Lactose & GF travel in Italy, Germany, France & Aust

[KarenH]

I will be spending July in these countries and am worried about surviving the trip without going hungry or hiding in my room! No refrigerator or cooking facilities and little luggage space.

Do you have any knowledge of food products available in the above countries? Stores and restaurants there? Or websites that could give me info?

Specifically: Munich, Graz, Gorizia, Venice, Vrenna/Bellagio. Possibly Paris.

[skbird]

One thing you can do before you go is make up a multi-lingual card. I went to France, Germany and Netherlands last year at Christmas and while I didn't know I was GI a the time, I did want to know if there were any tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, or sugars in my food. So I made up a card that said:

Warning! Allergy!
No tomatoes
No peppers
No potatoes
No eggplant
No sugar (I am hypoglycemic, I am diabetic)

I'm not actually diabetic but thought that would get the message through better. I then put that list on www.freetranslation.com and had it translate into Dutch, German and French. I printed those all on a card with pictures of a bell pepper, tomato, potato, eggplant, and spicy peppers with big "X"s through them just to further drive the message home.

In the end I was actually with people most of the time who could ask questions for me so I didn't use it much, though I did show it a couple of times and one of the couples we stayed with who speaks French (not English) after I had explained what I needed to avoid -- they didn't get it until they saw the card. Then they understood. So it did seem to help, plus it made me feel more confident.

I used Quark Xpress to design the card but you could use a program like Word or even just cut out pictures or whatever and photocopy a few.

Have a great trip! I'm envious!
_________________
Stephanie

[CD/DH does Paris]

KarenH --

Paris is not only the City of Lights, but also the City of Delectable Food -- even if you follow a GF diet! I'm working towards a PhD in French Literature, so I spend a fair amount of time in France. I have celiac and DH, and I can assure you that it is definitely possible to not only eat well in France, but to gain weight, while following a strict GF diet. There are a number of large open-air markets selling fresh produce, as well as tons of artisanal cheese, so it's easy to create a picnic-style lunch. The GF ready-made line of products from Dr Schar is very prevalent in Europe (including France) -- check at pharmacies and health food stores. Don't worry about missing out on pastries at the patisseries -- instead, indulge in fine chocoloates or better yet, head over to Berthillon for world famous ice cream (I think they have a web site showing the locations). Eat a creme brulee. Go to the Mariage Freres tea room (check their web site for locations) and explore 500 teas. For incredibly thick hot chocolate (not to be missed even in 100 degree weather!) or an incredible salad, try Angelina's (rue de Rivoli).

Finding a decent meal for lunch or dinner is relatively easy, but I would suggest sticking with grilled, roasted, or sauteed dishes. Lots of French sauces are made from a flour/butter base. When in doubt, always ask the waiter. "je suis allergique au ble, a la farine de ble, etc. Est-ce qu'il y a de la farine dans ce plat?" (sorry, I can't seem to find a way to put accents on this...) ble (pronounced "blay") is wheat; farine (pronounced fah-reen) is flour. Tip: It's easier to find a satisfying GF meal if you're willing to pay a little bit more (ie maybe 7 dollars for lunch instead of 3).

Breakfast is definitely tricky, since the French tend to have a cup of coffee and bread or a pastry. So, I'd recommend making some GF granola bars before your trip and bringing them with you to serve as breakfast. (you can supplement them once in Paris with yoghurt, fruit, etc bought at any of the gazillion mini-marts throughout Paris). You might also pack some dried fruit, too, in case you need a snack in the long break between French lunchtime and French dinnertime.

There's a tiny little book (whose name I forget) that has an extensive list of things you'd see listed on French menus and has their translations.

Oh, and one last thing... you can't eat crepes from the stands in France. However, you can eat galettes de sarrasin (buckwheat-based crepes)! Just make sure to double-check with the guy at the stand or your waiter that the batter is purely made of "farine de sarrasin," without any "farine de ble/froment." Galettes de sarrasin are usuallly used for the savory dishes, whereas the wheat-based crepes are used for the sweet dessert dishes. Sometimes, if you explain that you are allergic to wheat flour, you can get them to substitute a galette for the crepe for a sweet wrap. Try it with Nutella -- it's sinful. The owner of a tiny place called "Le Sarrasin et le Froment" in the 1st arrondissement, on one of the little iles in the Seine, was really accomodating.

Final thoughts... The overwhelming majority of people in France are helpful/nice/polite. However, if you can say "Hello sir/madam" (Bonjour monsieur/madame), thank you (merci), and the magic phrase "Excuse me for bothering you, but I have a question/problem" (Excusez-moi de vous deranger, mais j'ai une question/ un probleme"), your experience will be even better than it usually is.

Good luck! Happy travels and happy eating!

[CD/DH does Paris]

Here are web sites for two French celiac organizations:

www.maladiecoeliaque.com

www.afdiag.org

[Fawn in CA]

I don't have personal experience traveling abroad on a gf diet. But one of my daughters is studying in Spain this summer, and she is gf, cf, and allergic to shellfish. It's not easy, as she does not have access to cooking facilities, a microwave, or a refrigerator, either. She has A LOT of gf/cf meal replacement bars (Think Thin are her favorite) and took individual pkgs of Shelton's Turkey Jerky.
A lot of grocery stores have sections and products labelled "gluten free" (in Spanish, of course), but we didn't realize that Spanish standards allow a lot more gluten than she can tolerate (she ended up in the ER for intravenous fluids after eating "gf' crackers). A dr in the ER said that Spain allows 220 mg. - whatever that means, I'm not sure, but it's too much for her!
She's had a lot of fruit, some vegetables, and some paella. Avoids salads because of bad luck with cc from shared prep surfaces and utensils.
In some countries, truly gf food (labelled "FACE" in Spain) is sold in pharmacies, but not in the grocery stores.
If we had known ahead of time, she would have packed more meal replacement bars, more dried fruit (some in Spain is dusted in flour), almonds (some in Spain are dusted in flour), and a toaster oven (with plug converter) and/or foil, some utensils, and maybe a small pan for stovetop cooking (so that somewhere she might be able to scramble eggs or cook a chicken breast, etc.).
The gf/cf diet has been quite a challenge, but do-able.

[Fawn in CA]

Daughter says that Dr. Schar's "crisp bread" crackers are the best she has ever eaten.
Also, some of the cd websites and books have "restaurant cards" in foreign languages.
She was wondering about Nutella - I'll tell her than in France it's gf.