Since arriving in Italy we have continued to have good food, although from fewer ethnic backgrounds. Sunday night, at the suggestion of our hostess, we walked a little ways down the hill to a local restaurant for dinner. Sibylle had a primi piatti or appetizer of spaghetti with tomato sauce and I had a secondi piatti or main course of beef goulash. The goulash was particularly good, with a flavor very reminiscent of the caraway stew my mother used to make when I was growing up.
Restaurants here in Europe are different than in the states. When I was here for the motorcycle tour in 1994, we ate our morning and evening meals at the hotel where we were staying that night, and lunch was up to you. The hotels all had large spreads for breakfast, with meats, cheeses, breads, cereals, yogurt, coffee, tea, and juices. Dinners were usually multi-course affairs, with soup, salad, a main course, and then something for dessert.
The local restaurant we ate at Sunday night would be considered a bit rustic in the US, but the food was good and well prepared. There is no background music to try and talk over, and the waitress doesn’t stop by every two minutes to see how you are fairing. At the end of the meal you have to tell her you are ready for the bill, otherwise they are content to let you sit as long as you like.
Our bed and breakfast provides a simple breakfast, with bread, meats and cheeses, yogurt, cereal, juice and coffee. So far we have made a sandwich from a roll and some meat and cheese to take for lunch each day. Yesterday we stopped at a small grocery store and got some fruit to add to our lunch, and at a bakery for some fresh bread too.
Last evening (Monday) for dinner we ate at the Internet cafe so we could eat, do some work online, and still catch that last bus up the hill to our bed and breakfast. The cafe had some very nice sandwiches and a cold soda or two, which made for a good dinner. Today we are going to try and split our Internet time from dinner so we can sit in an outdoor cafe and people watch while we eat.



