The Trip Heard Round the World: Eats and Treats on the Road

Wondering what we are eating on the road? After all...

...2/3 of us don't eat cheese (and one of us eats no dairy)
...2/3 of us don't eat bananas
...2/3 of us don't eat raw tomato
...2/3 of us don't eat eggs (the other person does so only under duress)
...2/3 of us don't eat mushrooms
...2/3 of us don't eat beets
None of us eat fish or meat.

Here is how it has looked thus far.

ITALY

Pizza, salads and pasta are readily available. We ate a TON of both! I liked to get a side order of spinach, too. We also hit some veg restaurants in larger places like Rome and Florence. Highlights were having a home cooked meals with our friends in both Florence and Rome. Gelato is everywhere and vegan gelato is not impossible to find -- plus there is tons of sorbetto.

Hummus mix from a box -- Rome

Coffee (er, espresso) and pastry -- Chris's number one breakfast

Otis liked this create your own pasta takeout place in Venice

With friends in Rome

Gelato in Florence

Pizza in Florence

With friends in their Airbnb in Florence

Nice little veg place in Sorrento

The broccoli rabe and potato burger in Sorrento

Pizza in Lecce

Light lunch in Lecce

Familiar sight -- pasta and more pasta (Sorrento/could be anywhere)

Universo Vegano in Rome

Simple lunch in Tuscany -- marinated mushrooms and pickles with olive and sun dried tomato spread

CROATIA

We had our apartment for most of our time there so made lots of our easy-to-prepare go to dishes including a pasta dish we call Delicious Dinner (only 2/3 of us think it is delicious), lentils and rice or beans and rice and lots of soups and stews. I really liked getting the ajvar (roasted red pepper and eggplant spread, stateside pretty easy to find including at Trader Joe's) and often had it slathered on a thin slice of bread for breakfast or lunch. In Croatia I was also able to find hummus in the grocery store, something we hadn't had luck with in Italy.

Finding hummus in Hiper Tommy

Hummus for breakfast, hummus for lunch...hummus is something we like a bunch

Oh, this beer was tasty!

Not usually a fan of single servings but these were well appreciated on road trips.

In campground restaurant near Plitvice they had a steamed veggie plate (and pizza).

AHH AJVAR!

Our pantry in our Airbnb --beans, rice, tomatoes

Chris's lentil stew with veggies

Sometimes its a miss: zucchini and corn on pizza

My nutritional yeast delivery

Vegan ice cream in Split

Blackberry wine and spritzer at Nishta

SLOVENIA

A short stay but we combined a few homemade meals with going out to a veg place for Otis's birthday and a couple other meals out.

Dinner and dessert at Zaziv Vegan Bistro

Thoughtful messaging

HUNGARY

Similar to Slovenia, had a couple of meals in our Airbnb and we alsoenjoyed one of our favorite meals in one of our favorite vegetarian restaurants of the trip.

Lunch and dessert at Napféyenes Étterem

Lunch and chess at Olive Tree

AUSTRIA

Staying in a hostel with a big shared kitchen, we ate most meals cooked in and Chris hit the motherlode of veg meat and other tasty delights which made delicious sandwiches. We also, you may recall, accidentally ate at an extremely posh restaurant in Vienna.

Embarrassment of riches if riches are veg meat product

Speaking of riches...if you have them then head to Tian. A wonderful dining experience awaits. I was astonished. By many things.

GREECE

In Greece we encountered one delicious bean dish to win them all and that is...FAVA! We were crazy about it, it is generally served warm with a drizzle of fresh olive oil and some thinly chopped onions and herbs. When we ate out, we would try to order this with (or for) our meal. We had some pizzas and pasta dishes out and also cooked in (our usual rotation of pasta, lentils and soups). This sounds boring but works well for us. We also had some great meals at another favorite veg restaurant in Athens, Avocado.

Nut stands on streets of Athens

Lamahjoun and beer at Feyrouz in Athens - loved it!

This jar of spicy red pepper flakes that we got in Tuscany lasted until Athens - impressive.

Oregano chips!

"Enjoying" a home cooked meal of pasta in Santorini

"Enjoying" a Greek salad from a falafel place while waiting several hours for a ferry

First and only of the trip in Heraclion (and met people from NJ inside)

Coconut milkshake, veggie entree, soup, dessert at Avocado

"Enjoying" a snack at the Acropolis Museum resto

MALDIVES

I was a little unsure about how this would work out -- remote(-ish) islands are not always known for their wide array of veg options. My fears were unfounded. Fresh fruit, juices and a plethora of Asian-inspired noodles, curries and rice were available as well as yep, you guessed it, pasta (and onion rings and French fries). My favorite at our guesthouse was the Maldivian breakfast -- shredded coconut mixed with peppers and spicy pepper, drizzled with lime and served with a version of roti (round breads).

Maldivian breakfast, no tuna

Birthday drinks (local islands are dry, so these are virgin)

SRI LANKA

We have been feeling spoiled with the food here, enjoying even more fresh fruit, juices, amazing curries, fresh salads and vegetables and my favorites: nests of noodles to pour your dal over called string hoppers, served with roti and sambar. Our current hotel's rotis are especially excellent -- with coconut and peppers interspersed -- and in fact we have really enjoyed our food here in particular (our first night here featured a curry buffet, oh my lucky stars!) as well as at our guesthouse in Unawatuna. I will be sad to leave Sri Lanka simply because of the amazing fresh and flavorful food (luckily we have a while here yet!). Now, if you will excuse me, the vegetable curry dishes that have been cooking for two hours in our hotel kitchen should be just about ready for us.