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How To > Eat Meals With Locals
Eat Meals With Locals
Do you get tired of eating in
restaurants while travelling? And do you ever walk by homes in foreign cities,
wondering what goes on behind those closed doors and curtains?
Me, too.
So when I found out about an
Amsterdam-based company called Like-a-Local, I was intrigued. As well as arranging apartment rentals and
cool sightseeing tours,
Like-a-Local lets you book dinner in private homes in several European cities,
including Amsterdam, Barcelona and Lisbon. Alternatively, they'll match you with
locals and you'll all go out for a typical meal—tea and cakes
in London, say, or tapas in Madrid. Fees vary but are often in the
€40 per person range.
My husband and I spent a fabulous
evening with a 60-something couple named Paul and Lucie in a
17th-century canal house in Amsterdam. Despite the more than 20-year difference
in our ages, the conversation, food and wine flowed freely until after midnight.
Aside from the aforementioned Like-a-Local, several other
companies—most of them quite new—will help
you share a meal with locals.
Dine With Locals -
This newish site matches diners with hosts in a small range of cities in Europe
and North America. The fee for dinner is US$46 per person.
Home Food - This organization, launched
in 2005, holds prescheduled meals in local homes in and around Bologna, Italy.
Check out the calendar to see what's coming up, and sign up if there are spaces
available. Prices are in the neighbourhood of
€35 to €40
per person. Two warnings: this site has music, so turn the speakers down if you
don't want your boss to catch you daydreaming. Also, the site sometimes goes
down temporarily, so be patient.
Many hospitality exchange members are
also interested in meeting travellers for a meal, either at a restaurant or in
their home. See Join a Hospitality Exchange. |
