FeaturedSo on my “Study Abroad” I ate alot of great food. To cut to the chase, here’s where I stand on the different countries I ate in:

• BELGIUM- meh… I could do without it. Sorry Belgian friends, but I got tired of frites.
• FRANCE- nom nom nom nom (nuff said)
• SWITZERLAND- continue noms…. then roll me out the door from the potatoes and cheese I just gorged.

Oh you cared about some details? You wanted delicious details about my food experiences? Ok.

In Belgium, we spoiled ourselves daily on the street waffles. These did not dissapoint. I do not know their secret, but most of the street vendors made awesome waffles. I always got mine with a little fruit and thats it. (My friends will tell you I am not normal because I don’t dig chocolate. GASP!). Anyway, wanna know how much I dug the waffles? This much:

France was heavenly. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were awesome. If you ever go to France, find a bakery (patisserie) to get a morning croissant and a coffee (cafe). Did you know that bread and its production is regulated in France?I had no clue! These people take their baguettes seriously. According to a decree in 1993, bread called “pain maison” or an equivalent name can only be sold under those names if the bread has been entirely kneaded, worked and cooked on their place of sale to the ultimate consumer. How cool is that? I want my bread hand made fresh daily. All I had to do was look for that particular label, and I knew I had it!

The other thing I loved in France was Rue Mouffetard, a sidewalk cafe/farmers market hub. Up and down the street was packed with side walk vendors and little street cafes with fresh, French food.

Rotisserie chickens basting roasted potatoes on Rue Moeffetard

Sidewalk fruit stand on Rue Moueffetard

What post about France would be complete without a picture of wine? We did a day trip to the Reims and toured a vineyard and champagne cellar.

Did you know the size of the bubbles is an indicator of the champagne quality? Small bubbles = high quality!

My other favorite thing was to wind down my day with a nice charcuterie board and a soothing glass of French wine. This is how every day should end. Most cafes offer this as a starter, and its easily shareable with several friends.

Lets move to Switzerland, shall we? I feel gluttonous just looking at the pictures from there. It was heavy food, but out of this world tasty. Rosti, a classic Swiss dish, seems shrouded in mystery. I’ve searched blogs looking for a traditional Swiss Rosti recipe, and I have yet to find one that smacks of authenticity. Can I go back and get the recipe from our chef? My personal fave is pictured below from Hotel Oberland. I insisted we eat there for BOTH lunches while we were in Lauterbrunnen. And I would have gone back again if my husband would let me.

Oberland Rosti from Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen

Something so quintessentially Swiss is fondue and raclette. Nothing could match the vision of this meal more than Le Chalet in Gruyeres. Yumm.. melty, oozey, gooey, tasty cheese. Pictures do not do this meal justice.

Raclette at Le Chalet in Gruyeres

Fondue at Le Chalet in Gruyeres

Lastly, let me brag on a Zurich staple. Ever hear of Sprungli? They are world famous for their breakfast buffet and it looked amazing. However, at more than $50/person, it was a bit hard to justify eating $50 of breakfast food. I’m typically up for a challenge, but we were short on time that day. They had an “express” kinda option though! We enjoyed the best that Sprungli had to offer at their side walk cafe and then did a wee bit of shopping in the confiserie!