Company tours and walking can build up quite an appetite! So why not experience cultures with your taste buds? Living in south Louisiana, I never thought I could experience cuisine better than anything local. We landed in Europe and I was quickly proven wrong. While studying abroad, you can try new meals all day!
Best Food in Europe
In Innsbruck, Austria I wandered into tiny restaurants and cafes mostly patronized by locals. (Avoid tourist traps!) Gasthaus Goldenes Dachl is a great place to stop for traditional Austrian food. I ordered a grillteller with potatoes and sachertorte. It was the best meal I had in Austria. The whole meal was under €20.
Italy is known for its amazing food and Verona did not fail me! I really wanted to try all the types of spaghetti I could find. Spaghetti Bolognese, Lasagne alla Veronese and my favorite (and the most shocking) Spaghetti Ai Frutti di Mare. Each dish was packed with more sauce, flavor and surprise than the next!
The Spaghetti Ai Frutti di Mare was full of seafood: shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops and what I thought was a mushroom until I bit in and saw tentacles— it was calamari! Now you can’t eat all this pasta without getting dessert to accompany it. Head to the nearest gelateria and try one of the many flavors offered like blackberry, lemon or gianduia!
Spaghetti ai Frutti di Mare- Verona, Italy
Paris: The city with cafes on every corner! Everywhere you turn in Paris you will find a café buzzing with Parisians eating, drinking coffee and conversing. Café Panis near the Notre Dame was my café of choice. I got a window table and a witty waiter—a little French and politeness goes a long way! Two hours later, my friend and I had eaten our way through a croque madame, burgers & fries, crème brûlée and cappuccinos. It came to the grand price of €30.
I did not know much about traditional English food but since we were in London I decided to try FISH AND CHIPS! This dish isn’t particularly seasoned as I only received a small jar of salt, tartar sauce and a lemon slice. Along with the chips I received cold mushy peas— it was as delicious as it sounds. I opted to eat from Marks and Spencer, across the street, or the Chicken Spot, a three-minute walk away from the hotel. Both were much cheaper than the £20 spent on the chips.
Fish and Chips, Hilton Metropole, Edgware Road, London
Whatever you order, whether delicious or less than, enjoy the experience as you can always get something better a few minutes away.
Cheers!
P.S. Don’t forget a good pair of walking shoes so you can walk off all of those calories!
