McDonalds next to the Duomo in Florence?

Chuckanut

Chuckanut

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Here it is:
McDonald's in piazza Duomo a Firenze | Dissapore

https://www.facebook.com/1299953007...9995300758142/131842410573431/?type=3&theater

Abbiamo la Bellezza, l'Arte e la Cultura. Perchè non preservarle? Perchè tra 100 anni, questa amministrazione non può essere ricordata come quella che si è opposta alla Svendita e all'Omologazione? E non ci dite che i fast food creano ricchezza per favore.


We have the beauty, art and culture. Why don't preserve them? Why in 100 years, this administration may not be remembered as the one that is opposite to the sale and the approval? And don't tell us that the fast food create wealth please.
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È una brutta figura!
 
The one right at the bottom of the Spanish Steps in Rome is a nice location too.
 
I can just imagine: leaving the cathedral, dressed in sneakers, khakis, polo, cap, fanny pack, camera hanging around his neck and laying across his big bely, his wife there next to him, looking around for a place to stop in for lunch, right in the middle of a global gourmet paradise. He spots the yellow arches. A smile creeps onto his face, he nudges his wife with his elbow and says "honeybuns, I see a place where we'll get some real food!" He'll order a big Mac, she'll have some McNuggets, they'll share fries, and each have a large soft drink. As they finish he'll turn to her and say "now, if they'd only learn how to make pizza the right way, this'd be a perfect vacation spot.
 
Meh, the Duomo area in Florence is pretty much tourist central anyways.

--

We had to do the McD's on the Champs-Élysées if just to sit on the patio.
 
I don't see a problem with it. If I was there visiting the piazza and the Duomo, tired, hot, and just wanted to sit in the AC and enjoy some ice cream, burgers, and fries with my wife and three kids without paying $100, I'd be in there in a split second.

Sometimes you get tired of waiting for a table, paying tourist prices for crap service and possibly crap food, navigating a foreign language, and getting ripped off. Those times call for McDonald's. I wouldn't eat there all the time, but might eat there in this case because I figure all the restaurants in the immediate vicinity are tourist traps. I'd rather go back to my airbnb rental, yelp/google a good local hole in the wall and spend my time and money there away from the tourist circus. YMMV of course, but that's how we roll. When we're traveling with kids especially.

I also enjoy seeing the local variations in the McD's menu and architectural arrangement. Dulce de leche ice cream in Uruguay and Argentina for example was a delicious treat after a long day of adventuring on foot (and just as good at USD$0.50 or so compared to 3-4x the price for "local" ice cream that might be imported from the other side of the continent for all I know). One of the McD's we went to in Buenos Aires was like a freaking palace - 3 stories, a waitstaff that brought the food to your table (no tip required or suggested), fancy stonework, lush gardens, etc.

Yes it was McDonalds but we were surrounded by locals and heard zero English so I would call that an authentic experience. We were a subway stop away from the touristy section of Buenos Aires and had just finished an amazing meal at a hole in the wall cafe with a half dozen tables mostly situated on the sidewalk where we drank local beer, chatted with the owner/cook/cashier/waiter/bartender about what beers we drank at home (he loves Coors Light and had his dreams crushed when informed that's crap beer in the US!), ate incredible empanadas fresh from the oven and had some of the best spaghetti ever (who knew adding chunk of pork shank to the sauce would make spaghetti so amazing??!!).
 
The McDonalds I went to was across the street from Santa Maria Novella train station. The buses to all points around Florence are lined around the corner and the block behind McDonalds.

If I'm looking for reasonably priced food close to the Duomo, I'm going to Leonardo's--a very popular cafeteria. Their lasagna is just great.
 
Maybe they'll put in a Pizza Hut next door?
 
MichaelB said:
I can just imagine: leaving the cathedral, dressed in sneakers, khakis, polo, cap, fanny pack, camera hanging around his neck and laying across his big bely, his wife there next to him, looking around for a place to stop in for lunch, right in the middle of a global gourmet paradise. He spots the yellow arches. A smile creeps onto his face, he nudges his wife with his elbow and says "honeybuns, I see a place where we'll get some real food!" He'll order a big Mac, she'll have some McNuggets, they'll share fries, and each have a large soft drink. As they finish he'll turn to her and say "now, if they'd only learn how to make pizza the right way, this'd be a perfect vacation spot.
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+100!!! Too funny!!
 
We went to a trattoria on a side street - maybe 1 block from the Duomo. It was inexpensive and had a great antipasti plate.
 
Yeah the choices at the most tourist-centric areas are not that great, all peddling similar Lunch menus.

However, one evening I was walking around between the Duomo and the train station, found one place offering a 9 Euro 2-course dinner. I was famished so I took it. Great penne all'arrabiata and then a small but well grilled beef filet.

I've also found bargains at little cafes which serve one or two dishes but isn't really a full sit-down restaurant.
 
One thing you'll get at a McDonalds that you won't from other local restaurants are big drinks with a lot of ice.
 
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Pizza Hut, KFC and McD's are global, and it would appear the global locals like them, because in the times we've stopped and peeked in, it's generally not Americans looking back at us. The one we stopped into in Paris, smack dab in the heart of the city, overlooking the Seine, was filled with young, trendy Parisians. (Our Rick Steves guide book suggested stopping in for a look to experience a trend-setting McD's. It was an interesting contrast to what we would see here in the States).
 
There used to be one directly across from the Pantheon in Rome; it had a huge patio and was a spectacular place to people watch. I don't know why it closed. I've lived off and on in Rome and the several McDonalds there are always packed to the gills with people of all nationalities and ages as well as hoards of Italian school kids.
 
MichaelB said:
I can just imagine: leaving the cathedral, dressed in sneakers, khakis, polo, cap, fanny pack, camera hanging around his neck and laying across his big bely, his wife there next to him, looking around for a place to stop in for lunch, right in the middle of a global gourmet paradise. He spots the yellow arches. A smile creeps onto his face, he nudges his wife with his elbow and says "honeybuns, I see a place where we'll get some real food!" He'll order a big Mac, she'll have some McNuggets, they'll share fries, and each have a large soft drink. As they finish he'll turn to her and say "now, if they'd only learn how to make pizza the right way, this'd be a perfect vacation spot.
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Yeah, LOL!

Do people here really eat at McDonalds when they visit Europe?

I can't relate since we don't eat at fast food places here in the US.

I've had a few tourists claim it's just because of the free Wifi in Europe - yeah right!

I know - different strokes.
 
Thousands of years from now, archeologists will excavate the Duomo but will also excavate the McDonalds next to it as aremnant of the once great American empire.
 
The McD's we stumbled across in a mall in Porto Alegre Brazil was a pleasant relief from all of the German fare & churrasco we had to contend with, day after day after day.

No diet Coors, but they had Brahma Chopp and Antarctica as I recall.

Sometimes the touch of home is appreciated. ;)

_B
 
audreyh1 said:
Yeah, LOL!

Do people here really eat at McDonalds when they visit Europe?

I can't relate since we don't eat at fast food places here in the US.

I've had a few tourists claim it's just because of the free Wifi in Europe - yeah right!

I know - different strokes.
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I don't eat at McDonalds, period.
 
audreyh1 said:
Do people here really eat at McDonalds when they visit Europe?

I can't relate since we don't eat at fast food places here in the US.

I've had a few tourists claim it's just because of the free Wifi in Europe - yeah right!
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I've never been to Europe but plan on spending next summer there unless we find somewhere more appealing to visit. We'll probably hit McDs occasionally.

The free wifi is a big selling point. It's why I visit starbucks occasionally too. Where else can you spend the equivalent of a US buck or two and sit in air conditioning with wifi for as long as you want to cool off, relax, recharge your batteries (literally and figuratively), check out your guide book/app, and enjoy a cold beverage and/or ice cream?

We rarely eat at McD's here at home (in spite of having one a block from us on our street!) but do visit (and sometimes eat there) occasionally while on vacation. When you spend a month or two on vacation and enjoy dozens or hundreds of meals at local places, I don't think it detracts from the cultural experience at all. After all, the locals love McDs too. I've had just as many pleasant interactions with locals at Mcds as at local places (if not more).
 
One fine memory I have of my DS was we were on a family trip to England. While my DW and DD were having high tea at the Roman ruins in Bath, I offered to let my son pick where we would have lunch. Of course he picked Pizza Hut, just down the street from the ruins.

It was packed with locals (it seemed) and the food was, well, standard Pizza Hut. He enjoyed it after so many meals eating the local grub. A 13 year old can get tired of eating at gastropubs...
 
FUEGO said:
The free wifi is a big selling point. It's why I visit starbucks occasionally too. Where else can you spend the equivalent of a US buck or two and sit in air conditioning with wifi for as long as you want to cool off, relax, recharge your batteries (literally and figuratively), check out your guide book/app, and enjoy a cold beverage and/or ice cream?
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Well - I have free data in Europe from my T-mobile plan which is good enough for keeping up with emails, google maps, and early-retirement.org. So I can go sit down in a regular cafe, LOL! I'll be surprised if the McD's ice-cream is anywhere near as good as the 100s of gelaterias around. Unless they are serving the local gelato too!
 
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mpeirce said:
One fine memory I have of my DS was we were on a family trip to England. While my DW and DD were having high tea at the Roman ruins in Bath, I offered to let my son pick where we would have lunch. Of course he picked Pizza Hut, just down the street from the ruins.

It was packed with locals (it seemed) and the food was, well, standard Pizza Hut. He enjoyed it after so many meals eating the local grub. A 13 year old can get tired of eating at gastropubs...
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In some countries like England, the options are indeed more limited as compared to France and Italy. My brother always goes for Indian in England.

We haven't yet run out of cool places to eat in Brussels, Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria or Italy. I'm not worried about Barcelona either.
 
T mobile is supposedly allowing full 4g data in Europe in July and August this year.
 
audreyh1 said:
I'll be surprised if the McD's ice-cream is anywhere near as good as the 100s of gelaterias around. Unless they are serving the local gelato too!
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A guide in Firenze advised me to avoid the franchise gelaterias with huge containers of whipped gelati on display. She said they are made with preservatives and artificial flavor enhancers. She recommended Gelateria dei Neri, a family run business close to the Uffizi. I was not disappointed!

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaura...iews-Gelateria_dei_Neri-Florence_Tuscany.html
 

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