by Nicole Bravo
To say that we ate our way through Italy is anything but an exaggeration. Every morning began with at least one pastry, usually filled with or covered in chocolate, and a cappuccino. We found it very interesting that in the dozens of cafes we went to, no one took their coffee to go. Most took the time to sit down and enjoy their drink, while some business folks would stand at the bar, throw back a shot or two --of espresso-- and then head out. We did manage to get a drink to go just once, but it consisted of only half the drink haphazardly poured into a tiny, lid-less, Styrofoam cup; we never made that mistake again.
For our afternoon meal, we oscillated between one or two courses, but definitely NEVER skipped lunch, as we often do back home. Every night we enjoyed a delectable two to three-course meal and when it came to gelato, any ounce of American calorie-counting restraint was completely cast off. We delighted in heaping servings of gelato a consistent three times a day, in order to keep our stomachs full and our bodies energized as we covered a daily average of six miles on foot. Although really, we would have done the same if we'd walked but one mile a day because I had an especially large budget for gelato, due to my shameless obsession with all things ice cream. And somehow, wherever we went, we managed to make new friends who were always more than happy to have their image documented and incorporated into the spectacular story unfolding before us.
To say that we ate our way through Italy is anything but an exaggeration. Every morning began with at least one pastry, usually filled with or covered in chocolate, and a cappuccino. We found it very interesting that in the dozens of cafes we went to, no one took their coffee to go. Most took the time to sit down and enjoy their drink, while some business folks would stand at the bar, throw back a shot or two --of espresso-- and then head out. We did manage to get a drink to go just once, but it consisted of only half the drink haphazardly poured into a tiny, lid-less, Styrofoam cup; we never made that mistake again.
For our afternoon meal, we oscillated between one or two courses, but definitely NEVER skipped lunch, as we often do back home. Every night we enjoyed a delectable two to three-course meal and when it came to gelato, any ounce of American calorie-counting restraint was completely cast off. We delighted in heaping servings of gelato a consistent three times a day, in order to keep our stomachs full and our bodies energized as we covered a daily average of six miles on foot. Although really, we would have done the same if we'd walked but one mile a day because I had an especially large budget for gelato, due to my shameless obsession with all things ice cream. And somehow, wherever we went, we managed to make new friends who were always more than happy to have their image documented and incorporated into the spectacular story unfolding before us.
