American travelers to Europe sometimes cannot figure out how to eat snacks and light meals.  Many lower cost hotels provide no means of storing perishable food items like cheese, meats, milk, etc.  Obviously they want you to eat in their restaurants, which can be pretty lousy and touristy.  So what did I do on a Venice visit for New Years celebration a few years ago?  And how could I preserve some excellent local sandwiches for a long train ride the next day?
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Written on December 21st, 2014 , Anicdotes, Food&Drink, Travel Tips

There was a time when it was impossible to get bad food in Rome.  And gourmet food was something Italians scoffed at as French.  Boy have times changed!

Having been to Italy many, many times over the last 15 years, my food experiences have covered a very broad range.  Everything from basic pizza to specialty pastas to rare and exotic meat dishes.  And lately some really aweful offerings, possibly due to giving the tourists what they want or are willing to accept.  The rule today is either you get food or ambiance.  Good food in out of the way places, or bad at the Piazza’s so you can people and site watch.  My rule has always been only go where the locals go.
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Written on November 21st, 2009 , Food&Drink

I was born and raised in a typical working class suburb in western Pennsylvania.  With an ethnic background from the Slavic areas my family meals were basic “meat and potatoes”.  Very little real taste and everything cooked extremely well “just to be safe”.  That meant overcooked meat, soggy vegetables, and no spices except for salt and pepper.
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Written on November 21st, 2009 , Anicdotes, Food&Drink

A little knowledge goes a long way.  And can gain you instant respect from waiters and locals in Europe.  Take for example a simple item like water.  Here in the USA we drink tap water regularly and now a lot of us are into bottled water (one of my pet peeves for people driving – please stop).  The concept of bottled water actually started in Europe out of necessity since tap water in a lot of places was, frankly, awful and sometimes unhealthy.  Each locality had it’s own brand or favorite.  And now it’s commonly a source of pride and in most upper scale restaurants a measuring stick for diners.  If you want instant respect you gotta know the right water to order!
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Written on September 21st, 2009 , Anicdotes, Food&Drink, Travel Tips

When you travel to a European country do you learn a few words of their language? Why not? If someone from France comes to California (probably to visit wine country, not Disney) do they expect us to greet them in French? Or even expect us to understand what they are asking for unless they speak English? So then why do most American travelers view people in France as rude and unfriendly because they refuse to communicate with us?  Hence the term “ugly American”.
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Written on August 21st, 2009 , Anicdotes, Food&Drink, Travel Tips

Rome, and most European cities, have very charming sidewalk coffee bars and cafes.  Locals use them a lot.  On our very first trip to Europe in 1993 we decided we would become a local.  Along the Via Veneto is a famous place called the Cafe de Paris.  It’s a small coffee and snack place with a stand-up coffee bar and cute tables along the Veneto that’s been in many Italian movies over the last century.  Good looking pastries and authentic Italian coffee, including espresso.  We wonder in trying not to look like tourists, and point out 2 pasties for our pleasure.  And we order 2 cappucinos to wash them down with.  Can’t quite get into the espresso habit just yet.
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Written on August 21st, 2009 , Anicdotes, Food&Drink, Travel Tips

A Newbie’s Adventure:

My addiction to travel began in 1993.  Never a fan of “packaged” tours, I decided to tag along with my wife on a wintertime business trip…to Germany and France.  And plan my own travel connections. I’m also not a fan of winter, so this was a potentially difficult trip for me.  Especially as a novice traveler.
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Written on July 21st, 2009 , Anicdotes, Food&Drink, General, Lodging, Sightseeing

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