Dining in Vicenza - McDonalds

"Dining" and "McDonalds" in the same sentence? Yes, I don't have a problem with that.

Again, this was our first time staying in a hotel instead of with my aunt. The groceries I brought were fine for most of the breakfasts, but for a break I wanted to have at least one breakfast out. Initially I thought it would be in the hotel restaurant, but they kept being disappointing, as previously mentioned.

There was a McDonald's nearby, and walking there and back would allow me to get a closer look at some other nearby businesses. It was scary making my way through the roundabout - which clearly did not have pedestrians in mind - but I made it.

The first nice surprise was seeing that the Superfriends Happy Meal had a better than usual gender balance. They had to pull from super villains to do so, but lots of popular characters spend times on both sides of the line now.

I also immediately noticed these kiosks. I placed my order with the staff, but I later used a kiosk like this at the airport. It was interesting in terms of the general move toward automating everything, but I can at least see that it makes a lot of sense at an airport, where people come through speaking any number of languages.

The menu was pretty similar, except for the desserts. There was even a McCafe.

Sometimes when traveling we have noticed weird things, like un-toasted English muffins in rural Pennsylvania. Here the cooking methods seemed exactly the same. I thought the muffin still tasted a little different, but if you have different grains growing in different soil, there can be subtle differences.

And the doughnuts were delicious. They were cake doughnuts enrobed in chocolate, but it was a slightly different type of cake, with little bits of cinnamon and sugar. That is probably something more European, though different from Italian pastries I've had.

Actually, I know the McCafe in the McDonalds nearest to us uses a local bakery, so that may be the area where there is more innovation. It wasn't like finding lamb-burgers or black buns; it was really pretty similar to being at home. The food was still good, and it was a nice change of pace for one day.

I am not saying that if you are in Vicenza that eating at McDonalds should be at the top of your list; there are lots of wonderful Italian restaurants and bars that you should enjoy. For one meal, though, there are worse things that you can do. And if you do go, get the doughnuts.