fishinbuddy wrote on Sep 1^st, 2008 at 12:51pm:

I suggest if you travel to Europe bring tabasco sauce, salt, and cyanne with you to improve many of the dishes served.

 Having spent 18 months in the Army, stationed in Germany, I can attest to the "blandness" of some European food.
 Germany/France/Spain/Italy among others seem to know what spices are, but England/Scotland/Ireland, have the blandness, most tasteless "ethnic" dishes I ever had.
 IF you spend anytime in Canada, other than in the big Metropolitan areas with International cooking influences, the rural foods are for the most part very bland and tasteless. I travel with a mini-bottle of Tabasco and get the strangest looks when I add it to just about anything I order ;D
 If you watch any of the cooking shows on the tube, you don't see very many dishes from the British Isles featured. You would think with the dreary weather they have over there, they would welcome some spice in the kitchen ;)