Eating Abroad

England: The best hamburger I've ever had was in a pub down the street from Windsor Castle. We ate fish and chips a few times because we thought we should. It isn't something I ever crave.
Switzerland: Light and dainty. We ate mostly in cafes, but what we really wanted to do is eat the REAL chocolate, sin in a tin can, Oh Man! Like $20 for 4 pieces. So delicious...
Berlin: OK, after being in Italy for 2.5 months where there was mad cow disease on every headline (if you don't recall or remember, google it) which prevented even the Italians from eating beef, Berlin was an American Mecca. We had steak! It was from Argentina and it was wonderful. We had ribs, burgers, and shish kabobs. We ate at Scholotzky's. It was home! I found this karaoke bar that served brats, sauerkraut and hot German potato salad. I went back many times and took different friends. I gorged and it was great!
Greece: I found 2 things to love. Gyros and Greek salad. They served the gyros with steak fries, my guess is because of the tourists. I don't care why; they were perfect. The lamb was sliced off this huge cone of meat rotating on a spit.
Italy: Well, there was gelato, sometimes twice a day. Amarena (black cherry) was my favorite. There was also green apple and cinnamon or raspberry and lemon. Pizza. Yuck. Well, I found some I could eat. Only sit down restaurants have round pizza. Otherwise they are rectangles and you have to order it by hand gestures (yeah wide) and weight. Crazy. The pasta was good. The salad poor. The deli 10 steps from our apartment made the best sandwiches for our bus rides: bread resembling Boboli, provolone, and pepperoni. There was a market every weekday in a square just a block away. This is where I learned about blood oranges. Yummy! It is hard to cook with forgien ingredients and tiny appliances. Baking nearly impossible. Our favorite restaurants: the place next to the Pantheon (if you go to Rome you will have to eat there. I'll give you directions.), the Chinese restaurant in Piazza Giordi Fiori (the flower market on the weekends), and ashamedly, Hard Rock Cafe. I only went twice, but they had mustard, ranch dressing and ice!!! You can't blame a girl for wanting those things.
Oh yes, I was a big fat ho'se when I got home (of course, when I would meet my eternal companion I was 20 lbs over weight). All that pasta and bread really sticks to your bones, even if you walk at least 5 miles a day. A roommate actually took aerobics in Italy because of the weight. That is her story to tell and not mine, but it was funny hearing her tell about these tiny little woman dancing around. I myself lost that weight in 4 months of torture called my pass/fail design studio. I also couldn't sleep for more than 4 hours a night after that, but that isn't Europe, that's 'The Hill.'