Tall Girl’s April Food Diary

Another month has flown by, and naturally I took way too many pictures of my food. As I’m sure many of you can tell by my insane number of Italy-centered posts this past month, I spent the majority of April in gorgeous Italy eating way too much pasta (seriously though, too much pasta), pizza, and yummy gelato.

Yep. I ate enough pasta to make a collage. In my defense, I averaged anywhere between 15-20 miles of walking a day for almost three weeks straight, so carbs were important…mostly. Shout-out to my favorite pasta place in Rome while I’m talking about pasta. If you guys are ever in Rome you have to swing by Pastaficio!

Switching gears to my other high-fat, high-carb meal: pizza. Probably the most important lesson I learned in Italy was that Italians are serious about their pizzas. A “personal pizza,” is about 12 inches in diameter, no joke, and they don’t use shredded cheese. Oh no, they take a huge hunk of fresh mozzarella, cut it up, and plop it on to create the messiest, gooiest pizza in the world. It was crazy though because I’d eat an entire pizza (I can’t believe I did that) and not even feel full afterwards because I was on my feet all day long. Sometimes I amaze even myself.

The pizza above was from Gusta pizza in Florence, which is close to Palazzo Pitti. It’s a tiny operation that cranks out some bomb pies. This was also my first vegetable sighting in almost 2 weeks (other than tomato sauce, that is), so all in all it was a glorious experience. I couldn’t eat it though because this was actually my friend’s pizza… 

To go alongside my carb-packed, low nutrient meals I thought a gelato here and there would help keep me in top shape. You know, because of the milk content and whatnot.

Holy cow, I seem so unhealthy. I promise I’m not! Now that I’m back in Freiburg I’m eating all my fruits and veggies, which isn’t a chore because I honestly missed salads while I was traveling. My first trip to the supermarket consisted of me smiling like an idiot when I picked up a bag of carrots and was also able to repurchase my favorite muesli; I think people thought I was nuts.

Did you think I was done? Nope. Not anywhere close. I also had the world’s most amazing canoli in Florence (the filling was so sweet it was almost like someone had filled it with vanilla ice cream).

And the day in Venice that I found some affordable chicken, you bet I jumped at the chance to order it. Meat! Potatoes! Sheer heaven.

My favorite food memory of my trip was coming back after a long day in Venice to a freshly baked Easter sweet bread prepared by the women who was hosting us. Because it was Easter weekend for her (she’s of a different faith, so her Easter weekend fell on a different date), she had made these citrusy sweet breads and cooked one for my friend and I to have. It was so tasty, and it was a great way to experience Easter through someone else’s eyes.

After all that pasta and pizza, I’m definitely missing my other ethnic foods. I had the most amazing Thai curry in Bern, Switzerland, and I am hardcore craving anything curry-related now.

 

What have you guys indulged in this month? Did you make any special recipes or try any new foods?

Signing off,

Claire