So apparently the French aren't eating lunch anymore.

I know! I was taken aback too. I'm not sure about you, but I've always pictured Parisian lunches to be long, boozy affairs filled with bread and cheese and lazy conversation in the world's most beautiful language. But with the economy in a downward spiral---yep, the effects are being felt all over the world, not just in the U.S.!---the French are stepping away from multi-course meals &agrave la table and opting for take-out sandwiches, quick salads, and DIY picnics instead.

Which got me thinking about how we eat when we're on vacation. Call me crazy, but sandwiches and picnics are my preferred method of filling up when visiting foreign locales. I like nothing better than browsing the local grocery store, grabbing a few items that are thrillingly unfamiliar to me, and assembling them into some sort of makeshift lunch or dinner. Sure, I'm not going to knock a must-do restaurant or a well-recommended bar, but most of the time I'm happy to make like a local at the supermarket or deli, snag a few things to-go, and then set up my own personal sampling workshop in a park, on a bench, or in my hotel room. (The photo up the top is my last-night dinner in Berlin a few months ago!)

Am I alone in this belief that the best culinary discoveries are the ones you throw into a wire basket in a strange grocery store then unwrap minutes later on the pavement outside? Do you go on vacation to avoid the supermarket rather than head straight for it? And hey, if you're going to Germany in the near future, could you pick me up one of those chocolate mousses in the picture, please? They beat any restaurant dessert I ate all trip.