served very cold. Don't even bother asking for ice in Italy, they'll look at you like you're a mad woman. If you can tolerate tea, try switching to that and you'll have no problem in London. Coke Light will be your diet soda of choice in Italy. If you have your caffeine covered, there are many other fun sodas to try though - aranciata (orange) and limonata (lemon) are my two favorites (made by San Pellegrino, the maker of sparkly water, you can buy at Trader Joes here in the US).

The Coke Light we had in China has no calories -- it's just regular Diet Coke (I saved a label and it has the nutrition information on it.) It's sugar free. To second what several before me have said, soda in a restaurant can be outrageously expensive. Buy it at a convenience or grocery store instead.

Soda is everywhere in Europe, but I don't really know the price of it. I only drink water and wine.
However try to buy from a supermarket, or souvenir boutiques. I bought some cold beer in Strasbourg, France for 1 euro or so in such store.

Caffeine is one stimulant I try to avoid. I don't want or need the sugar spikes and surges, highs and lows associated with caffeine.

Just wondering, why do you want caffeine? Is it the temporary energy boost that you are looking for?

Soft drinks or "Soda" are nutritionally void. Not to mention expensive, addictive and can rot or stain your teeth. Try water flavoured naturally with drops of real lemon or lime. Served hot or cold. It won't give you caffeine but it also won't give you gas or stain your teeth.

Caffeine is a stimulant found in many foods and beverages. Just read the label.

On the flip side I am worried about finding water in Europe. I don't need sodas but would like to drink plenty of water and I have heard that it is hard to find ice water when eating out especially. Why don't europeans drink more water?

Diet sodas (light sodas are readily available in Europe). The cheapest places to buy them (as said before) like in the US is Grocery stores (big or small). Europeans drink water - tap water and bottled water with or without gas (sparkling or not).

Kay, I'm not going to filibuster about how horrid soda is for you, especially if you drink it on a regular basis, even if you're drinking diet or some other law calorie variety. I will just say that my mother has had some significant health problems (including benign cysts and anemia) that many doctors believe are related to the 2-6 cans of diet soda she drinks every day.

However, you will find soda in most places in Europe. Coke is very prevalent. Diet soda may be harder to find.

Here's a suggestion and try to keep an open mind about this. If you're going to be in Italy there is a chance that you would have the opportunity to mix your own coffee beverage in the morning with the breakfast that comes with your hotel. The good thing about this is that in Europe the cafe is generally served as espresso with the steamed milk on the side. You can mix the espresso and milk at any strength you'd like. Why not try a little espresso with a mug of steamed milk in the morning. Just a thought..

Gee Jarrod, thanks for not "filbusting",, about the evils of soda.... umm,and that " many" ? doctors apparently believe cause benign cysts and anemia, ?? LOL Hmmm??

Pat, only repeating what the doctors told me. Again, I'm not here to filibuster. Just do yourself a favor and do some research on the matter before you just write it off. For now I'll trust what my mother's doctors are telling me.

Look at the ingredients list of Diet Soda vs Regular Soda. Regular Soda has about five ingredients; with only about 2 syllables in each item. Diet Soda has about 20 ingredients with a lot of stuff that's unpronounceable and stuff you've never hear of. I wouldn't serve diet soda to my worst enemy!

Do like the Europeans do. Drink beer or wine.

Jodi - I drink water at almost every meal when I am in Europe. All that walking around during the summer does make me very thirsty. I'll admit that it is mostly bottled water but in my family we like it both with and without "gas" so we just order one bottle of each. The bottled water that we ordered was always cool if not cold. We don't order ice. There are also HUGE bottles of water for sale at the stores, many often found in a refrigerated area so you can drink them right away. We also drink the tap water in the hotels and if you know the proper word for "tap water" you can order it in restaurants as well.

Our latest trip was Sicily and Italy and it was about 100 F - believe me we drank plenty of water.

I always head to a larger grocery store upon arrival. I seek out the 6 packs of 1 litre bottled water. If I'm at the same hotel for a couple days I usually ask HSKPing to clear out my minibar so I can use the fridge. I always have an empty sportsdrink bottle which I can refill if drinkable water is available. I carry emergency water purification tablets or drops incase I'm ever in doubt about the water (in certain parts of the world...few places I've actually needed them, though) Or sometimes I boil water in my kettle or inversion heater in my room.

I generally don't put ice in my drinks, period. I might pack ice around the bottles, but not in it. The water made to make the ice may not be purified so I don't risk it.
Ever since I saw the "Twinrix" vaccine commercial on TV, I think twice...(The ad claims getting Hep A or B could be as simple as a contaminated ice cube in your drink...)It left an impression on me, anyway! So this "needle phobe" went and got her shot!

FlightAttendent, you mean you don't drink the water in France and UK,?, I do and have never been sick. Or are you referring to different countries that may in fact have questionable water?

The water in Paris and London ( and Germany and Switzerland for that matter) is perfectly clean and drinkable.

Hi Pat, my fellow Canadian! I LOVE Victoria!

I drink regular water in most parts of Europe. I always carry a refillable sports drink bottle so I can refill it if I know that the water source is safe.

What I meant by questionable water was mostly other parts of the world where they warn you that it may not be potable. Or if it looks a funny colour or tastes funny, I'll probably buy some bottled water.

Sometimes the water at the hotels we stay at are considered safe but the taste or smell turns me off of drinking it. Or if I'm stuck, I'll just boil the water first or add a few drops of lemon or lime to improve the taste.

Something to consider when ordering bottled water at a restaurant...Ask them for a sealed bottle to ensure you're not paying for a refilled bottle of tap water! If the seal is already broken, just refuse!

Jarrod, having had three bouts of gestantial diabetes, which we controlled by diet/nutrition control only for first two babies, but failed by third( its gets worse each time) and having to resort to insulin shots 3 times daily and 7 test pricks a day, let me assure you, I have been counselled on "diet soda" and all "sugar free, but artifically sweetened " products quite extensively. By diabetes specialists, by nutritionists, and by regular doctors. The word was that one diet pop a day is better isn't a health risk. Over doing would not be good, and of course, products sweetened by Splenda are preferable, but I was told no lasting or ill effects have been shown when used sparingly.
I suppose if one drinks 3 or 4 tins a day they are going to be in trouble,if not at least because apartame can cause gastrointestinal distress.
Moderation in everything.

If OP drinks that much diet soda I guess we can't preach at her, but answer her question, pop is cheaper at stores then cafes.