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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 30, 2023 12:12:21 GMT
Ah, I'm just after a bit of discussion here Toby.
I try to eat cheaply wherever I go. I go for whatever's local (despite all this 'jalfrezi' nonsense) but after a while the bready stuff that makes up most of the cheaper options in Europe (dumplings in the Czech Rep, pasta/pizza in Italy, Romanian or Hungarian pastries) starts to get boring. Unlike you and Dougie, I'm not going to sit down for oysters or lampredotta, so for variety I'll get some Chinese. Which is also going to be affordable, and I always enjoy it. And I like to see how they do it.
The bigger point maybe is to do with authenticity and reasons for eating something that's regional like a worm or something which, you know, fuck that
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 30, 2023 12:18:26 GMT
And I just found out that the great sandwich place in Florence (Dougie knows about this too) also has a branch in Milan!The thing with aubergines and porchetta could well be the best sandwich I've ever tasted. I'm going to bomb out of the hotel after check-in on Wednesday and get my arse there before closing, hopefully.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 30, 2023 12:18:44 GMT
I try to eat cheaply wherever I go
I'm not surprised given how frequently you are jetting off.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 30, 2023 12:20:12 GMT
And I just found out that the great sandwich place in Florence (Dougie knows about this too) also has a branch in Milan!The thing with aubergines and porchetta could well be the best sandwich I've ever tasted. I'm going to bomb out of the hotel after check-in on Wednesday and get my arse there before closing, hopefully. Their sandwiches are spectacular. I got two the first time I visited but couldn't finish both.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 30, 2023 12:24:41 GMT
I don't know what many Italians eat at home these days. How many are eating the traditional, regional dishes? You'd have to assume there is far more processed, quick meals being scoffed due to cultural changes but they do eat out a lot more than we do and most places are, of course, Italian and local. Mind, it's always weird seeing young Italians eat at a MacDonald's when you think what they have on their doorstep but of course people get bored and what is exotic or different to them is banal to us.
I always eat local when I'm abroad and try and eat the classic local dishes. When I'm in Vienna I'll be trying tafelspitz and sachertorte (although I had some in Florence).
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 30, 2023 12:25:58 GMT
I try to eat cheaply wherever I goI'm not surprised given how frequently you are jetting off. Yeah, fair enough. Although by FAR the biggest cost is the hotels. I like to eat cheaply anyway. There are kiosks in many major cities where you can get all kinds of great things for cheap. Look at this! What the fuck is it? It's intriguing. and then you get up there and you have no idea how to communicate but you end up pointing at things and finally walking away with a paper bag full of pastries for the train that's cost you about a quid.
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Mar 30, 2023 12:32:45 GMT
Is John on another holiday? Fucking hell!
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 30, 2023 12:35:24 GMT
I don't know what many Italians eat at home these days. How many are eating the traditional, regional dishes? You'd have to assume there is far more processed, quick meals being scoffed due to cultural changes but they do eat out a lot more than we do and most places are, of course, Italian and local. Mind, it's always weird seeing young Italians eat at a MacDonald's when you think what they have on their doorstep but of course people get bored and what is exotic or different to them is banal to us. I taught a Sicilian for years via Skype. Total sweetheart called Giuseppe. What surprised me at first was that when he talked about eating out, or 'making something nice' for his girlfriend, it would be pretty much the same kind of thing we in the UK would make at home. But then you think....well, why would it be any different? They go to supermarkets that are very similar to our own. Their tastes are different in some ways but there's increasing homogeneity across the whole continent when it comes to cultural things. I completely understand the desire to try different things when you're travelling, to dig deep into old local customs, but I can't help thinking that there's a lot of myths about food, propagated by a kind of fenced-off upper-middle class who can afford to dine out in exclusive places. What's ironic is that they still talk about it as 'peasant food', as if to give it some credibility. I'm not saying these traditions are fake or inauthentic - they're there for sure, but they're out of reach. What's really authentic - sadly, admittedly - to most countries' cuisines is really just whatever can be picked up for cheap that approximates their national cuisine.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 30, 2023 12:39:52 GMT
Hotels are the killer. I tend to pay as standard 70-80 per night when I go on a European break. Which is cheap compared to London but then London is a total joke these days. I always have meals at a restaurant because I like to treat myself and I budget around 50-70 per meal as standard but you can eat for a lot cheaper in these places if you want to of course. I mean in Italy you can just visit some local Trattoria and get a pasta meal for under a tenner easy. In Paris I had one of those ham and cheese crepes for a few quid for lunch. In Krakow you can get a three course meal with booze for around 30 quid. If you factor in flights you can spend 2/3 nights in some European city for not really much money at all. 300 quid in total, more if you want to push the boat out a bit? I'd pay that for a two night stay plus trains in London now
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 30, 2023 12:42:38 GMT
Is John on another holiday? Fucking hell! Funded by airbnb and Chinese students. A bloody disgrace.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 30, 2023 12:50:58 GMT
Hotels are the killer. I tend to pay as standard 70-80 per night when I go on a European break. Which is cheap compared to London but then London is a total joke these days. I always have meals at a restaurant because I like to treat myself and I budget around 50-70 per meal as standard but you can eat for a lot cheaper in these places if you want to of course. I mean in Italy you can just visit some local Trattoria and get a pasta meal for under a tenner easy. In Paris I had one of those ham and cheese crepes for a few quid for lunch. In Krakow you can get a three course meal with booze for around 30 quid. If you factor in flights you can spend 2/3 nights in some European city for not really much money at all. 300 quid in total, more if you want to push the boat out a bit? I'd pay that for a two night stay plus trains in London now 70-80 per night is good going. Of course prices vary a great deal and it's worth shopping around. I'm paying £120/night for this Milan hotel which is about as high as I go, usually. I couldn't actually get cheaper for the Easter period (it's near Navigli which I'm looking forward to exploring for the first time) - but then I'll be paying 50 euros for the little place in Bardi. I paid £80 a night for an amazing room at the Marriott in Bucharest 18 months ago - easily the most luxurious hotel I've stayed in (sadly they've really pushed up prices since). Yeah, you can still manage to have a couple of nights in a European city for around £300 all in but I think that's pushing it and you'd have to be flexible about everything. You could definitely afford Romania, maybe Berlin, but Paris or anywhere in Italy....you'd need around twice that. And London, yeah. It's a shame. I definitely won't be going for the Pulp gig now. £200 a night for some scabby Travelodge way out in the middle of fucking nowhere? It's really a total joke. Fuck that place.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 30, 2023 12:51:35 GMT
Is John on another holiday? Fucking hell! Funded by airbnb and Chinese students. My first booking since last summer coming up. And he's from DUSSELDORF
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 30, 2023 12:54:08 GMT
I don't know what many Italians eat at home these days. How many are eating the traditional, regional dishes? You'd have to assume there is far more processed, quick meals being scoffed due to cultural changes but they do eat out a lot more than we do and most places are, of course, Italian and local. Mind, it's always weird seeing young Italians eat at a MacDonald's when you think what they have on their doorstep but of course people get bored and what is exotic or different to them is banal to us. I taught a Sicilian for years via Skype. Total sweetheart called Giuseppe. What surprised me at first was that when he talked about eating out, or 'making something nice' for his girlfriend, it would be pretty much the same kind of thing we in the UK would make at home. But then you think....well, why would it be any different? They go to supermarkets that are very similar to our own. Their tastes are different in some ways but there's increasing homogeneity across the whole continent when it comes to cultural things. I completely understand the desire to try different things when you're travelling, to dig deep into old local customs, but I can't help thinking that there's a lot of myths about food, propagated by a kind of fenced-off upper-middle class who can afford to dine out in exclusive places. What's ironic is that they still talk about it as 'peasant food', as if to give it some credibility. I'm not saying these traditions are fake or inauthentic - they're there for sure, but they're out of reach. What's really authentic - sadly, admittedly - to most countries' cuisines is really just whatever can be picked up for cheap that approximates their national cuisine. The homogeneity is depressing but you have a point. I really don't like it at all but I guess traditions will still be kept alive although not entirely like they were years ago. Older generations of Italians must notice some difference. There's probably regional differences in Italy so in the more affluent, industrialised North they are maybe more cosmopolitan in their home cooking than the poorer south.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 30, 2023 13:04:43 GMT
Hotels are the killer. I tend to pay as standard 70-80 per night when I go on a European break. Which is cheap compared to London but then London is a total joke these days. I always have meals at a restaurant because I like to treat myself and I budget around 50-70 per meal as standard but you can eat for a lot cheaper in these places if you want to of course. I mean in Italy you can just visit some local Trattoria and get a pasta meal for under a tenner easy. In Paris I had one of those ham and cheese crepes for a few quid for lunch. In Krakow you can get a three course meal with booze for around 30 quid. If you factor in flights you can spend 2/3 nights in some European city for not really much money at all. 300 quid in total, more if you want to push the boat out a bit? I'd pay that for a two night stay plus trains in London now 70-80 per night is good going. Of course prices vary a great deal and it's worth shopping around. I'm paying £120/night for this Milan hotel which is about as high as I go, usually. I couldn't actually get cheaper for the Easter period (it's near Navigli which I'm looking forward to exploring for the first time) - but then I'll be paying 50 euros for the little place in Bardi. I paid £80 a night for an amazing room at the Marriott in Bucharest 18 months ago - easily the most luxurious hotel I've stayed in (sadly they've really pushed up prices since). Yeah, you can still manage to have a couple of nights in a European city for around £300 all in but I think that's pushing it and you'd have to be flexible about everything. You could definitely afford Romania, maybe Berlin, but Paris or anywhere in Italy....you'd need around twice that. And London, yeah. It's a shame. I definitely won't be going for the Pulp gig now. £200 a night for some scabby Travelodge way out in the middle of fucking nowhere? It's really a total joke. Fuck that place. I'm not flash when it comes to accommodation. As long as it's cleanish and has a private bathroom I don't really give much of a shit. In Paris I paid 70 quid for a very basic 2 star but it was fine and I spend so much time walking it's really just for sleeping. What has happened in London btw? They're asking 160 quid for some single room in a bloody hostel these days.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 30, 2023 13:11:11 GMT
It's true, yeah! I don't know why.
The Chinese presumably can afford it.
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