Decisions: What's for Breakfast?!
Whether you are traveling long-term or vacationing, sometimes expectations and realities don't match-up. Some of our decision-making has comical results, while in others we try not to cry.
TRAVELFEATURED ON HOMEPAGE
9/25/20252 min read
Another example of decisions that cause fatigue. Or just laughter.
During our stay in Vlore, we knew we wanted to visit the historic Old Town. Any city in Europe seems to have an “Old Town”, and these are must-see areas for us. Generally, there are quaint shops and great places to eat mixed among the usual tourist vendors and coffee bars. In this case, we were rather hungry, and it was mid-morning, so we sat down in a restaurant for a late breakfast/brunch.
We Americans are often surprised when visiting many locations in Europe, as they have a different menu and idea of what breakfast looks like. Most of the time we find it necessary to use our translator App and search the name of the dish to determine what is offered. In this case, the menu was in pretty good English and seemed straight forward.
Sausages and potatoes. Simple, easy, and safe. No exotic or new items or ingredients to worry about for the sometimes-finicky eater and hungry mid-morning traveler. Would they be a spicy pork, or hearty beef sausage? Maybe mixed in and fried with the potatoes? Now that is always a good meal. I sipped my lemonade confidently as I watched the waitress carry our order back to the kitchen, where an older woman was preparing food. Perfect. An experienced cook and a safe meal request. I’m set!
Eating out in both Italy and now Albania requires patience. We knew this in advance, and maybe we will share about this in the future as well. Nothing is rushed. We have learned to accept it and embrace the relaxed culture around eating. This was no exception. After several minutes, and us beginning to wonder if our order was being prepared, the waitress approached with my much-anticipated gourmet treat!
All I could do was laugh. I laughed so hard I had tears. The simplest definition of “Sausage potatoes” one could possibly contrive was placed ceremoniously in front of me. The cherry tomatoes lovingly speared with toothpicks bordering this feast finished off the presentation wonderfully.
Yes. Those are what we call hot dogs. Slightly warm, but raw, hot dogs, artistically sliced and showcased in such a way that they resembled some kind of large hungry worms. Shannon and I chuckle with another inside joke, (one of many we now share), any time “sausage” is on the menu. Now ask us about our Club Sandwich sometime!
Read More about Decision-Making in Travel