Oh no, not AGAIN! Where are those dipping editors when you need them?

I always do the same thing as elaine,
Eat the hotel breakfast. I have never been to Italy but everywhere else in Europe our hotel breakfast was great.
I didn't read anything harsh in her reply either.

Yes, Elaine, you are quite right that I am a new comer. I don't have very much experience with travel forums and I stumbled upon this one recently. I decided to register as it appeared informative. You seemed to have misinterpreted my kind intentions. I really did not mean to offend you. I simply was being objective as it appeared that your words could have come across in a more diplomatic way.

<<your words could have come across in a more diplomatic way.>>

Hogwash!

it may seem sad, but i had a craving for some egg in my diet so at the Aristocampo in Campo dei Fiori i got a panini that was grilled eggplant (or zucchini) and fried egg...got the job done. truth be told, i actually set aside 2 hours in the morning one day on an anthropological study to find eggs...ok so i was hungry but this way it sounds like i actually gained appreciation for another culture...which i did.

Ucsun: Thank you for adding a note of levity to yet another thread that seems to have fallen victim to a recurrent and particularly intrusive presence here...

The next time you are in Italy (and especially in Rome) and feel a need for eggs, have a spaghetti carbonara: pancetta, eggs, black pepper. It's not a breakfast dish, but it can be very, very good.

My advice..find a place nearby where you can have a light but fun breakfast so as to leave room for LUNCH!

Eloise, what a coincidence. Guess what I am making for dinner? You go it fettucini carbonara! My family loves the stuff and quite often, we eat the leftovers for breakfast. Simply scrumptious.

pg, I see you also asked about food for the car. I'd recommend almonds, dried fruit, apples, cheese, baked goods - more or less the same thing you'd take on a road trip back home.

I tried the Auto Grill in Rome and was quite pleased with the prices and quality. I've read they have many roadside locations in Italy too.

pg, a few ideas. Years ago a friend I was traveling with brought an electric hot pot and made instant oatmeal in the room. She had another hot pot for instant coffee. She would eat them with fruit and cheese in the room.

Now, I don't see why this would be better than an Italian buffet breakfast but she enjoyed it while I went downstairs to eat. In some of the breakfast rooms in hotels you can ask for an hardboiled egg, I have done this a few times in Venice and in Milan.

If you go out roaming the streets looking for hashbrowns, eggs and bacon you will roam a long time. It would prob. be better to adapt.

The McDonalds in Rome served egg McMuffins when I was there a few years ago. They tasted just like the ones in the states, and the coffee was actually not bad.

This summer we did breakfast almost every morning at Piazza Fiori. We'd get fresh fruit from one of the stalls, sit at one of the little outdoor cafes and order coffee and orange juice (which was wonderful, by the way!) and sometimes a little pastry from there as well. We also one morning got pizza Bianco from the place recommended on here, but didn't care for it. We did what others did and ate it with our coffee and juice at a cafe right next door.
I have no desire to sit in my hotel room and eat a makeshift breakfast when I can be sitting in a Piazza in Rome people watching!

Patrick, what a lovely description you gave, I can just see the scene.

No matter how delectable and sweet that these pastries and conversations may be on such and such a piazza, sometimes the body just craves protein to get you through a day of sightseeing. Nothing like eggs to start a morning off right. Hats off to a good old English or American breakie. So find that McD's!

WillTravel, the last time I was in Rome, there was still the restaurant at the Piazza Berberini where one could get an American breakfast.

Personally I don't care for Babbington's, but it has been there for ages.

Italians do not eat breakfast as most Americans do.

They tend to start the morning with an espresso. And if possible will have that again mid morning with perhaps a pastry.

They then eat a hearty lunch. And many will have a drink with half a sandwich or whatever late afternoon. And then dinner, later then the average American eats dinner.

LoveItaly, glad to hear confirmation of that cafe's existence.

When traveling alone, I don't really feel like pausing for both a long lunch and a long dinner. A good breakfast, one sit-down meal around 4 PM, and a couple snacks is plenty for me. I adjusted this and occasionally had two sit-down meals per day, and often had the sit-down meal around 7 or 8, but the basic idea is the same.

I think Italians might not need a significant breakfast, because they tend to dine so late at night. If I finished a hearty meal at 11 PM, I probably wouldn't want much for breakfast either. But for me it would be hard to get into an Italian eating pattern unless I stayed with an Italian family.

Hi WillTravel, you hit it right on the head, LOL.

Italians do not overeat, portions are smaller but they do eat dinner later then Americans do. And so consequently do not feel hungry in the morning.

It is a culture thing of course, every country has their own special way of doing things.

I, all my life, have more or less eaten as they do in Italy. Coffee in the morning. When I had my business I never ate until 1:00pm lunch and then we ate dinner about 8:30pm.

Now I tend to have a "brunch" and then dinner around 8:00pm.

I love eating in Italy but my only complaint (shhhh, don't tell anyone) is that most Italian households do not seem to serve orange juice in the morning. And I love my coffee and then a big glass of orange juice. But I just know when I go to Italy that a glass of juice is not going to be something that automatically appears, LOL.

Other than a brief sidetrack, I think I have plenty here as a food (breakfast?) for thought.
Elaine - We travelled to Paris at the close of 1999 and the breakfast we got in room at a Best Western was one of the best that we have ever had in Europe. Your suggestions for breakfast items is helpful.

WillTravel: Thanks for your suggestions for the snack to take in the car. BTW, your travel/ food habits when out on travel matches very closely to ours.

ucsun: Panini with eggplant - half a sandwich of this with coffee/ juice would get me to a good start for a long day. I will ask its availibility for breakfast at the hotel reception.

Patrick: I would do anything to get a breakfast matching the one you described. Watching and talking with local people are some of my most memorable moments and the number 1 reason for me to travel to other lands.

McDonalds is a good suggestion if the body is indeed craving for eggs. Although I like to avoid McDonalds when visiting abroad, I think it may be payback time - what with they staying open until late (fed me in Wurzburg, Germany at 11:30pm) and of course, free toilets!