Gf holiday

[Rennixon]

Hi folks,

I don't often post in here, but I was wondering if you lovely people can ease my mind. I'be been gf for about 6 months now, & generally find it Ok. BUT I'm going on holiday to Florence, Italy later this year & im really really apprehensive about what I'll find to eat. Has anyone travelled there & if so how did you find eating out??? Please help!

[Marz]

celiactravel.com/cards/ital...

You may find that Italy is well prepared for dietary issues. I recently visited Vienna where all the items on the menu were clearly marked. So easy in Mediterranean countries to eat fab salads and vegetables - with excellent meats. My local taverna gives me lots of fruit whilst others eat the puds

[Rennixon in reply to Marz]

Thank you!!! 😊 What a great little website, I love the fact you can print a card. My OH says I'll be fine, as I can stick to meat, veg & salads. But I'm so nervous about travelling anyway ( bad experience ) I didn't want the extra worry. Thanks for easing my mind 😊😊

[pvanderaa]

I don't have the link to hand at the moment but I found a web site that provides all sorts of allergy information in just about any language. I printed out the gluten and the dairy ones and they worked great for restaurants during a trip last year to Japan and another to France. It all depends on what language your waiter reads. The Arabic version didn't work so great to Saudi Arabia where the waiters were Indian.

Self catering can be a bit of a challenge but make sure you know the Italian words for wheat, barley and rye flour. EU requires allergy information be marked on packaging but you need to know the words before you go shopping.

Dictionary.com has a free translation service. Not the best for idioms but ok for words/ phrases.

Couscous is made from wheat (farina) - that caught me out once.

Stick with meats and antipasto. More places in Europe are offering gluten free options for pasta. Watch the sauces for cream/dairy.

[Marz in reply to pvanderaa]

Yes the website I linked above has it in every language - I just posted the Italian. All pdf files too ....

[Lisahelen]

I have some apps on my i pad so you could look to see if any can help you. One i have does languages. Just type in coeliac in the search.

[Rennixon in reply to Lisahelen]

Thank you, I've stumbled across a couple of things now to help me - legalnomads.com/gluten-free...

& a great app

itunes.apple.com/it/app/man...

😊

[makzine]

don't worry Italy is one of the countries that seems to be understanding gluten free, There are loads of pasta restaurants that can do gf however not sure about cross contamination, so far on my travels I've been really helped by the allergy information sheets - enjoy your holiday

[Rennixon in reply to makzine]

Thank you, I feel much more confident now & hope to enjoy to the max 😊

[msglutenfreeuk]

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere Italy has the highest number of celiacs in Europe - go figure

I found it easier saying I was a Celiac than asking for gf so you might want to try that

[Rennixon in reply to msglutenfreeuk]

Thanks will do 😊

[tetloww]

I went to sorrento in oct and was spoilt for choice. Cakes. Pizza. Pasta. All the things you can't get at home. Enjoy and fill your boots xx

[Rennixon in reply to tetloww]

Wow! My mouth is watering with expectation!! Really going to enjoy 😊 Thank you!

[tetloww in reply to Rennixon]

Just as always make sure you tell them like you would normally. One place we went into had a separate gluten free menu. Starters. Mains and deserts. Make sure you are hungry too allow plenty of time to eat so you can rest between courses haha. 😃Xx

[Rennixon in reply to tetloww]

Thank you, haha it may be a novelty to be able to eat more than one course ...!

I'm certainly going to eat drink & be merry 😊

[urbangirl]

I have been to Rome, Sorrento and Sicily and always find something to eat in Italy and used the cards and people have been so helpful. Staff in the restaurants have also been helpful. I found they were very tuned in to the needs of people not eating gluten. If you are going in the summer there will be lots of lovely fruit available. Going back to Italy this summer!

[Rennixon in reply to urbangirl]

Yes I'm taking all this wonderful information on board, and researching menus. We are planning a summer holiday, so yes the fruit will be good & refreshing in the heat!!

[Sybilla14]

I found Italy surprisingly easy with gf pasta options and even bread and breadstick provided🙂 A lot of products in their supermarkets too. Recently, when travelling in Sweden I used the coeliac travel card, Marz provided a link for, and it worked so well, listing specific ingredients to help the chef. I'll make sure to take one with me in the future.

[glutenfreemumuk in reply to Sybilla14]

Hi

I've found Italy a good country to visit gf wise. As the culture is to cook fresh food from scratch most people 'get it' when you give them the diet request/talk to them. I always take some gluten free bread with me and a note from my GP saying I need to eat gluten free (for customs if you're flying but you shouldn't have a problem, I have ever needed it a couple of times). This bread supply gets me through the first few days when I'm trying to find gf food and bread. I could only find rice cakes in the big supermarket where we stayed last summer, but I could buy gf flour and other goods. I also took some chestnut crackers which were useful and last the whole holiday.

The freezers in the supermarkets also have some gf goods. Checking for health food stores near to where I am staying (google) is always a good idea and then I can stock up on supplies. However the fresh food is amazing,

So as long as I think about snacks and bread alternatives I might need, the food works well especially for self catering.

Another good thing I discovered on my smart phone is the Google translate app which you can hold over the ingredients list of any food stuff and it will translate it into English...very helpful for self catering and menus.

Have a lovely holiday

😀

[JanLB in reply to glutenfreemumuk]

We found gf bread readily available in Naples

[freelancer]

No personal experience, but there are a few suggestions on line:

telegraph.co.uk/travel/dest...

florencewebguide.com/gluten...

adelanteblog.com/2016/02/ea...

Can't vouch for these but they sound pretty good!

[BronB]

We're going to Florence too and i've found on tripadvisor the 10 best gluten free restaurants in Florence.... hope this helps

tripadvisor.co.uk/Restauran...

We've always gone to Spain to the Pyrenees ie middle of nowhere. Everywhere we went gave me my own gluten free bread before the meal and the supermarket (tiny) had a gluten free aisle. Even the little bar place in our village knew exactly what gluten was and prepared our meal with no problems. Our Novotel in France also provided me with gluten free pastries for breakfast which I was not expecting. (I had emailed them before we went!) A little cafe in San Sebastian ran out of gluten free stuff and was about to close but the man went to the market next door and came back with gluten free bread just for me and also gluten free sweets for when we paid. Those printed cards are useful. I only needed them in Paris even though I can speak French! I think it makes it more serious. So over all I'm quite confident that Europe is good at doing gluten free! Buona vacanza!

[Rennixon in reply to BronB]

Thank you, this will be useful. There are a few things I've discovered too & I have an app on my phone now with all the gf places in Italy! It breaks it down into regions & towns. The link is in the thread. Enjoy your hol, I don't think there will be any problems 😊

[BronB in reply to Rennixon]

Thanks for the app! That will be useful 😊