Sitting down and having a meal together is a great way to spend quality family time. When we travel, we try to learn about the culture and indulge in as much of the great local cuisine as possible. This usually takes a little (or a lot!) of planning ahead. The worst meal we have ever had was a lunch in Florence when I hadn’t planned ahead and we got stuck at a nondescript tourist trap. We said, “never again!” It’s not worth spending your time and money and wasting an opportunity to have a fantastic meal. If you don’t have the time to do the research before you leave home, you can always ask the locals or a contact at your accommodations. Just make sure you tell them you want to try the typical local food and would like a place that is not touristic (and which price level.) Otherwise, you may end up at the restaurant with an English menu and photos for all of the items. Following are some of our families’ top meals outside of the United States.
♦Farm dinner at Agriturismo Predas Rujas in Sardinia
Celebrating with 12 other Italians, everything was homemade and most of the ingredients were grown on the farm. We drank Cannonau wine and ate pecorino (sheep cheese) of many kinds, one of which was melted in an open fire (THE best thing we have ever eaten!), homemade pasta and ravioli, wood-fired meats…
♦Eating at a local Portuguese restaurant in Sintra (and drinking sangria) while watching Portugal play Spain in the World Cup
♦Family dinner, fresh from the farm at our agriturismo in Magliano in Toscana, Tuscany
♦Belgian Beer at DeGarre in Bruges
Accompanied by a great meat and cheese platter, (not including the head cheese!)
♦Farm lunch at Agriturismo Leone on Sicily
The first course was 12 plates of pure antipasti deliciousness, followed by 3 freshly made (fatto in casa=made in house) pasta and ravioli, followed by meats, desserts, fruit, an aperitif…
♦Street food tour in Palermo
What an entertaining opportunity to learn about and taste so many different types of street foods in Sicily!
♦La Porta in Capalbio
After spending the morning at the beach, we had a great lunch at overlooking the Maremma, Tuscany- We enjoyed pasta fatto in casa with a spectacular Tuscan view.
♦Pizza Aurora (takeout window) in Sorrento
Wood-fired pizza to go- We watched it cook in 5 minutes and ate it just as fast!
♦Huong Lien in Hanoi, Vietnam
Excellent Bun Cha for breakfast!
♦Morning Glory in Hoi An, Vietnam
This place is quite the establishment in Hoian and well worth the wait.
♦Victoria Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia
The best breakfast buffet EVER, I can’t believe how much we ate!
♦La Lancha, Guatemala
A dinner of homemade corn tortillas, grilled outside on a deck overlooking the Guatemalan forest.
♦El Fogon in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
A delicious “typical” dinner in Playa Del Carme on New Years’ Eve!
♦Fondue on Balcony in Gimmelwald, Switzerland
Homemade fondue with fresh bread in Gimmelwald, on our balcony overlooking the Swiss Alps- need I say more?
♦Ginther Hof in Reutte, Austria
Eating breakfast off the farm
♦Way out in the hills of Istria, Croatia
Truffle gnocchi- YUM!
♦Tea and scones in Dublin Ireland
♦A peaceful French picnic in Paris
We relaxed on the green grass and looking up at the Eiffel Tower, while the masses of tourists stood in line for hours to make their way up the tower.
♦Paella in Barcelona
A perfect local restaurant on the backstreets, and we beat the crowd by eating at 8:00!
♦Churros Y Chocolate at San Gines in Madrid
A historical Chocolateria founded in 1894 and it’s open all night!
♦Raclette in Chamonix
An indulgence and delight on a cold summer’s night in the French Alps.
♦Kui-Zin in Marrakesh, Morocco
Rooftop seating with live music and a delicious Moroccan dinner
♦Caseificio Borderi in Ortigia, Sicily
Sandwich amazingness made with Italian love by the chef artist owner with over 14 ingredients
♦Tapas at Bar Sport in San Sebastian
Our favorite during a fun tapas crawl in one of our favorite Spanish towns
