gail

In reference to the pop-tarts mentioned above - when the US was dropping food to Afghans, the meals included pop-tarts. I laugh when I imagine what the people of Afghanistan must have thought when encountering a pop-tart for the first time. I guess they could have used them for roofing tiles.

carol

If you are tired of them, don't eat them! Go out and buy and omelette or a croissant!

helen

You usually have to pay an exstra to upgrade your continental breakfast to a full breakfast or european breakfast. <BR><BR>Continental breakfast is the budget meal, one you get as an extra hotel bonus - no extra charge. If you want a real breakfast be prepaird to pay for it. <BR><BR>When travelling in the US, I never get any pancakes or waffles, Just egg and bacon simmering in oil.<BR>

Randy Malpaso

Bob, arent YOU generalizing a little with your comments on American food?

European

Randy, I have got that kind of breakfast you describe only in some modest hotels on Greek islands and very modest hotels in France. And even in those cases the bread has not been hard, it just has had a crispy surface.<BR><BR>Again: Europe is not one country. What is considered a breakfast in some country is not breakfast in the next one. Continental breakfast is not popular or some kind of rule. Even in smallest inns and B&B´s there is usually muesli (plus whole grain porridge in Scandinavian countries), bacon and/or little hot sausages, hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, youghurt, fruit (plus berries in Scand.), at least two kinds of bread, cheeses, cold meats (plus smoked salmon in Scand.), tomatoes, cucumber, and coffee, tea, juices.

European

I forgot to ask: What is a pop tart? For a non-native speaker it sounds like something indecent...

Lestat

Put in your teeth next time!<BR> V----V

food

No wonder you can't stand the continental breakfast anymore - if you get the typical white roll(s) and coffee in a larger European city - and larger hotel - it's nothing to write home about. But pls. don't can the normal European breakfast that you can get in a REAL hotel in a culinary-superior country like Germany, France and Switzerland - fresh breads, with a selection of whole wheat and seed varieties; great cheese, excellent yoghurt, REAL muesli, butter, jams, fresh coffee or tea. That beats an American breakfast made with processed cheese; spongy Wonderbread; pancakes made from a mix; box cereal with lots of salt and sugar; maple syrup that's probably 0,1% maple; pop tarts made from 0% natural ingredients; and coffee that's so transparent you can see the bottom of the cup.

jw

Randy, never never never never. J.

European

Please people, what is pop tart? I didn´t even find it from a dictionary.

xxx

Mmmm mmm mmmmm! I travel around Germany a lot and I love the breakfasts!! I love the dark breads, whole grain rolls, pastries and cakes, wonderful cheeses and yogurt and heavenly coffee. Mmmmm, try some yogurt topped with granola, raisins, mixed nuts and honey!<BR><BR>The breakfasts in France and sometimes Italy can be a bit meager, but everywhere else I've had great breakfasts!

yummy

European--<BR>A pop-tart is a rectangular pastry-type item usually filled (very sparsely) with a fruit or other sweet sugary substance that is designed to be toasted in a toaster. They are disgustingly dry and hard even after heating.<BR>Incidentally, when we were in Italy, one hotel we stayed at included pizza on the breakfast buffet. My husband was in ecstasy!!

Grogger

I was in Zakopane Poland in Feburary, we had the hotel breakfast 3 mornings, it consisted of some cold cuts, rolls, cereals, milk, tea, and some fruit. One morning I had breakfast at a 'diner' across the street. I had scrambled eggs with onion and sausage on teh side. I was very very happy with both places. I rememebr wehn I was in Germany I had the rolls and coffee, I did not mind becasue I knew I was gonna eat a ton of food there.

Kevin

Randy-would you shut up already about those stupid hard rolls? You've posted about 75 messages on this. It's boring and not important.

Capo

A more varied American-style breakfast *is* one of the things I miss when in Europe, but I've also had breakfasts in European hotels that were other than merely coffee and rolls. We had a nice, albeit small, buffet breakfast (coffee, rolls, orange juice, yoghurt and cereal...which we topped with strawberries from one of the produce stalls in Campo Santa Margherita) at our locanda in Venice this spring, and we had a huge buffet breakfast at our hotel in Barcelona a few years ago. <BR><BR>In Italy this past spring, we bought delicious blood orange juice almost every morning and, in Paris, I've always enjoyed supplementing my coffee & croissant with fruit and a small quiche from one of the stalls in the Rue de Buci street market.

Erin

I've never had a bad breakfast in Europe...maybe it's the hotels I've stayed? In Spain we had huge breakfast options with 6 different meats, varieties of breads and pastries, eggs and best of all....cookies...yum!

Karen

Last year at the Ibis chain we had the same fare with slight variations every day -- coffee, tea or hot chocolate, juice, cereal (corn flakes or muesli), fresh fruit, medium egg (between hard and soft), bread, rolls, cold cuts, cheeses, and a wide assortment of butter, jams, Nutella, etx. There was a big assortment, I thought. I recently stayed at the Lion d'Or in Haarlem, expecting the same, and was surprised to find scrambled eggs in a warming tray, warm ham, and sausages.

European

Thank you, yummy. No wonder I did not know what you were talking about. I lived a year in US and never had those. But I did not live in hotels. So, perhaps my friends just don´t like pop tarts (really, it sounds pornographic), because they never introduced those to me.

Cathy

Bob:<BR><BR> I am reading these while sipping my latte, and my mouth is watering at your mention of La Brioche Doree! They have wonderful little quiches, if you don't want the sweet things. Yum. In Italy, we always had a nice assortment of cereals, eggs, meats, cheeses, fruits, juices, various kinds of breads, etc. Something for everyone, it seemed to us.

foodfrenzy

The pop tart was a brilliant invention by a multinational food company, back at least in the 60's because I grew up on those suckers. It was probably something they gave the astronauts, it's got a half-life squared... When you're, say, 5 years old, Pop Tarts are heaven; when you're 40, they're the most artificial thing you could put in your toaster and still try to eat. Beware as one of the people before this said - you over-toast them, they get rock-hard, plus they'll burn your tongue. If I'd have to choose between a piece of Wonderbread or a Pop Tart, I'd say, pass the Jif and I'll eat that with a spoon...