Food in Europe

We have almost completed our 3 weeks of traveling in Europe and we have had some great meals and some not so great meals.

Eating in London:
- You will pretty much get what you expect... except for the "clotted cream" incident. This was served next to a lemon cake dessert and expecting it to be vanilla ice cream we had a big bite of warm, unsweetened clotted cream. Yeah.
- Desserts seem to be a little less sweet and spicy is quite a bit less spicy.

Some general things you should know about eating in Italy (where things are most different) are as follows: 

- Close your menus so they know You are ready to order.
-You do not need to tip, it is included.
-Stay away from restaurants near tourist attractions or with a great view (unless it's a high class restaurant). Just a few streets over will make a huge difference in price and quality of food.
-If you order fish in Italy it will all be these brown slabs of meat in a sauce (we had this happen 3 times). To be safe just stick to things with pictures.
- You're pasta will always be aldente (a little under cooked/chewy). And the noodles seem to all be more eggy then at home.

- DON'T eat the bread they put on the table unless you want to be charged for it.

- You have to ask for your check, they won't bring it to you. And you often have to go up to the front or bar to pay.

- Venice was particularly challenging to get food. Most restaurants actually do close for the siesta or whatever it is called here. Between 3 and 5 and then promptly close around 9. It's definitely not impossible to find a place during the "off" hours but you will get a lot of unfriendly "NO'S" and shooing...

*I'll add some restaurant suggestions when we get home and I get a chance to go through things.