Annais a travel
andlifestyle
journalist,and
authorofthe
travelmemoir
Departures.
@annadothart
M
y 33-year-oldfriendRoxyrecently
hada romancewitha 23-year-old
man,whoshecalmlytold:“Thekey
tohappinessinlife,Louis,is low
expectations.”I amnotquitesucha stone-coldfox
but,aftertheyearwe’vehad,I canseethewisdom
inkeepingdreamssimple...sothatpotentially,our
expectationscanbesurpassed.I’dneversuggest
wesettleforthemediocre,butmanyofmymost
memorabletravelexperienceshaveoccurredwhen
I showedupwithlowornoexpectations.So,I’m
dedicatingthiscolumntothesimple,unsung
thingsthatregularlyoverdeliverontheirpromise.
I’llstartwithbreakfast.Themosthumblemeal
oftheday,it is frequentlymyfavouritewhenI travel.
Breakfastdoesn’thavethesameglamourattached
toit asdinner,butit alsodoesn’thavethesame
pricetag,orpressure.If dinneris a flop, it’s a crisis;
if breakfastis so-so,well,who
cares?It wasjustbreakfast.There
areanothertwomealsleftinthe
day,andeventhemostlacklustre
hotelbreakfastis probablybetter
thanthebreakfastsmostofusate
throughoutchildhood,when
peopleexpectedevenlessofthe
meal.Byoccupyingthemost
mundanemealtimeoftheday,
breakfastis liberatedfromthepressuresthat
besiegedinner.Thisfreedommeansthatsometimes,
breakfastis themealthatshines.
Oneofmymostmemorablebreakfastswasin
a humblecaféinSanFrancisco,TheBuenaVista,
whichproudlyclaimstobetheAmericanhome
oftheIrishcoffee,reinventingit in1952.It is the
biggestsingleimporterofTullamoreDewwhiskey,
burningthroughnearly182,000litresa yearand
servinga remarkable2,000Irishcoffeesa day.(The
averageStarbuckssells 800 to1,000coffeesa day.)
Andyouknowwhat?Those2,000peoplearen’t
wrong;there’snobetterwaytopepupyoureggs,
andbegina dayofdecadenceinSanFrancisco.
AsanIrishwriteronanindividualwork
assignment,I leftthisclassicdinerfeelinglike
SanFranciscohadwelcomedmewitha hug
anda kiss.I alsofeltpissed.SanFranciscois
a famouslyfood-obsessedcityina famously
food-obsessedstate,butduringa weekofeating
mywayaroundtown,it’smybreakfastatThe
BuenaVista,themorningI arrived,whenI was
jetlaggedandthoughtI waspoppingoutfor
eggs on toast, that is the most memorable.AuthenticItalianpizzarestaurants,too,are
ridiculousoverachievers;lowonpretensionand
price,highoncomfortcarbsandatmosphere.
It wasinNaples,eatingat DaMichele(Jamie
Oliver’sfavouritepizzeria)anditsrivalSorbillo,
thatI finallyunderstoodtheconceptofcomfort
food,sinkingintohappycontentmentovera $6
Margheritaand$2glassofaglianico.Evenoutside
Italy,if youcanfinda goodpizzarestaurant,you’ve
founda placeyoucangoandreliablyhaveyour
expectationsexceeded,leavingsated.
Glampingisn’teveryone’scupoftea,buthaving
beenraisedonsoggyIrishcampingholidaysonthe
banksofLoughErne,I stillhavemytinymind
blownbybeingcomfortableona campingholiday.
Perhapsbecausemyingrainedexpectationsareso
low,I spendanyglampingtripfeelinglikeI’min
Claridge’s, withmywarmbed,dryfeetandfancy
Frenchpresscoffee.
Cider,a drinkI oftenentirely
forgetabout,is alwaysworth
drinkingwhenit’sofferedas
a localspecialtysomewhere.
Wineandbeerarethebig-hitters
oftheboozescene,butif cider
quietlypopsup– asit hasin
Brittany,SomersetandOrange- I alwaysorderit.AndI’m
alwaysdelighted.I resolvetoturnintoa cider
drinker,andthenforgetthisresolution,returning
tobeer,wine,andwhiskey,untilthenexttime.
C’estla vie.
I alsohavea secretsoftspotforairlinemeals.
Fora while,I triedtorepressmyappreciationof
airlinefood,tellingmyselfI wasconfused,and
justfeltsorryforthem,theseunloved,overchilled,
underseasonedhigh-altitudetraysoftreats.But
nowI’mwillingtoproclaimmyloveforplane
mealsloudlyandproudly.I knowwe’resupposed
tomoanaboutairlinemealsbutI, invariably,have
a marvelloustimeworkingthroughthesetrays
ofstrangecomponents.
Thentherearethemoregeographically-specific
day-to-daydiscoveriesthatdeservetobegarlanded
andlaudedas heroes– Japaneseconveniencestores,
Frenchpharmacies,family-runBritishB&Bs,New
Zealand’sfishandchipshops,Austrianbakeries,
America’sSuper8 motels,Germantrains– but
I gettheideathatnoneofthesethingswould
becomfortablebeingthrustintothelimelight.
They’recontentjustdoingtheirthingquietly,and
occasionally blowing a grateful traveller’s mind.●
“Ileft thisclassic
dinerfeelinglike
San Franciscohad
welcomedmewith
a huganda kiss.
I also felt pissed.”GOURMET TRAVELLER 115The art of travel