As far as I can remember, I have eaten thousands of kinds, from conch pies on breakfast cardboard plates on rural islands to high-end restaurants in big European cities.

but what impressed me most was a meal at the Rome station.

My wife and I came to Rome from two different cities and met at the airport. (Note: N.American "Barrista": The guy who runs the only Da Vinci espresso bar has 12 nozzles (3 machines X 4 nozzles each. He looks bored, working at half speed while talking to an off-duty waitress. You gave him your cash register tape, and he recorded everything you bought. Two or four minutes later, you left with the coffee. I sat and watched him wait for my wife for more than an hour, thinking that all the baristas spent five minutes giving me a cup of espresso in an empty coffee shop ...)

We were going to take the train from Da Vinci to the bus station, but while we were standing there, someone announced a strike. We called a taxi and got off at the bus stop in Rome, which is no healthier than the bus stop anywhere in the United States.

We drove to a restaurant across the street. It was a typical cafeteria-there were no tables, no clothes and no hard chairs. I bought a salami/mozzarella/tomato salad and some pieces of bread. The mozzarella cheese and tomatoes here are excellent.

understand that this is the most basic resto's, a fast food chain. But the quality of these ingredients far exceeds what you bought at McDonald's, which is shocking. White bread is hard and fresh. Unlike white cheese that North Americans think, mozzarella cheese is authentic mozzarella cheese. These tomatoes are fresh, sweet, delicious and ripe, as opposed to immature steak and tomato slices or slightly acidic orange slices.

I just need to care about the food, not the stock analyst on Wall Street ... I will never forget that meal. This dish is simple, but delicious.

during one of my trips, I ventured to see some manatees at Gales Point, although it was not the peak season. Cape gayles is a small piece of land extending from the south into the South Lagoon. You have to drive a long dirt road, about 6 miles, to get there. It is quite isolated from the rest of the country.

there is a small village at the top, where there are a group of houses and some very humble resorts. I arrived at noon and was already very hungry. There are no restaurants or shops here, only one room is hung with a commercial sign of "Belikin" (national beer), and there is a small handwritten sign next to the door that says "lunch".

so I went to the porch and knocked on the door. An old woman from Belize came to the door. I told her that I had lunch there. She asked me to sit down at the table and she would take it out in a few minutes. There is no mention of any form of choice.

I sat on the porch and looked at the scene before me. Only a few houses, water and a large jungle. This is another Zen moment in Belize.

about five minutes later, she came out with a plate of stewed chicken, rice, beans and a bowl of chicken soup. This is the national dish of Belize, and it is also what I want to eat. It's delicious.