Another sort of UK shopping experience is Iceland, which has nothing to do with Reykjavik or that ash-spewing volcano. Iceland is all about frozen. Five double aisles of bunkers of frozen foods. Lots of pizzas, but also burgers and entrees and chicken and fish and potatoes and other vegetables and party foods and ready meals. All at less than 0 degrees (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Along the back of the store is the limited selection of produce and dairy items (yes, even in the UK, the milk is as far away from the front door as it is in the US) and the final aisle is the boxed stuff, such as cookies and cereals and bread and a limited selection of household chemicals (cleaning stuff) and detergent and loo rolls ("toilet paper" in American).
You can't do a full shop here (unless you really like frozen food) but you can certainly gather up a good selection of stuff.
One thing that's really interesting is Iceland's pricing scheme. Everything is rounded to the nearest £1. Almost everything in the store is £1 or £2 or £3 and a few things are £4. I thought the prices were in line with Tesco and Asda. (The 8-pack of Carlsberg bottles was £4 compared to £5 in Sainsbury's!)
If you're someone like me (on a budget) this rounded-off pricing makes it really easy to keep track of how much stuff you have in your trolley ("wagon" or "cart"). Because my flat ("apartment") has a very small fridge with a freezer barely big enough for two pizza boxes, Iceland probably isn't the ideal place for me to shop. Also, I like fresh vegetables and fresh bread. But if you have a full size freezer and especially if you like already-prepared foods you cook in your oven or microwave, then Iceland is the place for you. read more