This, from Lisa, on food:
Italy
Our first night in Florence we went to an unremarkable little bar on the sidewalk and sat outside with college kids.* We asked for some bar snacks and got this huge amazing tray of meats, cheeses, and vegetables.**
Lunch in Firenze at a different sidewalk cafe-they plied us with bread, olives, and these little pastry things as appetizers; Jim had a saffron risotto with shrimp; Lisa had a pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola and walnuts.* Again, nothing fancy-just regular food.**
In Rome there was a little restaurant right below our flat with some truly remarkable food; the pizza with ham and oranges was a revelation.* We ate the oranges, rind and all atop a delicious blistered puffy chewy crust.* We had a different meal with spaghetti cacio e pepe (salt & pepper & pecorino cheese) and Jim had a rigatoni with bacon.* We learned the reason the pasta in Italy is so much better is that it's higher in protein-and they don't cook it until soggy.*
Even the grocery stores, though tiny, had amazing food to buy.* Like 7-11, but no Flamin' Hot Cheetos.* Lovely produce, walls of wine, in-store bakeries, prepared items like eggplant parmigiana.* In Turin we bought some pesto, tortellini, and bread from the grocery store for about $7 and wine that cost $3, and cooked in our flat.* We did this for a couple of nights.**
We thought Italians ate all the time, and huge plates of pasta, giant sandwiches, and ice cream were everywhere.* Wine was available for a song.* Did we see anyone who looked chubby?* No we did not.* Tiny skinny girls inhaling giant plates of spaghetti.* But they walk everywhere.*
France
While the food in Italy was wonderful, the food in France was a whole 'nother level of wonderful.*
Lyon is said to be the gastronomic capital of France.* Which is saying a lot.*
We discovered a bakery around the corner, Boulangerie Jules,* where we had croissants and cafe au lait each morning, and bought a baguette for later, which we ate with wonderful cheese that we got at the grocery store.* Jules is Lisa's baking hero now.*
The restaurant Le Bouchon Rouge in Lyon was our favorite, where we had Lyonnaise specialities-including french onion*soup, terrine, and a Salad Lyonnaise-which is bacon and and egg in a salad, but it is delicious.**
In Paris we enjoyed buckwheat crepes at a sidewalk restaurant-again, the restaurant was nothing fancy, but the food was superior.* We don't think French people tolerate bad food anywhere. You can pick up an excellent baguette at the Target-like store for a dollar.* We visited a good many grocery and convenience stores, in both countries, and saw no junk food whatsoever. Good bottles of wine were available for $4. Good meals at restaurants were in the $15-$20 range, and each was a culinary adventure worth much more than the price. Those people really know how to cook and bake and eat. And how to live!
In Paris, we had an amazing dinner-our last night there-involving a salad with frisee (bitter salad greens)-tomato, smoked duck breast, like the most delicious duck bacon ever, and foie gras-which is goose liver, which sounds awful but is unctious and yummy and not icky at all.**
Again, people seemed to plan their days around eating and drinking, which we heartily approve of.* We didn't see junk food.* Parisians believe you eat while sitting down, which they do a lot of.* They too, walk everywhere and eat constantly and drink wine and seem happy and healthy and fine.* *
