Anyway, eating is a must (well, at least for me!! I'm not exactly one of those "poking-in-my-dinner-kind-of-gals" ;)), so confession time...... When I'm dining alone, I usually.....
Order room service to spare myself of this whole awkwardness
This is my most frequent solution.....a bit like sticking my head in the sand....I know....
Play with my iPhone, pretending to look extremely busy
This is my favorite....rather practical as the iPhone is small and the only risk is dropping it in my soup.
Bring my laptop and work while I eat (or at least pretend to).
Very impractical and sometimes not a possibility for a 2ppl table + you always run the risk of running out of battery which would make it even worse than simply eating alone without any tools or distractions!
Try to finish as fast as possible
You know...to make the torture short! Normally this means eating too fast and it has its consequences sometimes.....let's not go there.
Read a book
Hmmm.....l must admit I'm not a fan of this solution as I find it extremely hard to concentrate on anything but the food....if it's good!
Read magazines
That is when they are available, because I never remember to bring any...
Avoid eye contact with other people
Because for sure, I wouldn't want any company that I didn't choose myself!
Make faces with the food
Basically, this means playing with my food. Normally only a solution I use for breakfast as during any other meal, I'm simply too hungry for this activity. Of course, this won't exactly give the surrounding restaurant guests the impression that I'm vey refined....but I don't really care as first of all, I'm not and secondly, It's fun!
Does any of the above ring a bell to anyone? Do you have the perfect solution to remove this awkwardness? If yes, could you please be a sweetheart and share it??
Thanks in advance.
xox
The uncomfortable solo traveller:
Going for a smily-PIZZA in Nyon with me :)))
ReplyDeleteExcellent topic. I never, never order room service. I read a book or magazine at the table until the food comes. Once I eat I start studying all the other people and tables: What kind of a business dinner is that over there? What industry could they be working in? What are their nationalities? Who is that couple over there? How long do they know each other ... is it a first date? Are they in love, or is one of them really bored with the others company? And so on, and so on. A glass of really good wine helps.
ReplyDeleteYes the others might be thinking the same of me, but I don't care. - Usually I dine alone in towns where nobody else knows me (otherwise I'd be dining with the friends I have in that town!). And heck, next day I'm gone :-)
Dominik
I would go with Dominiks suggestion, thats what i do if im alone dining in a restaurant. We have all have that feeling when we are alone in a crowded place and dont know anyone there..:-) But just try to do it in youre own kind of way, it helps realy and it could get you a big laugh sometimes to.. Paps
ReplyDeleteChris: If I was having dinner with you, this would be the farthest thing from my mind ;))) ....and I LOVED the smiley pizza! Hehe!
ReplyDeleteDominik: That's great!! ......actually I tried it last week when I was travelling. It works =)))) Thanks! x
Paps: I did =))))