Eat Like Ushi

Interestingly for a warm Mediterranean country, Cyprus doesn't seem to have a lot of gelato. I saw a few of the fluorescent ones near the beachside but those have never interested me. And there was a few vans in places but didn't look at those. I had trouble finding any artisanal ones in Larnaca, although apparently there's some around Limassol (where we didn't stop).

On the last beach day with some unexpectedly warm weather in Paphos, we ended up at Coral Bay beach for some sun and water. During the rest I found Davinci on my phone. Oddly Google maps had it located more inland but so be it. After a short drive amongst fields, a dead-end road leading to the side of a bridge overpass, I gave up and turned back. But as fate would have it I saw it along the main street of restaurants leaving Coral Bay. It was a joy to park and cross the road and see the flavours in front of me.

Sicily pistachio had a deep green flavour with an even darker mix on top (unsure what that was and didn't get any in my serve). It wasn't the strongest pistachio flavour but still reasonable. The dark chocolate was intense and mildly sweet - a really good one. There are lots of other flavours too but the 2 flavour cone for €3 was suffice and the cone had essentially been stuffed with the dark chocolate.

A good experience with a twist of adventure.

Gelato and waffles in in Athens

One of the essential stops along the Golden Circle route is Efstidalur. It's a dairy farm with the stench of fresh cow pervading throughout. That's a good thing I suppose, as is the casual indoor seating area to see the cows munching through loads of hay. I suppose being outside is better but in windy -8C perhaps not the time for it.

The icecream is made from their cow milk and are all soft, creamy and delicious. There was no ice crystals in it and it made a perfect stop between getting geothermal rye bread at Fontana and the stop at the geysir.

The blueberry, oreo and third flavour I can't quite recall were all good and mild. None of them were particularly outstanding but easily satisfying. The cinnamon cookie is probably one I should've tried too. The most memorable feature was the waffle cone which was the thickest bit of crunchy biscuit waffle I've ever had. It was remarkably good and easily the best in all gelaterias I've been to.

0 degrees may not seem like the most obvious temperature to enjoy icecream, but it is really the time and opportunity that is most important. On the way back from lunch toward the airport pickup was really the final opportunity and the beauty of freezing temperatures is that the icecream doesn't melt. You have a long time to eat and enjoy it slowly and each lick doesn't end up with runny bits sliding down the side.

Valdis is well reputed for icecream in Reykjavik and the off-centre location and season meant it was empty. Although I like to try local flavours, they were all some variation of licorice (salted, strong, Danish) and that really wasn't my feeling. I wouldn't have minded trying a sample if I had more time.

So the strawberry cheesecake oreo on a thin crispy waffle cone was the order of the day and it was a nice mix of swirly colours, mildly sweet berry and soft mushy oreo (which I didn't particularly like) inside. The texture was clean and smooth with no ice bits. Overall good quality makers although their flavour profiles probably aren't so much for me.

I didn't get a chance to have gelato at all during the trip. Turkey isn't really a place known for it (as far as I know) and on the night I wanted to go to Gelato Bianco in Oludeniz, I discovered they close at 7pm.

The young guy manning this station in Kas square didn't stand out from the other places offering the same thing, but I came across it this one and thought it was worth a try.

He mashed banana, strawberry and pineapple before pouring ladles of white liquid and nutella. Then proceeded to furiously chop and scrape for a good few minutes. The end product was pretty cylinders of brown icecream with little bits of fruit mixed in. It was topped with chocolate sauce and some wafers for texture.

It reminds me of Coldrock in Melbourne although with fruit rather than lollies. I still prefer pistachio gelato, but this will do fine.

The sun was shining on a coolish Paris afternoon but still warm enough for a gelato. The friends living locally had heard of one to try and we walked past one little branch to find another one with the wall serving the streets.

Pistachio was a light brown colour but a bit too light on flavour for my liking. The dark chocolate-hazelnut that sandwiched it was a much stronger flavour with both elements coming through.

Not bad at all.

Running late to catch the Malpensa train during a pouring wet afternoon meant my dreams of a final gelato were dashed. Almost! Malpensa Airport T2 has a quality gourmet gelato place which also has chocolates and other sweet treats. But all eyes were on the gelato. It's the first I've seen in an airport anywhere and the use of relatively normal (ok maybe slightly higher than town) pricing is appealing too.

The cones offer a freshly made chocolate coat with nuts. For 2 flavours this is €4.5. The pistachio is nice but could be a bit stronger. Tiramisu had a good clean flavour and was nice.

It's at an airport and well within the realms of what would be great outside of Italy - I can't complain.

The little cute cow welcomes you into this gelato place. Inside are a host of flavours with incredible unrivalled potency.

The pistachio is intensely strong. I'm a pistachio connoisseur but this was practically too much. My brother pointed out that the flavour was so strong it was salty to the point of not being sweet at all (I like minimal sweet but this was almost no sweet) and he is right. I like natural rather than salted pistachios as nuts and so I think this is why the flavour wasn't for me.

Yoghurt was an excellent creamy thick version of just that - yoghurt flavour.

The quality is excellent and the flavours are strong. I think I'd have to try the banana/hazelnut/chocolate one next time.

A casual wander from central up north to Brera led to a quick Google Maps search for gelato. It would be the first of the trip and luckily Milan seems to be full of decent options. This was run by some lovely elderly Italians who were only too happy to share their creations with us. The colours of the selections were deep and elegant.

Pistachio was a lovely light brown colour full of pistachio flavour with a light sweetness complementing. The fig was full of fig seeds for texture and a light fruity creation from blended figs.

How excellent.

All beach towns need a good gelato place. There weren't many reviews to find online for C'an Pastilla and even a Google Maps search didn't have too many options that were nearby and open after dinner. We decided to meander down and look for one along the promenade expecting to find something.

The first one we walked into was called Eiscafe Oso Polar. They advertised homemade icecream so we'd peeked in. Unfortunately the flavours didn't really appeal and the icecream had that fluoro tinge that I don't go for. After walking away the angry woman yelled at my friend about how rude it was and there was no "gourmet" icecream in the town if that's what we were looking for. Happy to have left there, I looked across the street and saw a sign saying "gelato per passione" and a giant icecream luring people in. It looked simple and more modern and I'm glad I ended up there.

The gelato is well maintained in silver containers but with clear lids to see the product. It's a good compromise between the overflowing views of some and the hidden metal canisters of others. They didn't have pistachio but happily settled for fig and coconut. Both were good quality, smooth although a little light in flavour. It was nice on a humid Mallorquin evening to sit along the promenade wall and watch 5yo children blasting reggaeton and hooning in tiny cars.

There's also an option similar to Cold Rock in Melbourne where they mash chocolates and other things into your gelato if you wish, but that would only make the flavour messier in my mind. Simple is best.