Our kiddos will remember this particular day on our trip to France. Hopefully, one of them will identify what year this was!
Brian and Amy had never been to Italy, and since we were sooo close, we decided to pop over the border for lunch, just for them to get another country stamped on their fairly new passports.
Our friendly waiter spoke little to NO English. Being hillbillies, we spoke basically NO Italian, beyond pasta, ciao/arrivederci, and grazie. The basics, right? Haley studied French in high school; I took a conversational Spanish class when Haley was in utero (maybe that is where her love of languages began?), so between us, we were able to figure out what was on the menu and get some food ordered. Of course it was good. We were in Italy, the pasta capital of the world!
Handy travel tip: check out the plates of others and find something appealing, point to that plate, then to yourself, and smile.
Handy travel tip #2: if that plate winds up being liver instead of beef stroganoff, hope one of your travel companions likes liver! Ugh…true story, but MM saved the day and traded plates with me. I hate liver!
I have since learned that when traveling to foreign places, always tote a translation book. I have a handy-dandy multiple language book that has been across the pond many times. It has all the basics covered. Sure, there are phone apps nowadays that translate, but Wi-Fi may not be always available or affordable for use.
Who has a “mistaken identity” food story to share?
5 comments:
Ew, I'm sure glad MM likes liver so you didn't have to eat it! I don't have a story to share but I enjoyed reading yours.
How fun, well except for the liver.
I took a bus ride from Guadalajara Mexico to the border many years ago and the bus driver would walk me into the kitchen so I could pick out what I wanted to eat. That's the most excitement I've had.
Have a fabulous day honey. Big hugs to you and tons of scritches to the babies. ♥♥♥
I HATE liver Yuck! But being Italian, I love pasta. I make my own meatballs and my own spaghetti sauce. My grandchildren told their mother that only grandpa's sauce is any good and they won't eat spaghetti unless it's with grandpa's sauce. Guess what I'll be doing? Ha,ha,ha.
Have a spaghetti day Sandy. See ya.
Cruisin Paul
PS I didn't know that you & your hubby were pilots. Wow, exciting, fabulous.
My DH loves liver... so he would trade with ya! If he cout eat any more after he eats mine. Nasty stuff liver.
How marvelous that you just popped over the border to Italy!! Srsly cool.
While I was still in high school I worked at what is still the go-to place to meet and eat in town, a Cantonese and Szechuan style Chinese restaurant called the Jade. At the Jade practically everyone except the servers just smiles and bows because they do not speak any engrish. That is especially true in the kitchen, where you will see the chefs eating bowls of all kinds of stuff that is NOT on the menu. TIP: You do NOT want to put ANY of that stuff in your mouth. Ack.
Have yourself a liver-free day m'dear! x0x0
It was around New Year's Eve/Day as 1993 turned in to 1994! Good times!!! Molto bene!
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