We are wondering if the hotels arranged on the RS tours cater to American taste buds (aka packaged sugar bombs and fruit loops) or if we should anticipate a real European, high quality breakfast?
Signed up for the Heart of Italy tour Sept 4-12 and so excited!
Breakfasts will include a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with whipped butter and maple syrup, eggs as you like, applewood smoked crispy bacon, whole wheat toast with fresh strawberry preserves. Great unlimited coffee as well.
Not much Italian about that breakfast but it sure does sound yummy!
My RS tour was a bit different... We had the typical European breakfasts of pastries, cheeses, meats, yogurts, hard boiled eggs, cappuccinos/espresso and sometimes a cereal bar (though they were the exception, not the rule).
Jeff,
Gosh, Bruce had a much difference experience than we had with breakfasts on both of the RS Tours we took (Paris and then the Heart of Italy).
While we were very happy with breakfasts and they were far from Fruit Loops..LOL, we experienced modest buffets with cheeses, breads, yogurts, fruit, sliced meats, cereals (like granola) and then choices of coffee, tea, and juices. I don't remember any American-style bacon or full cooked-to-order eggs (or my husband would have jumped on those two).
The breakfasts were not fancy, but definitely decent and plenty of protein and healthy choices, along with probably a sweet roll or two of choices, too.
My experience on tour has been the same as Mende's. I don't remember having a breakfast as described by Bruce on any of our tours.
its called irony, I believe.
Bingo Stan. Lovely breakfast though.
Agree with those who have been on RS tours - but will add that when I did Heart of Italy in 2013 I had the best croissant I've ever had at Hotel Pasquale in Monterosso. At that time the father of the clan was making them every morning. Just awesome. Mama also made her own lemon and orange marmalades (from their lemon trees) which was delish.
Have a wonderful time! This tour is just great and gives you such a nice variety! Big cities, small hill towns, beach resort. Really a fun tour.
I normally recognize sarcasm quite well (as I am fluent in it lol), but I never would've guessed on that post. Too serious Bruce!
On our Best of Italy Tour, the breakfasts were similar to what Mende describe. I found the breakfasts to be better the further north in Italy we were. The breakfasts were very good on our tour.
Jeff,
These are hotels used by travelers from all over. I'm not sure why you're wondering why the breakfasts would have a Battle Creek flavor. In Rome, it was muesli type cereal, meats, cheeses, yogurt, juices, great coffee, etc.
Good food, great times.
jeff,
I suspect Bruce was being facetious, as that's most certainly not a typical Italian breakfast. I've never seen flapjacks with maple syrup anywhere in Italy (although I suppose that's possible).
The breakfasts will vary a bit in each location, depending on which hotels the tour is using (and that can vary from one tour to the next, depending on availability). A more typical breakfast will be cereals, milk, juice, cold meats & cheese, bread (or toast), Yogurt, perhaps some hard boiled eggs, coffee and tea. You may occasionally find a hotel that serves scrambled eggs.
If you post the list of hotels, someone who has been on that tour should be able to give you a more detailed answer (or you could contact the RS tour department).
I have never been on a RS tour, but I've eaten a lot of breakfasts in Italy and other places in Europe. At home I eat cold cereal probably 6 days per week. Almost never in Europe. The reason is that even if it's offered, it's often a bit stale. Or, the selection is very limited. Cold cereal, except for muesli, is not a European thing, so I guess it doesn't move fast. I eat stuff I would never have for breakfast at home, and plenty of it. Need the extra energy for all the walking around we do.
Even on a tour, you'll get the same breakfast as other guests in that particular hotel. It will be whatever the hotel normally serves. The "typical" Italian breakfast is a Cornetto and an Espresso or Cappucino, but there will be more than that in the hotels.
You may find this interesting......
http://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2010/12/breakfast-or-colazione.html
Did the Best of Italy tour last fall. The breakfasts were all very generous buffet style offerings that I don't believe anyone had difficulty finding something they liked.
The items on the buffet varied somewhat due to the part of Italy we were in. The food seemed heartier with more meats and cheeses offered in the northern part with more fruits and lighter breads offered around Rome. Most of the hotels did have scrambled eggs as an offering which is new in my experiences for Europe in general.
And of course there was coffee. It is apparently mandatory to have a cappuccino with breakfast if you are a tourist in Italy. I preferred espresso which seemed to surprise the hotel employees.
You know, I've never been on a Rick Steves tour, as we tend to be independent planners - if planning 3 or 4 weeks out counts - and with all that planning I like to change it around a lot. Just getting a ticket or hotel a couple of weeks out is stressful. Often we don't decide to go until a day or two before.
That said, my goodness gracious me -:=
Breakfasts will include a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with
whipped butter and maple syrup, eggs as you like, applewood smoked
crispy bacon, whole wheat toast with fresh strawberry preserves. Great
unlimited coffee as well.
Now I'm convinced. Sign me up!! Can I have my eggs scrambled with cottage cheese please, and can I add salmon on a bagel? Crispy bacon? What's that? Not anywhere I know in Europe except perhaps my kitchen and on a base somewhere. Never in a hotel. Can I have white toast, or is that being too demanding? I don't want the unlimited drip coffee. Can I have a small parade of espressos, black and sweet please?
Oh, and I want cake.
Can I still go?
Of course Bruce's response was meant to be sarcastic...(and a rather funny one, too). If Europeans actually had breakfasts like that they would be as fat as Americans.
Yep, an amusing tongue-in-cheek from Bruce but there's nothing like the hiker's breakfast - or parts of it, anyway - he described for a looooong day on the trails!
Haven't done an RS tour but the morning fare at almost all of our European accommodations has been very nice, as a rule. We've had some really fabulous granola/muesli and pastries, and some very good bread and jam. Yogurt, cheese, boiled eggs, cold meat, fruit juice and wrapped biscuits are pretty common too. Cappuchino every morning in Italy: heaven!
The one thing I could never get my head around was baked beans. Haven't run into it often but it's a bit of an "Ew!" for me personally first thing in the morning. All what you're used to, I guess?
Thanks for all the informative posts! Ken, Thanks for your link. Very helpful. I ignored (and will continue to) the sarcasm from some.
For those wondering why I asked in the first place, we were afraid that the hotels would attempt to cater to Americans instead of providing their standard fare. Free breakfasts in the US hotels equates to packaged, processed sugar. Apparently, that is what US hotel chains think we like to eat here because they all do it. Glad to hear that Italy and the places Rick's team selects is above all that.
Despite the fact that I haven't been on a tour, I have been to many of the tour hotels, and several of the tour participants and a couple of the tour leaders are my friends.
we were afraid that the hotels would attempt to cater to Americans instead of providing their standard fare.
No, that won't generally be the case. In addition to many items which have no added sugar you will usually be able to have several which are also gluten free, and many fat free.]
In general, most places in Italy will have considerably more healthy breakfasts than you can find at home.
Of course, that breakfast cake and breakfast tart have a degree of sugar and flour. But sooo good.
I think hotels do adjust to the expectations of travelers, but not specifically for Americans. Europeans like sugar too; not everyone there is food-trendy and hyper-healthy. Slapping some Nutella on a croissant may be as European as you can get, and you'll find that at the breakfast bar too, along with all the butter, white bread and jam you can handle.
But yes, they do cater somewhat to travelers tastes, but it can be more subtle. "Cafe Americano" might just be watered down espresso, or instant. Scrambled eggs is an accommodation, isn't it? But its not because RS asked them for it - its the opposite of the ETBD philosophy.
Restaurants also do things to accommodate tourists unasked- salads as first course; bread and butter before anything; ice for Americans.
I always see healthy stuff at hotel breakfast bars in the US, but most people pass it up for the doughnuts and sausage. An apple goes in the pocket, to be thrown out uneaten later.
I actually prefer the European breakfasts, but it may feel like you're having a meat & cheese sandwich at first. : ) What's harder for me to adjust to is the smaller cups of coffee. I'm a 2-cup strong coffee person and am usually served a small white teapot with coffee for both my husband & me.
The "typical" Italian breakfast is a Cornetto and an Espresso or Cappucino, but there will be more than that in the hotels.
The fact that many Italian hotels now serve much more variety than just the above is an accommodation for international travelers. 15 years ago, some of our tour hotels in Italy would give you that. Since then, many have expanded their breakfast space and/or offerings (and of course we've changed some hotels). Most changes lean toward the breakfast style of northern Europe.
" I ignored (and will continue to) the sarcasm from some."
I'm sure the sarcasm was intended in a good-natured way. I thought it was rather humourous.
The "gold standard" for breakfasts still seems to be hotels I've used in Munich, but I also found one hotel in Poland that was excellent.
Imagine my surprise in almost every hotel on the France My Way tour to find scrambled eggs and American bacon and/or sausage! The first time I thought it must be an anomaly, but there they were, every time. Of course, there was also all the other typical European breakfast fare you've mentioned. I had noted on my tour registration that I am gluten free, and most stops the hotel staff connected with our Tour Manager to find the gluten free person so they could provide me with gluten free bread. It was even pretty good, as gluten free bread goes, and I appreciated their efforts.
I doubt that you'll find scrambled eggs & bacon at many of the hotels in Italy. However, depending on which hotel your tour stays at in the Cinque Terre, there is one hotel that serves scrambled eggs (I don't remember bacon at that hotel though).
Jean, if you want a second cup of coffee, just ask. I am a two-cappuccino person, and have always graciously been served a second cup when I request it. If I stay somewhere for a few days, by the third day the server will ask if I want a second.
Just have a cofee, a brioche and something alcoloholic. Embrace your inner Italian!
Ditto to Zoe: we haven't had any problems acquiring an additional cup when kindly requested. But we also travel with a small kettle and instant coffee as we're usually up and needing a cuppa long before the breakfast rooms are open.
Peter, Italians don't generally have alcoholic beverages at breakfast. Later in the morning, perhaps.
Jean,
I've never had any problem getting more than two cups of coffee at breakfast, but the coffee served is usually a bit different in each hotel.
In some cases, each cup will be made fresh and you'll be served a Caffe Americano. In a few hotels, the hotels have been using the classic Bunn coffee systems with the rounded glass pots. In a few cases, you'll be served Nescafé instant which I find disgusting (but if that's the only option, there's not much choice). In some places they seem to consider that a "gourmet" coffee. What rubbish!
All but the most picky will be satisfied with the breakfast,
Most US hotels have a "continental breakfast" the breakfast you will be served at an Italian hotel is far more food and selection than a US Continental, but not as much food or selection as a hot buffet breakfast would be in the US.
Since the OP is describing a sugar filled breakfast, that seems more in line with a continental breakfast and if you have that in mind you will be most impressed with the Italian hotel breakfast.
I usually bring a few Starbucks Via sticks to have one as we wake up and then have an Italian espresso with our breakfast - absolutely love their cappuccinos, too.
