Good tips, thanks! On a recent trip to Europe, I found Croatia, Netherlands, England and Ireland very good to travel in with lots of gluten-free choices in restaurants and stores. For Italy, I don’t speak Italian so I went with a small tour group and our excellent guide communicated with all restaurants ahead of time to make sure gluten-free options were available. Although I speak French, I found smaller towns in France endlessly frustrating. Many restaurants had no gluten free options and wouldn’t accommodate even simple changes to their menu. Night after night in many places I ended up eating canned mackerel in a mustard sauce, gluten free crackers and fresh nectarines back at my hotel. I had to stock up on gluten free foods wherever I could find them because, again in smaller towns there simply were no good options no willingness on the part of restaurant staff to help. In larger towns, once I found a restaurant with good gluten-free choices I tended to go back to it rather than spend hours searching for an alternative. Often hotel staff were good at pointing me towards nearby restaurants with gluten-free choices.
Thank you Jerry for your reply! I have had similar positive experiences in the countries you mentioned. But I have also heard similar frustrations with smaller towns in France. Nothing against France at all, and their cuisine is exquisite. But I think the gluten-free request may have a negative connotation or "demanding tourist" vibe to them, which of course, is not what we mean. We'd just like to eat something! I'm sorry you had challenges there, but glad you were able to stock up on products when you could. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Good tips, thanks! On a recent trip to Europe, I found Croatia, Netherlands, England and Ireland very good to travel in with lots of gluten-free choices in restaurants and stores. For Italy, I don’t speak Italian so I went with a small tour group and our excellent guide communicated with all restaurants ahead of time to make sure gluten-free options were available. Although I speak French, I found smaller towns in France endlessly frustrating. Many restaurants had no gluten free options and wouldn’t accommodate even simple changes to their menu. Night after night in many places I ended up eating canned mackerel in a mustard sauce, gluten free crackers and fresh nectarines back at my hotel. I had to stock up on gluten free foods wherever I could find them because, again in smaller towns there simply were no good options no willingness on the part of restaurant staff to help. In larger towns, once I found a restaurant with good gluten-free choices I tended to go back to it rather than spend hours searching for an alternative. Often hotel staff were good at pointing me towards nearby restaurants with gluten-free choices.
Thank you Jerry for your reply! I have had similar positive experiences in the countries you mentioned. But I have also heard similar frustrations with smaller towns in France. Nothing against France at all, and their cuisine is exquisite. But I think the gluten-free request may have a negative connotation or "demanding tourist" vibe to them, which of course, is not what we mean. We'd just like to eat something! I'm sorry you had challenges there, but glad you were able to stock up on products when you could. Thanks for sharing your experience!
This is just daily life not travelling abroad lol I totallyyy love my disease I was born with it makes planning trips with friends sooooo fun😅