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Italian food is more than just pizza and pasta; you just need to choose a restaurant wisely. And larger place in Italy will have their share of non-Italian foods as well. And hey, I take the opinion that all the walking you do on an European trip burns enough calories that it’s always okay to go get an ice cream/gelato cone or dish after dinner has had a chance to digest a bit.
If you’re thinking a 10 day or so trip, there’s also the option of flying into Paris, taking a one way flight or train trip to Rome and then flying home from Rome. (Buy what’s called a multi-city ticket for the USA-Paris and then Roma-USA legs and then do the one way ticket separately)
Italy, too much for me. First comes salad. AND soup, and a loaf of bread.. With an appetizer in there, which you might mistake for the main course. That was good. Wait, then comes the pasta, which you have to get around. Burp, pat the tummy, and out comes the main course. Be sure to specify "mezzo pollo", or they'll bring the whole bird. Dessert. Wine. This is noon lunch.
I remember Italian breakfast was fruit and cheese and ham and cold sausage and chocolate cake.
I went to a wedding in Northern Italy and the reception was at a winery. We ate a tremendous amount of food - so much that I can’t remember it all. The pre-appetizer was frog legs and champagne and it ended with grappa. Everything else was a blur. We had maybe 3-4 bottles of wine that came and went according to the courses and then a dessert wine, coffee, and grappa. You have to pace yourself. There was a lot of dancing and no one got too intoxicated.
I went to a wedding in the Ozarks and it seemed that few people could walk after a few hours at the reception. The “old folks” left early. The groom was flat horizontal. No fist fights.
Italy, too much for me. First comes salad. AND soup, and a loaf of bread.. With an appetizer in there, which you might mistake for the main course. That was good. Wait, then comes the pasta, which you have to get around. Burp, pat the tummy, and out comes the main course. Be sure to specify "mezzo pollo", or they'll bring the whole bird. Dessert. Wine. This is noon lunch.
Tip = you don't have to eat a meal like that for lunch if you don't want to, plenty of Italians don't. Every French person doesn't eat a starter/main/cheese/dessert fixed menu at a bouchon for every meal either.
Italy, too much for me. First comes salad. AND soup, and a loaf of bread.. With an appetizer in there, which you might mistake for the main course. That was good. Wait, then comes the pasta, which you have to get around. Burp, pat the tummy, and out comes the main course. Be sure to specify "mezzo pollo", or they'll bring the whole bird. Dessert. Wine. This is noon lunch.
Discussing the food culture with my new Italian teacher and why so many Italians these days are so thin compared to us in the Anglo world.
According to this lady, who is from the south but a long time dweller in the north, people do not normally eat more than one course these days, generally pasta, preferably at lunch time. The sauces are generally much lighter than we get here and in the US.Then a late light dinner, which means there is no excuse for snacking. The alcohol culture is very civilised. Too much is a real taboo. Coffee is espresso except in the morning.
Yes, the elaborate meals do happen, more so for special occasions.
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Food is the least of my concerns. One can always find a shop of some sort, to buy something to eat. I don't even concern myself with the meals thing.
I'm absolutely the opposite, I always make note of the recommended cafes/restaurants/dishes in the regions I travel. It's one of the priorities I have along with a lot of walking through interesting or scenic areas. The street food in SE Asia, oysters & Guiness in Galway, octopus & local wine in the Algarve, almost any of the cuisine of Italy or Turkey, mmm.... It's as much a part of the culture as the music or art to me.
It's as much a part of the culture as the music or art to me.
Indeed! Plotting out your own food tour to help check everything off the culinary bucket list for a country is one of the best parts of travel.
For some reason despite spending lots of time in SE Asia balut (or other country equivalents) remains unchecked. I've gotten pretty close with liquid courage in the tank but seeing other people open them up first I always fail then regret it later.
Yeah, you get a pass for things like balut, perhaps even durian and that Scandinavian fermented fish thing that smells like urine. After 2 bouts of food poisoning I won't even look at mussels, I barely can stomach any broth that included them in the making, I can taste it immediately.
The food of the Philippines is the most disagreeable, sometimes disgusting (balut), of the SE Asia region to me except for a few things like sisig, lechon, lumpia and adobo. A shame considering it's native ingredients & the potential fusion elements of Spain & China.
Tip = you don't have to eat a meal like that for lunch if you don't want to, plenty of Italians don't. Every French person doesn't eat a starter/main/cheese/dessert fixed menu at a bouchon for every meal either.
The waiter handed me a menu, I pointed at Pollo, the price was right, and you learn by experience. In US, for unlimited buffet, they're packed at noon. The attraction of independent travel is the surprises, which are unwelcome at the time, but are the cornerstones of your fondest memories.
It was a little store-fromt cafe in downtown Catania, beads hanging in the doorway, wonderful meal, the waiter/manager a 1960s Italianesque caricature, too much food, what's not to love about it? Tip -- go there, if you can find it. A tour guide would give it the nose-up. My Italy.
I am leaving in 2 weeks so will report on the trip when I get home. I am really looking forward to it and seeing my friend that lives in another state. I am so happy she is going with me.
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