Italian Breakfast

Testing the breakfast provided – a fresh bread roll,  and a ‘brioche’ – which resembles a croissant dotted with sugar flakes, inside is an orange coloured jam. I read in a vegetarian blog earlier that the Italians would never eat bacon and eggs in the morning, that they are ‘disgusted’ by the mere thought of eating something so savoury in the morning.

This information led to some thought. It is interesting to learn that such a sweet, sugary breakfast is encouraged, accepted and normalised, yet I read everywhere about the negative impact of sugar. How eating a sweet, sugary breakfast plays havoc on blood glucose – causing an insulin spike, crashes, cravings and hormonal imbalance.

All of this is forgotten when sitting on an Italian cafe terrace in mid-morning, with a comfortable warmth in the air, the strong smell of fresh coffee, surrounded by the beautiful tones of the Italian accent, watching the café staff bring out these delicacies, as has been the way for years. Why does it matter if this messes with my blood sugar, when everything around me feels so traditional and romantic and real? When, in this moment, life just feels really worth living? I wonder whether others around me busy their mind with the ‘cold, hard science’ of it all, or whether they just relax and enjoy their coffee and brioche.