However, you will go to and eat at a McDonald’s while you are in Europe. Why? The bathrooms will be the initial lure. Semi-clean, free, convenient bathrooms with guaranteed toilet paper can be few and far between in some cities (Paris springs to mind instantly). When you have once crossed the threshold, half the battle is over, and you are all but lost. The familiarity starts to work: “Hey, this is just like back home.. .” “Smells pretty good, and I can get something familiar, in a hurry, and it’s not too expensive…” “Well, maybe just this once. ..” And the next thing you know you’re chowing down a double bacon McCheeseburger, large fries please, and a medium Coke. Resistance is futile. Though you have been warned, it will help you not. The Golden Arches will triumph in the end.

Eating out can be one of the really charming aspects of European travel. Remember, though, “authentic” and “local” do not always mean “expensive.” Good, cheap restaurants can be few and far between, especially in cities, but they do exist: the best sources of information on such places are your hostel or pension staff, your fellow travelers, and your guidebook, usually in that order. The usual list of thoughts and experiences:

- Restaurants that appear in guidebooks should be treated with caution, as they may be overrun with tourists.

- Likewise, any restaurant that caters excessively to tourists should be avoided, just as you would avoid the same type of place at home. Menus in English are usually a bad sign.