So I'm getting geared up to see EAT PRAY LOVE in a few weeks and I, once again, can't help but think of my backpacking trip through Europe 2 years ago. I meant to blog about the trip while I was traveling but it never happened, so as I looked through pics the other day, I began wanting to start processing some of the experiences I had on my 2 month trip through 20 cities.
I often think of Italy and the amount of food I ate there... it was a massive amount. I first arrived in Genova, Italy after being in Nice, France. I traveled with my cousin Marian and we spent a night in a hostel. The next day we went to Cinque Terre- (or 5 lands/towns) a national park of gorgeous cliffs/trails spanning 5 small ocean-side villages. It's a park that people live in, containing the sweetest food and gelato ever!! I literally ate an average of about 2-3 cups of gelato per day while in Italy. After this town, we went to Rome, Bari, Florence, Venice, and a few other cities. Pretty much all I did in in Italy was walk around and EAT all day. I ATE LIKE THERE WAS NO TOMORROW... so many CARBS you wouldn't believe! I had the best pizza of my life in Rome and Bari. Bari was a southern city, where our couch-surfing host cooked amazing seafood-pasta for us and took us to his uncle's restaurant in a smaller village. His uncle hooked us UP with a spread of plates and courses that just kept on coming! We didn't pay a dime and we had appetizers, main courses, wine, dessert, dessert sherry etc... We were very full and VERY satisfied customers! The next night we met up with a huge table full of our host's friends and family at the best pizza joint ever... REAL brick oven Italian-made pizza smothered in fresh local veggies/cheese. DELICIOUS. In the other cities, I just roamed around from bakery to gelato stand to pizzeria stuffing my face with anything and everything. I also met and stayed with some of the most wonderful, hospitable, warm, inviting, entertaining people. As I roamed through this country with a gigantic smile on my face and a lumpy tummy, I thought, "I may never be in Italy again and this is my chance to enjoy the richness, decadence and beauty of the cuisine and culture here, perhaps for the only time in my life." I was not worried about gaining weight because I could walk it off later, but for now I must enjoy. AND SO I DID... (you may see MANY photos of SOME food I ate here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20572&id=618554507&l=34acdce0a2
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