It has been about four months since we have returned to the United States.. As our time abroad was nearing an end, my little family started compiling top ten lists of our favorite things and places. To begin this series - I will start with the ever critical, ice cream
or gelato.
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| The Tasting Committee at Work |
10. Don't have your passport handy? No worries, the Swedish ice cream bar "Magnum" is available in freezer cases throughout the U.S. (Target, Walmart, etc.). When wandering the streets of random cities and an appealing gelato stand was no where to be found, a quick stop at a convenience shop could always yield one of these frozen delights. If you haven't tried one yet - I dare you!
9. Centrale del Gusto in the Mercato di Mezzo in Bologna, Italy. A wonderful market in the Food district of Bologna with some of the best eats in town. Not to mention a crazy-good stop for ice cream (or a macaron..).
8. Grom. Our saving grace for gelato amongst all of the tourist traps in
Venice, Italy. Grom's all-natural artisan gelato can be found throughout Italy, as well as in -
Malibu, New York, Osaka, Paris and Tokyo. If you ever stumble across one of their shops somewhere in the world, grab a scoop - you'll be glad you did!
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| Grom - Venice |
7. Cupcake Corner. A fun little shop in
Krakow, Poland. One step in however, and you won't remember if you are in Poland or America... A cupcake menu that changes for each day of the week, you will find temptations such as Red Velvet, Banana Split, Oreo, White Chocolate Pistachio... Very Americana... My reason for a stop-in however, is the homemade ice cream. Red Velvet and PB Chocolate are lovely, but Sweet Carrot - that's where it's at!
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| Cupcake Corner - Krakow |
6. Grycan. Another Polish joy. With ice cream parlours located throughout
Poland, grab your spoon for a scoop
or sundae and take in the happiness of an ice cream steeped with history and family tradition!
5. Softis. Soft-serve ice cream found in Norway and Sweden. One of the more affordable dining options in these countries, the soft serve is amazingly more rich than it's soft serve cousin in the states. The part that's even more fun is picking your topping - cocoa powder, jimmies, peanuts and my favorite, licorice (salt licorice in Sweden). Perhaps one of the greatest reasons to trek up to Scandinavia..
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| Lejonet & Björnen - Stockholm |
4. Amorino. Upon first finding this lovely gelato in
Milan, Italy, it held top honors for a long time. I can't even tell you how amazing the Pistachio and Speculoos flavors are... Amorino can be found in
Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, England, Spain, Portugal, Luxemburg, and... New York!
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| Amorino - Lyon |
3. Terre Adelice.
Located in
Lyon, France directly across from Amorino, I passed it up at first because the ice cream was in plastic tubs... However, upon passing it a second time and seeing a line that extended for quite a while... There was a definite reason there was a line.
A flavor menu a mile long, divided into categories of flowers and plants (maple, lavender, rose, geranium, violet - wonderful!..), exotic fruits (lychee, mango..), alcohol (Chartreuse - awesome!, Grand Marnier, rum raisin..), cheese and vegetable (goat cheese, Mascarpone, Roquefort, tomato & basil..), regional fruits (Bergeron apricot, Morello cherry, Mirabelle plum, rhubarb..), indulgent flavors ( salted cream caramel, Arabica coffee, Valrhona cocoa powder, Commercy madeleine, licorice, sheep's milk Madagascar vanilla..). If there was time for all of them, I'd be so happy.
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| Terre Adelice - Lyon |
2. Gelarto Rosa. Another holder of the number one spot for quite some time.. A sweet little shop in
Budapest, Hungary, with a fun selection of flavors and a couple that rotate out daily. My favorites are cinnamon, Mexican chocolate, and white chocolate lavender. I bet you might find a reason to stop by at least twice a day...
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| Gelarto Rosa - Budapest |
1. The shop that stole the show?
Gelateria Romana. After visiting this shop in
Bergamo, Italy, life was never the same. They can be found across Italy (I wish I had known to look for them in
Rome..) as well as a shop in
Madrid, Spain. To begin, they pour molten hot chocolate (brown
or white) into the bottom of your cone. Then, gracefully top with your chosen flavors (Mascarpone with coffee and dark chocolate, white mint, hazelnut pesto, Grandma's cookies..).
May you be feeling ridiculously inclined, they'll even top it off with fresh whipped cream... The only downfall... The girl that despises people who speak English (or maybe all people in general, it was hard to tell)... Either cross your fingers that she'll be out for a smoke break or just accept that she'll all but spit in your ice cream. Nonetheless, it still gets the number one spot in our book.
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| Romana - Bergamo |
If you find yourself out and about in the ice cream world, please enjoy responsibly and with ultimate enjoyment.
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| Charlotte - Gelarto Rosa |
Disclosure: We're just regular people on a regular budget. Therefore, we haven't been to all the ice cream shops across Europe, nor have we been to all of Europe. Darn the luck, nobody even gave us a free scoop - this life-altering information was funded out of our own pocket and is highly researched. There are places that didn't make the list. But I give my word that those that did are nothing but awesome.
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