eating in europe






oh the beautiful food i ate!
those europeans really know the importance of presentation.

i'm a little sad to report that i was unable to retain my vegan status while traveling.
i tried.  really i did.
london wasn't too hard
but when i got to france...well that was a different story.
those frenchies and their cheese, egg and butter!


my advice to you if you want to remain vegan in france would be to do more research and mapping than i did.  the time required to search for a vegan meal just wasn't there.
and there were so many wonderful places to choose from if i ate vegetarian.
at first i was pretty hardcore about staying vegan but as time went on i weakened and just joined the food party that is france and to tell you the truth i don't regret it.



here are a few pics of some of the meals i ate.















































now that i'm home i'm back to my vegan self and it feels good.
but i'm not going to lie...that cheese was pretty good.

so was the wine, coffee, croissants, chocolate, cream teas, etc. etc. etc...







32 comments

  1. Hi Janet,
    I can relate to your story. I had the same issues when we visited France. Like you I just enjoyed the food; however, I tried to have lots of salads and included fish. I so enjoyed the desserts!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I feel the same. I'm vegan but when I travel I want to be a part of the culture - and in Europe culture really includes the food. Nothing worse in my opinion than sitting in another country saying 'I don't eat this; I can't eat that.' it just feels rather joyless, ungrateful and a little masochistic :-) Particularly in France! I plan on living there permanently so I will probably go back to including eggs and cheese now and then.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I feel the same. I'm vegan but when I travel I want to be a part of the culture - and in Europe culture really includes the food. Nothing worse in my opinion than sitting in another country saying 'I don't eat this; I can't eat that.' it just feels rather joyless, ungrateful and a little masochistic :-) Particularly in France! I plan on living there permanently so I will probably go back to including eggs and cheese now and then.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful photos....I think you work hard at being vegan all the time, so a little lapse here and there can;t hurt. Plus, you were being a good guest. When you are visiting it isn;t always easy for the host (or host country) to know how and what to serve.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful photo's! Delicious meals. The white cups and saucers are so pretty all lined up, too. It is good to hear you had a wonderful time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm glad you caved because the dairy products in Europe are like no other. Thanks for sharing these snippets of your trip with us Janet!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful food! Yeah, it would be pretty hard not to eat cheese in France. I could live on cheese, bread and fruit. I'm glad you indulged and enjoyed yourself...too much good stuff to pass up.

    I'm so enjoying all of your pictures. :)

    Have a great weekend Janet!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Janet - I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be vegan in France! Your pictures look amazing! For me - it was all the tomatoes and olive oil and sea salt.. and rose.. yum, yum, yum!

    ReplyDelete
  9. These pics are wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing...would love to go to France!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks delicious, oh that lovely French cheese! I'm not surprised you found it tricky in France, it's difficult enough if you're vegetarian.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm such a fussy eater and always find travelling so hard, well done you, easing up on yourself without guilt.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh those photos make me so hungry! It all looks so positively divine and yummy. I agree completely about presentation. It makes a huge difference. How did you manage to sneak that Swiss Army Knife onto the plane? I had a much smaller one that I keep in my purse (and forgot was even in there) confiscated at check-in awhile back.
    ~Martha

    ReplyDelete
  13. As long as you enjoyed yourself that is all that matters. Thank you for all the beautiful photos, for those of us who may never get to travel out of the states, it is appreciated!!

    Lisa in Fort Worth

    ReplyDelete
  14. Goodness, looking at those photos...you were in my dream of a food heaven! It all looks DELICIOUS!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have enjoyed reading all about your trip, but these pictures of the food...OMG...everything looks amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I was wondering how you'd get by whilst across the pond. So glad that you partook in the lovely food that France has to offer.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh my gosh... I love the food in France! I ate so much goat cheese in Provence it was ridiculous. Well I had to counteract all the wine...
    These pictures are making me want to go back... thanks for sharing Janet.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful food and beautiful photos Janet! Their whole food culture is so different than here....I love when the presentation is so pretty. And I'm sure I would have graciously caved too on my vegan diet. I'm glad you enjoyed it all!

    Missed you....I have lots of news to tell you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dear god, judging from the food I saw On FF's blog was worried you had gone whole hog, so to speak!

    Your salads look beyond delicious, and that poached egg...

    I'm glad you and your stomach enjoyed yourselves.

    xo Jane

    ReplyDelete
  20. Well, it all looks healthy as well as yummy!
    Your photos are great, do you mind telling me what camera you used as my daughter is insisting on buying me a new one.
    thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Heading to France this year-I hope you share more of where you stayed and what you saw :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. omg-that all looks soooo good! The cheese, the white asparagus with hollandaise, the gorgeous deep orange eggs, the rich butter, the cream, the hot chocolate at Angelina- c'est impossible to resist!

    ReplyDelete
  23. All that food looks delicious!
    It would be very hard not to enjoy the regional dishes and food after all it is part of the experience.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I told you you'd love the cheese! Today I ate snails cooked in red wine & bacon with a licorice cream gateau for afternoon tea.....we are going to the snail farm next week, just to check they are ethically grown. Still can't come at farmed fish or caged chicken/eggs though....some of my rigid food principles haven't been totally anihilated. Rx

    ReplyDelete
  25. Cannot tell a lie - after viewing this travel entry of yours re food in France I had to run to the kitchen and eat something - anything - everything. Savoring all of your sharing and hope to see your version of some of these treats.

    ReplyDelete
  26. As they say - when in Rome ......

    Not a lot of suffering by the look of that wonderful food!

    Cindy F

    ReplyDelete
  27. Janet,
    I thought about that the entire time we were in France....I think it would be nearly impossible...or at least frustrating! It truly is a food party...and a good one. Beautiful photos!
    xo
    annie

    ReplyDelete
  28. I had been eating vegan for about a year when I went with my sisters on a Danube cruise a couple of months ago. But even before I left, I decided I wanted to try the specialties of the places we visited -- goulash and paprikash in Budapest, schnitzel in Vienna, sausages in Bavaria, etc. It goes almost without saying that cheese and eggs came into the picture, too. People warned me it would upset my digestive system, but I took it slow (only an ounce our two of meat at any meal) and took probiotics at night. I don't regret it; the schnitzel at Figlmuller in Vienna is especially memorable. I, too, got right back on track as soon as I returned home.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I also caved in for Cream Teams during our recent trip to England... so glad you enjoyed yourself and thanks for sharing all that beautiful and fresh food.
    This is also one reason why I love your blog so much - it's not just the blog itself, but you have some really lovely people commenting here as well on a regular basis. Nobody here beating you on the head because you had some cheese, you have created a very thoughtful and friendly atmosphere here.

    Mireille

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you are so right about the lovely commenters. i'm so lucky!

      Delete
  30. I even forward this special posting in the German speaking blogsphere as best practice example! Not just because of the comments, but because of the relaxed way you deal with it. You have been sooo proud after 5 vegan years. Many vegans would probably be hard on themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  31. What beautiful food photographs! --Ashley from idreamoffrance.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete

kindness is never out of style.

Back to Top