The Official Gelato Tour of Europe
There are a few things I set out to do on exchange in Europe, and eating gelato everywhere was one of those grand plans. I present to you… The Official Gelato Tour of Europe!
Lisbon, Portugal
Flavour(s): A classic stracciatella
Taste: Exactly as expected, aka delicious but humdrum.
Can you get this in Canada?: 100%
Lessons learned: Eat this if you’ve never had it before. But you’re in Europe, so be adventurous!
Milan, Italy
Flavour(s): Fragola + extra dark chocolate
Taste: Somehow, these two flavours DIDN’T complement each other. It was a little bitter for my liking, and the two flavours had different textures. The extra dark chocolate was a little runny, almost like a cross between chocolate sauce and brownie batter.
Can you get this in Canada?: You can probably get better in Canada, but the waffle-cookie was out-of-this-world good!
Lessons learned: Mix fruits with other fruits and chocolate with chocolate or nutty flavours.
Lucerne, Switzerland
Flavour(s): Minions??? WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN?
Taste: I didn’t actually taste this one, but everything is screaming inside me telling me that MINIONS ICE CREAM is the worst idea in the history of the world.
Can you get this in Canada? Please… no. Think of the children!!
Lessons learned: The Minions epidemic has spread way further than it ever should’ve.
Brussels, Belgium
Flavour(s): Vanilla with lemon juice and raspberries
Taste: An essential taste and texture to go alongside a warm Liège waffle. But overall, pretty basic.
Can you get this in Canada? Yeah, 100%.
Lessons learned: Whoever came up with lemon juice + vanilla was a genius!
Innsbruck, Austria
Flavour(s): I had green apple and lemon, and Sara had tiramisu.
Taste: Tart, light, and sweet! I’ve never had green apple gelato before, and it was a game changer.
Can you get this in Canada? Lemon, yes (but usually as sorbet, rather than a creamier gelato!), and green apple, no.
Lessons learned: Always ask for samples — at first I was going to get apple strudel (when in Austria, am I right?), but green apple was way better.
Zurich, Switzerland
Flavour(s): Panna cotta
Taste: Listen, I know this half-eaten cone looks pretty disgusting, but that’s just because it tasted SO GOOD, I forgot to take a pic of it.
Can you get this in Canada? Not from what I’ve seen! It’s the brand Mövenpick though, so if that’s available back home, then yes.
Lessons learned: Take a picture first, at least for the #aesthetic.
Bern, Switzerland
Flavour(s): Pistachio and dark chocolate
Taste: I was in the mood for something fruity, but this artisan gelato place only had nutty flavours.
Can you get this in Canada? Dark chocolate is hard to find in Canada, and I’ve had better pistachio back home.
Lessons learned: Super dark chocolate gelato isn’t for me anymore (I used to fiend it in middle school). Also, don’t get pistachio with *real* nuts if you don’t like eating nuts.
Lausanne, Switzerland
Flavour(s): Vanilla
Taste: Raspberry x vanilla is my favourite combination, but I would’ve preferred less whipped cream and more ice cream.
Can you get this in Canada? I still maintain that the crepes at First Markham Place are the best in the world, but I guess you can’t get this exact combination back home.
Lessons learned: Crepes are always better with mates.
Dublin, Ireland
Flavour(s): I had caramel & brown sugar (?) and Christa had Bailey’s & dark chocolate
Taste: I love this combo! It is a sweet & creamy winner.
Can you get this in Canada? I swear these flavours were actually pretty unique (I don’t remember what mine was, exactly).
Lessons learned: You can sneak on a coach bus with ice cream by taking the back door.
Ostuni, Italy
Flavour(s): Hazelnut fudge swirl with rice krispie chunks (?)
Taste: Absolute heaven.
Can you get this in Canada? I mean yes, but authentic Italian gelato is so much better.
Lessons learned: Sometimes, one flavour will do.
Lecce, Italy
Flavour(s): Kinder muesli and lemon
Taste: Surprisingly delicious! The lemon was refreshing, and the Kinder chocolate added some richness.
Can you get this in Canada? No!! Get yourself some Kinder-surprise-gelato goodness in Italy!
Lessons learned: Yes, you CAN venture into fruit/nut combos as long as you do a taste test first!
Poglinano a Mare, Italy
Left:
Flavour(s): Cantaloupe melon and blueberry
Taste: A true highlight. The melon tasted like bubble tea, and the blueberry was so creamy.
Can you get this in Canada? No! The melon is a little like Melona in gelato form, but I’ve never seen blueberry before.
Lessons learned: It doesn’t hurt to ask what that strange purple flavour is.
Right:
Flavour(s): Dark chocolate / pistachio
Taste: An oldie but goodie combo. This restored my faith in dark chocolate gelato.
Can you get this in Canada? No, it’s pretty hard to find this kind of (good) dark chocolate gelato back home!
Lessons learned: I ate this as soon as I polished off the flavour before because I was craving something nutty. You can alternatively solve this “problem” by getting both a fruity and nutty scoop rather than eating four scoops in a row.
Cascais, Portugal (Santini!)
Flavour(s): Strawberry, dulce de leche, and stracciatella
Taste: Delicious! I went for strawberry based on the server’s recommendations, but should’ve gone for raspberry.
Can you get this in Canada? The stracciatella yes, but the other flavours were more unique!
Lessons learned: The heart wants what it wants. If that means two back-to-back scoops of gelato, c’est la vie.
Lisbon, Portugal (Gelato Davvero!)
Left:
Flavour(s): I had tangerine, pear, and lemon cream (right). Kristie had avocado and strawberry.
Taste: SO GOOD! I love citrus flavours, but the pear was probably a mistake.
Can you get this in Canada? I don’t think I’ve seen tangerine or pear elsewhere!
Lessons learned: Ask how many flavours you can choose, because sometimes it’s 2 or 3. Also, don’t trust pear-flavoured gelato.
Right:
Flavour(s): Honeydew, almond, and pistachio
Taste: This was probably my favourite flavour combo. I love x 100 honeydew, and the almond was surprisingly delicious (should definitely look out for that in the future). The pistachio added a perfectly nutty kick.
Can you get this in Canada? No way! And if you find honeydew/almond gelato anywhere, hit a sista up.
Lessons learned: If you love almond tofu, almond jelly, and almond milk, you will PROBABLY also love almond gelato.
Zurich, Switzerland
Flavour(s): Lemon
Taste: Refreshing.
Can you get this in Canada? Yeah, this was technically more Movenpick ice cream.
Lessons learned: Movenpick cones are massive.
Barcelona, Spain
Left:
Flavour(s): Chocolate and raspberry
Taste: A little icier and not as complementary, but still good.
Can you get this in Canada? Yeah, both are pretty standard flavours!
Lessons learned: I gleaned that Spanish gelato is a lot rounder/neater.
Right:
Flavour(s): Lemon and pistachio
Taste: The great surprise here was that both flavours had chunks!!
Can you get this in Canada? Not chunky like these flavours
Lessons learned: Chunks are generally better than no chunks.
Tangier, Morocco
Flavour(s): Fruits de bois
Taste: Like vanilla-berry bliss.
Can you get this in Canada? Tbh, you can get this flavour PLUS white-chocolate-raspberry chunks back home. So technically, it’s not quite at the same level.
Lessons learned: Gelaterias in Morocco have good wifi.
Seville, Spain
Flavour(s): Lemon and chocolate with chocolate shavings.
Taste: Good, but a little basic! I regretted not going for some more adventurous flavours.
Can you get this in Canada? This yes, but they had some really cool flavours like tutti frutti, flan (with actual flan chunks), and sacher cake.
Lessons learned: Always go for the cup (instead of cone) in 30ºC weather.
Milan, Italy
Flavour(s): Chocolate and pistachio
Taste: Delicious, but at this point I don’t think you can go wrong with that combo.
Can you get this in Canada? See: the same sentiments as the last time I got this flavour combo.
Lessons learned: Yes, it is totally worthwhile to nearly miss your Flixbus for good Italian gelato. Also, that last time in Milan (with the dubiously mediocre gelato) was a fluke.