I swear to god if any of you judge me for this, I’m going to stick you in a room for a month straight and feed you only spaghetti and pizza and then YOU can tell me how much you DO NOT want a Big Mac and french fries. Mmmk, pumpkins?
Now that we have THAT out of the way, let’s proceed…
This morning, I woke up wanting one thing: anything other than Italian food. And, truly, the only place in Rome that isn’t Italian-ish (even the Chinese food I got was cooked in a white wine sauce!) is McDonalds.
I had seen a sign leading to one in my neighborhood, so I thought I’d explore, while looking for those golden arches. I walked. And walked. And made u-turns. And got lost. Three times. At one point I decided to give up my search and look for another place. Except all I saw was: pizzeria, pasta, panini, pa-killmenow!
Then, I got approached by some guy who asked if I spoke English. I shook my head. “Italiano?” Shook my head again. I had my headphones in! Universal sign of, “The only language I speak right now is PLEASE STOP TALKING TO ME.”
Right as I was about to grab a bus to go eat pasta at home (and cry into the boiling water…), I saw this massive sign leading to McDonalds. Victory! Too bad I still couldn’t find it and I was beginning to think it was a mirage concocted out of my delusional hunger. BUT THAT’S BESIDES THE POINT. Wait, what IS my point…?
Turning back around would have been the wisest decision, but I decided to keep going. I’d come so far! I’d walked for almost 45 minutes! For a MCDONALDS! My humor over the situation is masking my shame.
Then, all of a sudden, a man on a scooter pulls over to talk to me. He’s cute, speaks English, and wanted my number. I had no pen. He searched his pockets and scooter for a pen. I searched my entire purse for one. He asked if I wanted to go to the beach and then said, “Of course you do! You’re from California!” Um, yeah, because the entire state of California is by a beach? Clearly, he has not been to Chico, CA. Finally, he gave me his card with his number on it. And, well, I may call him, you know, for the SAKE OF THE BLOG! Do you see what I do for all of you? I go on dates! I get out of my comfort zone! I’m like a saint. I’m about to head over to the Vatican to, uh, become a nun? No, no. That’s not right. ANYWAYS.
Finally. FINALLY! I saw the McD’s! And, would you believe it? I almost didn’t go in. It looked closed (it totally wasn’t) and I was embarrassed about how far I’d come. I mean, who does that?! WHO WALKS FOR AN HOUR TO FIND A MCDONALDS IN ITALY? But then I thought, “You know, I came all this way. They don’t know that. Let them think I got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and was starving and this was the only thing around and Jamie OMG get over yourself and just get what you came for!”
This was the inside... sort of classy!
So, I did. And that Big Mac was glorious. And, then I took the bus back and on my walk back to my apartment, I went into this shop and bought a black purse, a scarf, and two flowers for my hair.
And now, let’s recap. In two hours, I was hit on by a never-in-a-million-years guy, then asked out by a potential guy, ate a Big Mac, bought accessories, AND CURED CANCER!
Just kidding about the cancer part, but you never know, I COULD HAVE.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I love how you take this struggle, trust me as a person who began to hate Mexican food for the better part of my last month in Mazatlan I totally understand the search for any other food.
I can’t imagine the challenges of being hit on, I’m not a woman. Sounds like your really enjoying Roma.
Congrats on that and keep sharing. I know I really enjoy it.
What an inspirational story of sacrifice, overcoming impossible odds, and putting your very life on the line, all in the name of love ( love for a mcdonalds extra value meal). This blog post had everything- action, drama, romance (?)
Bottom line, your story can EASILY be adapted into a full-length hollywood motion picture (only HALF joking- nowadays people like these quirky personal journey stories)
If only Neil Patrick Harris were along for the adventure.
I have spent many an hour looking for fast food places in similar situations, especially in the Bay area in the afternoon when there are no left turns anywhere and the place I am looking for is right there, on the left.
Was there anything special on the menu or was it the usual American fare?
I spent two weeks in Rome, and my friend and I did go to the Golden Arches at one point. As hard as it might be to imagine, you do just kinda get sick of all the great Italian food.
Great post!
This is hysterical as I have had similar experiences in Italy and NEEDING a Big Mac. I rarely eat them in the States but somehow, it turns into comfort food/I could not eat another noodlepanniniwhatever if my life depended on it.
No judgment here.
There’s something about their fries…something DELICIOUS.
No haterz here.
I guess it’s not so strange you had a craving for McDonald’s, but more strange you had to walk 45 minutes! What about the one at Termini or near the Spanish Steps?
For non-Italian food I would suggest sushi and (Turkish) kebabs…yum
I am amazed and only slightly disheartened that even the McDonald’s are cooler in Italy. Just do me a favor and tell me the cupcakes are the same…worse maybe…all Italian and backwards hand waving and everything.
The inside of that Macca’s is rather classy! And 832563475 times cleaner than my local Maccas!
The McDs at the Spanish Steps used to have this huge boat shaped salad bar with all these yummy looking seafood salads. That was years ago. I understand the need for other than Italian. Please write about a Thai place if you find one. We would take the train there for Thai food.
Sas Thai Malay Di Provini Carlo E C.
3 reviews – more info »
Via Federico Ozanam, 94
00152 Roma, Rom (Lazio), Italy
06 97616468
My boyfriend and I had Thai there this summer. It was DELICIOUS and not as expensive as we were expecting
Were you shocked when you had to pay for individual ketchup packets? I was told that Micky D’s is pretty trendy in Italia, especially with the younger crowd. And almost every McDonalds in Italy I went into at 3PM when there was no real food to be found except pizza and pastries… was just as nice as that one.
absolutely fantastic!! and what a down right awesome looking McD’s?!
Lol, I completely understand that McDees craving! I would probably walk an hour to find one, too. And what a great way to get asked out!
when i first moved to barcelona and would have to wait until 10 or later (that’s the mediterranean for you) to eat a few tapas and drink way too much cava, then stumble home only hours later, way too hungry to take advantage of the party til dawn atmosphere. (note to spain: tapas are not dinner) there are nights when i’d take hostages for a darned pizza! fun story!
Jamie, you crack me up. Glad you’re having fun. And I wouldn’t judge you at all — I’ve eaten at McDonald’s in Brazil and Malaysia. Seriously…nothing wrong with that. When you’re that far away from home McDonald’s is EXACTLY what you need
Hey—
I had the same experience trying to find a Wendy’s in Aussie and NZ. I wanted a damn chicken sandwich and that was all for about a month. I finally found a Wendy’s in New Zealand but it was a trick. They have these ice cream places called Wendy’s. Me=Not Happy. Luckily, I eventually found a real Wendy’s in NZ and chowed 2 chicken sandwiches.
Anyways, my point is that I get your point.
I live in Chico at the condo’s across from Bidwell Park. I saw you said you were from Chico. Did you go to school here?
You have a cool site so I will be back often
Dave Damron
LifeExcursion
Hey Dave! Ha – glad you found that Wendy’s. I’m sure I’ll go back to this McDonalds to enjoy a Big Mac again. There is only so much pizza and pasta one can eat before wanting to never eat again!
And yes, I went to school in Chico and lived there for 6 years. (5 years in school and a year working there.) Condo’s across Bidwell Park? You are, by far, living in the best area of Chico. Man, you just made me SO nostalgic for Chico and Bidwell Park!
Thanks for commenting! Maybe we’ll run into each other when I go back to visit Chico. =)
This story really gave me the lolz. After football practice a few years ago in high school, myself and a few other teammates used to walk about 30 minutes to and from a McDonalds to get a bite to eat while we waited on our transportation to arrive. We killed that dollar menu every single day. I remember eating 4-5 double cheeseburgers on my walk back to the field house. Thankfully we got a 50% discount because we were athletes, otherwise that would’ve been about $25 a week spent on McDonalds alone!
My wife, and in-laws had a similar experience in while visiting Barbados. Got real tired of flying fish and the other Bajan cooking. Had to visit the Colonel for fried chicken.
When I was in Spain, a million years ago, we walked 2 miles down the Boardwalk to go to a Burger King because we were SO TIRED of chorizo and ham, and then 2 miles back.
The menu still had gazpacho on it.
I think I ate at that very same McDonald’s!