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Outdoor Outfitting 101

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    • When the ship traveled to the Mediterranean Sea some of the table wine we were served at lunch was good some not very good and some was close to being vinegar. This was Italy an Greece. Didn't do any day tours the one time we stopped in a French port. The one Portuguese stop in Lisbon was good food and good wine. I have some photos or slides somewhere of our stops. Not sure where they are except in one of 100 boxes.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.

    • I'd love to tell you all about the good food and good wine my first several trips to the Med, but I was too busy chasing tail to notice. It was years later before I did the tourist thing. Wasn't overly impressed, you can get just as good or better food and wine (Spanish, Italian, French, whatever your taste) right here in the good old US of A.

    • chief wrote:

      I'd love to tell you all about the good food and good wine my first several trips to the Med, but I was too busy chasing tail to notice. It was years later before I did the tourist thing. Wasn't overly impressed, you can get just as good or better food and wine (Spanish, Italian, French, whatever your taste) right here in the good old US of A.
      I'm not so sure about that. We vacationed in Italy the last two summers, with some stops in Greece and Turkey too. All the food was amazing. In Italy the house wine comes in jugs, costs next to nothing, is local, and usually great. And we were not eating at high end or touristy places. These were your run of the mill local restaurants. Italian food in the US is so not Italian.

    • odd man out wrote:

      chief wrote:

      I'd love to tell you all about the good food and good wine my first several trips to the Med, but I was too busy chasing tail to notice. It was years later before I did the tourist thing. Wasn't overly impressed, you can get just as good or better food and wine (Spanish, Italian, French, whatever your taste) right here in the good old US of A.
      I'm not so sure about that. We vacationed in Italy the last two summers, with some stops in Greece and Turkey too. All the food was amazing. In Italy the house wine comes in jugs, costs next to nothing, is local, and usually great. And we were not eating at high end or touristy places. These were your run of the mill local restaurants. Italian food in the US is so not Italian.
      No question you can get great food in Italy, and like the US you can get crap. Are you telling us there is no good Italian food in New York for instance or Chicago?

    • chief wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      chief wrote:

      I'd love to tell you all about the good food and good wine my first several trips to the Med, but I was too busy chasing tail to notice. It was years later before I did the tourist thing. Wasn't overly impressed, you can get just as good or better food and wine (Spanish, Italian, French, whatever your taste) right here in the good old US of A.
      I'm not so sure about that. We vacationed in Italy the last two summers, with some stops in Greece and Turkey too. All the food was amazing. In Italy the house wine comes in jugs, costs next to nothing, is local, and usually great. And we were not eating at high end or touristy places. These were your run of the mill local restaurants. Italian food in the US is so not Italian.
      No question you can get great food in Italy, and like the US you can get crap. Are you telling us there is no good Italian food in New York for instance or Chicago?
      Just have to know where to look. There is plenty of good Italian food all around.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • Rasty wrote:

      chief wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      chief wrote:

      I'd love to tell you all about the good food and good wine my first several trips to the Med, but I was too busy chasing tail to notice. It was years later before I did the tourist thing. Wasn't overly impressed, you can get just as good or better food and wine (Spanish, Italian, French, whatever your taste) right here in the good old US of A.
      I'm not so sure about that. We vacationed in Italy the last two summers, with some stops in Greece and Turkey too. All the food was amazing. In Italy the house wine comes in jugs, costs next to nothing, is local, and usually great. And we were not eating at high end or touristy places. These were your run of the mill local restaurants. Italian food in the US is so not Italian.
      No question you can get great food in Italy, and like the US you can get crap. Are you telling us there is no good Italian food in New York for instance or Chicago?
      Just have to know where to look. There is plenty of good Italian food all around.
      Unfortunately I don't live in NY or CHI. Yes there are many fine Italian restaurants all over the US. But most serve Americanized versions of Italian food. It's not that it is bad. It's just different. There is one restaurant in our area that has a menu that looks reasonably authentic. I was there once but was not impressed. However that was a couple of years ago soon after it opened so I really need to give it another chance, but it is on the opposite side of town, a good 30 min away (more at rush hour) so I haven't had the chance to try it again just yet. The same applies to other ethnic foods. I have not been to China, but my friends who have assure me that food served in American Chinese restaurants is not very similar to what you get in China. And the international food aisle at our local grocery store has one section labeled "Mexican" and another labeled "Authentic Mexican". The reality is that pretty much any restaurant has to cater to local tastes or it would go out of business. I've seen fine authentic ethnic restaurants get lots of horrible reviews on Yelp from customers that didn't get what they expected. I also read a story about a guy who saved for years so he could take a trip to Italy because he loved Italian food so much. Sadly, when he got to Italy, he found out he didn't actually like Italian food. One thing is for sure, I've never had the owner of an American restaurant chase me down as I was walking out the door to give me a free glass of Limoncello (I thought it was optional - silly me).

    • I remember a sailor off another ship who we saw with his buddies in an Italian restaurant in Naples, Italy order a pizza. We told him it had multiple layers he ordered any way, just for himself. He ate only one piece of layers and said he was full. Moma, owner of the place with her husband, came out of the restaurant and yelled at him. She refused to let any one else help him eat it. Instead of asking for something to take the rest with him, he asked for a doggie bag. She yelled, "are you saying my food is only fit for dogs !" The conversation deteriorated from there. We paid and left. No idea how it ended.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.

    • The only communication problem I had was in Florence. The waiter asked how the meal was. I told him the eggplant was wonderful. So much better than the eggplant in the US which I really don't like very much (Which is true - I've never had American Eggplant that I liked, but from Italy to Turkey, it's a whole other vegetable). Unfortunately his English wasn't very good and it seems the only part he got was "the eggplant .... I don't like very much". A few minutes later the owner came by to apologize profusely while the waiter stood by sheepishly. He insisted in taking the eggplant off the bill. I'm not sure I ever got the real message across. I felt bad for the waiter.

      I also recall our exchange student from Moldova commented on how the "doggy bag" was a completely foreign concept to her.

      When in Rome...

    • Fortunately around me I can have just about any authentic ethnic food I could eat...many restaurants and grocery stores (along with immigrants) have moved to the area, it's quite the melting pot where I live...I embrace it, most of the time, lousy drivers!

    • chief wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      chief wrote:

      I'd love to tell you all about the good food and good wine my first several trips to the Med, but I was too busy chasing tail to notice. It was years later before I did the tourist thing. Wasn't overly impressed, you can get just as good or better food and wine (Spanish, Italian, French, whatever your taste) right here in the good old US of A.
      I'm not so sure about that. We vacationed in Italy the last two summers, with some stops in Greece and Turkey too. All the food was amazing. In Italy the house wine comes in jugs, costs next to nothing, is local, and usually great. And we were not eating at high end or touristy places. These were your run of the mill local restaurants. Italian food in the US is so not Italian.
      No question you can get great food in Italy, and like the US you can get crap. Are you telling us there is no good Italian food in New York for instance or Chicago?
      Great Italian in St. Louis. We have an old Italian neighborhood, "The Hill". Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola grew up together on the same street on The Hill. Osso Bucco....mmmmm....