Oh, the SHAME.

I am an ugly American.

I ate at McDonalds.

I NEVER eat at McDonalds. And nothing burns my ass more than seeing Americans come to Europe, where the food is delightful and fresh and local, and they run straight to coporate America to eat HORSESHIT.

But let me 'splain. I finally get it. I was in Como, which is small-town Italy. The only American chain here is McDonalds and Jean-Louis David salon (?!?) If you aren't going to eat at a sit-down restaurant, which is expensive and takes a long time, you have a couple of options. There are cafeterias, which serve the 4 P's: pizza, pasta, panini, or piadine (glorified quesadillas.) These options start at about 4€, and the cafeteria also has a cover charge per person, which is anywhere from 1 - 2.50€ per person. Also expensive. The panini and pizza (here in Como, VERY thin crust) are great, but really, you can't eat that three times a day.

There's also the bakeries, which did serve me up some mean focaccia by the kg (rosemary and potato. Yum) and a sfolliatella.

But the McDonalds is open until midnight, even in this sleepy little town, and is very cheap. FULL of Italians. Less than 4€ for their biggest burger, the Big 'n Tasty. And as much as I'd like to admit, it was true to its name. Big, AND Tasty. I have to say, I ate it as quickly as I could, so my karma would not catch up to me.