Hmph.

The Trash Can Cone: my least favorite cone.

Here is my first example of those unsightly trash can cones I mentioned last time.  I'm all for multi-purpose items, like sporks (it's a two-for!) but why turn what could be a perfectly nice advertisement for your tasty gelato stand into something that holds rubbish and smells like sour milk?  (Oh my!  I suppose this means I HAVE found scented giant food items, after all!) 

Will took this photo in April 2007.  We were in Venice, which we visited often because it was gorgeous, only 45 minutes away, and teeming with oversized gelato cones.  This particular instance was back before the Big Food Hunt had become a "thing" (i.e. "obsession") so as I posed I was trying to be inconspicuous to not draw undue attention from the gelato eaters and sellers.  These days I'd go ahead and pull it out of the shop and into the best lighting, swivel it around to the most attractive angle, and perhaps even tuck the trash bag out of sight.  Let them stare.  Shame be damned.  I'm on a mission from god.

What my loved ones have to say about it:

Heather:  Why is ice cream the food that everyone chooses to make gigantic?

Will:  ‎I think because the conical shape makes it easier to fashion into a variety of useful objects like trashcans. They'd have a hard time making a giant steak into a trashcan.

Heather:  Other foods?? I would throw trash in a Banana-can.

A beautiful specimen!

Ice cream ALWAYS tastes good, even when plastic.

BFF.

It's no surprise that the 2nd most attractive gelato cone resides in Monaco.*  EVERYTHING in Monaco is first class.  Even the gelato cone HOLDER is decorated, for goodness sake.  As you'll see shortly, Italians are happy to use giant gelato cones as waste baskets - but not Monacons Monaconians people from Monaco.  They take pride in what they do.

These photos were taken on yet another Army-sponsored trip in March 2007.  If my memory serves me, my good buddy Amber snapped these for me.  The Big Food Search had not yet become a hobby, so these photos were merely taken so that I could finally properly express my love for ice cream.

* Hold your horses, the best-looking ice cream cone will show itself in 2010.

Here we go...

Giant croissant!  Yes, I know it looks like a maggot, and no, I don't mind.

And so it began.  It was December 2006, six months after I moved to Italy to be with my husband, Will.  He took me on a romantic Army-sponsored trip to Lugano, Switzerland, where we saw a gorgeous lake and a beautiful-but-sort-of-frightening-up-close swan roaming the streets.  We took this photo for the novelty of it.  I remember thinking as I stood there, "Wow, this giant croissant is scented!"  A split second later I realized that the door of the corresponding bakery was open and wafting out delicious bready smells.  To this day I have yet to discover a scented giant food item... not for lack of trying.

What my loved ones have to say about it:

Amber:  That croissant could eat you!! 

Holy cow, Lizz started a blog!

What's gotten into me??  I HATE writing.  Buuuut... I love making everyone look at my photos.  Just count yourself lucky I'm posting photos of large novelty food items instead of photos of my cats.

I intended to start a website of my own, a la jimsbigthings.com, but I think people expect "money" for that sort of thing.  So, here's what I've got.