We were in the delightful Italian city of Venice a year or so ago, and enjoyed all the tourist sights. At noon on one of our wandering days, we needed a bathroom. We then saw the familiar McDonalds sign near San Marco Square and entered.

Feeling a bit guilty to just dash in and out, we decided to eat there. We had the usual Big Mac, fries and Coke for about $6. However, to eat native we later bought some genuine Italian gelato (sherbet) and pizzelles (cookies) from street stalls near the Grand Canal. For info about McDonalds in Venice, go to www.mcdonalds.it These days, some McDonalds in hundreds of other cities around the world vary their menus to include native foods. For example, in Hong Kong, China, if you don’t like fries, you may be asked, “Do you want ké (corn) with that?.

In New Delhi, India, you can see live beef on the hoof wandering around outside of McDonalds, but no beef burgers inside. The main fare is chicken or fish. You can also order a McVeggie or McAloo Tikki Burger, made mostly with potatoes.

In Berlin, Germany, you can order the hot sausage McDurrywurst, which comes with a brötchen (bread) roll or Französisch frites (fries).