I wrote this right after my fall break, it's time to post.

This is one of the many things that my travels thus far have taught me:
When only traveling through cities for a few days, it’s tough to have the opportunity to embrace the city’s real life. Usually, you have a little bit of time which you use to hit the big touristy stuff. Although those attractions are a must-see, that stuff usually doesn’t give you a good sense of true culture in these cities. So, the best way to get an authentic cultural experience is through the one thing that everyone wants and needs- FOOD. As you all know, I am always an advocate of eating, but this is only part of the reason why I seriously suggest this for any future travelers. You have to eat, so you might as well take the extra few minutes to search for the most authentic meals you can while abroad. Food is the best because you’re never going to get it anywhere else (restaurants in the states, even if they are authentic, don’t count in my opinion), and it’s not something you can get from a postcard, a photograph, or in stories. Those are all ways through which you can remember your experiences vicariously, but food IS the experience. You’ll remember exactly how it tasted and how it felt; and that, exactly that, is something you will not ever get again. In all honesty, a lot of I remember the most about the cities to which I’ve traveled is what I ate. Personally it’s been a big step for me - trying to embrace culture through my stomach has enabled me to briefly get over my disgust in some food groups (seafood) for a second and give them a whirl. So yes, dad, I tasted mussels and tuna steak…and wait for it … squid (eek!) in a seafood paella in Barcelona. Yeeaackk. They all tasted the same- nasty and fishy, but seafood paella is a classic Spanish meal, especially in cities on the coast like Barcelona, so I felt a duty to taste it. I also sampled lots of sangria in Barcelona- but how can you blame me? It’s native to the area, and it’s delicious. I had no problem embracing English food culture- an enormous, greasy hamburger, French fries, hot soup, Strongbow (my first ever drink on tap- it’s a sweet cider mixed with beer), cheddar cheese, and an “English breakfast” with bacon, eggs, hash browns, beans, toast, and tea. Yup, no problem there. And since that’s what they normally eat there, I don’t consider it cheating. The same thing of course applied in Greece. No complaints here either. I ate as much Greek food as my stomach and wallet allowed. And of course while living in Italy I’m doing the same thing with food. There is no way I am ever going to enjoy American pizza again after the 1 euro slices I can get everyday here. And the gnocchi, the cheese, tomatoes, the fresh pasta, the wine, the pesto …
Case in point: as my father says, mangia mangia (eat eat).
So yeah, yes, there’s my paragraph on food. I didn’t even get to talk the chocolate baklava from the bakery… that could have a paragraph of its own …