Eating gelato on a warm afternoon anywhere in Italy creates an instant memory.  Actually, gelato on a chilly evening in late fall is good, too.  I usually have gelato in a cone, with a tiny, brightly colored spoon to eat it with.  The spoon, which would be considered small even by a child, seems to make eating the gelato last longer.  Needless to say, this is a good thing.

Many gelato shops have walk up counters, with different sized cones displayed for various prices.  They offer mostly wafer cones as opposed to waffle cones.  I actually am not too concerned with the cone; it’s the contents that matter.  Selecting the flavor -or flavors-  is a matter of much thought and deliberation, because many of them are not common where I live.  Some of my favorite flavors are hazelnut and cream.  I usually have two scoops, which to me is the equivalent to one scoop in America!

The next challenge is to make it last as long as possible.  Theoretically this shouldn’t be too difficult because gelato doesn’t seem to drip and one can take one’s time eating it.  So it becomes a matter of will power.

And now I’m in trouble.  Considering that gelato is basically irresistible, it’s all really an exercise in futility.  Speaking of exercise, it helps (slightly) to keep walking while eating a gelato cone.  At least you can walk off the calories in, say, four hours per scoop.  And add another hour for the cone.  So is it worth it?  Definitely.