I woke up without a fever this morning, though still feeling weak, since I'd spent 3 days pretty much doing nothing but sleeping. However, by mid-morning, after a real breakfast (I'd eaten almost nothing for 3 days), and actually walking around, I felt human again.
I finally got myself upstairs for the first time since I'd been home. I hadn't really felt like I wanted to climb stairs ever. ever again, so, especially since I was sick, I hadn't even taken a shower (no wonder the dogs stayed away). But having had a bath and washed all the grease out of my hair and getting dressed for the first time in 3 days, I felt so human, I even went to the store.
It was the pesto and the croissants which drove me. I really needed chocolate croissants and was eager to make pesto for the trofiette we'd bought in Italy.
Something happened to my system on this trip. I found that I craved greens and fruits and really didn't go for the pastries as much as I thought I would (except for the breakfast croissants). I also ate at regular times and was too busy wiping sweat from my face to eat between meals. Since I've been home, I've noticed my appetite is much less than it was before I left. I've been drinking more water (I vowed that I'd never be thirsty again!) and eating less food. The 3 days I was sick, I ate hardly anything at all.
I bought chocolate croissants which we will have for breakfast tomorrow morning but, you know what? I was literally appalled at how big they were. They are easily 1-1/2 times the size of the ones we had at the hotel. No wonder we're such a fat country, she says, sitting here drooping fat off the sides of her chair. Apparently Europeans don't deny themselves treats like flaky pastries because the pastries are just enough to satisfy the appetite and not overstuff the stomach! We are not only the nation of "supersize me" but also the nation of "eat all your food...there are starving children in Bangladesh (or the country du jour)" So you can't just eat half of one of these enormous croissants or some child in Bangladesh is going to collapse from hunger.
I've been noticing how I feel the past couple of days, with respect to food. Oh, I know that it won't take long at all for me to forget everything I've learned subliminally on this trip, but it's interesting to notice that I do, for one brief moment, feel different about food.
Tonight I finally cooked the trofiette that we bought in Margherite Ligure, and I made pesto (even bought pine nuts, which I never put in pesto, even though you're supposed to), and I used the "good" olive oil. Then since I was craving melon I bought some cantaloupe and prosciutto. When dinner came, I served myself less than half of the past I would normally have served and then only had a few bites of that. The melon and prosciutto filled me up.
Our dinner tonight
It would be lovely if I could keep up the momentum, but I know me and it will only take a few days to get back into the old habits, but it's been an interesting food experiment.
Someone on Facebook asked me what "ACIS" was, so I went looking to see what the letters stood for (I never did find out--it's the group that booked our trip). I did, however, find an interesting description of their adult trips:
Itineraries that are moderately paced, with the perfect balance of free time and inclusions that appeal directly to adults' sense of exploration.
A theme-based Limited Edition trip crafted by our team of expert tour managers themselves, a Classic trip that offers a new perspective on some of our favorite destinations, or an At Home trip that allows for deep immersion into the daily life and local culture of each destination.
Sample hotels provided for every city on your itinerary, with double rooms standard.
Wine with meals and hotel porterage built in.
A welcome reception and special farewell dinner to extend our hospitality.
I want to know where those "moderately paced" trips are that give you so much "free time that appeal directly to adults' sense of exploration."
I also want to know where the wine is with meals. We got wine a couple of times, but most times we had to buy our own wine. And you'd kinda think that if you're going to spend $6,000 on a trip, they wouldn't pass the hat to make you pay the 5 euros for the subway, would you?
I filled out the evaluation form for the trip today and while I loved being there, loved the hotels, loved everything I saw, I did say I would not recommend this trip to anybody else and aired a few complaints, specifically relating to pace and time to explore and the wine with meals (even though I generally drank water anyway, it still seemed cheap to give us a meal and make us buy our own drinks).
Note that all photos are now posted to Flickr and I've started going back to the original entries and redoing them, adding more details and lots and lots of photos. Not that I expect anybody to re-read anything--they are more like a scrapbook for me. But in case you're feeling masochistic. I've only gotten that part of the project finished up to the 26th, so I have several more days to go of the project.
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