After spending day one sick on the bus and sicker at our first stop, I decided it would be better for me and my health to take the next day off. So while the group was off learning about aging Parmesan cheese and sausage making I spent most of the morning sleeping off my stomach ache. Apparently I missed the right day. Everyone came back that evening saying that it wasn't really that special, and since we were going to a Parmesan cheese producer the next morning, and I had made sausage at school I didn't even really miss anything. Later that night, I was finally starting to feel better, so my roommate and I decided we would venture out into the city of Parma to find some food. Well, we got a little turned around, and didn't find the close restaurant that everyone had found the night before. What we did find, however, made me laugh. We managed to stumble upon a little Chinese restaurant, and boy did I have a heck of a time explaining, in my broken Italian, to the Chinese Italian server, about how I couldn't eat gluten. I feel very fortunate that a nice Italian lady, who spoke perfect English, was there to translate to the server. With her help I ended up ordering chicken and steamed rice. What is really funny about it, my rice came out, but no chicken. The server even looked at me and said, "chicken, waiting," so I figured they were taking some extra time and precautions. Finally by the time I finished my rice, and my roommate had finished her whole meal, the server brought us a dessert menu. My roommate and I looked at each other, and we both joked about how they must be killing the chicken in the back. So we ordered dessert, I took a gamble and ordered gelato (pictured below) and she ordered a tiramisu. We still thought that my chicken would probably come before, or even with, our desserts. After they brought our desserts we finally figured out that my chicken was never coming, but at least they didn't charge us for it. So that was my first experience trying to order gluten free in Italy, and lucky for me it got much easier as the trip went on.
The next restaurant in Parma was much easier! It was a small, family run establishment, and when I mentioned my need for gluten free food the owner not only worked with me to make ordering easy, he also brought me packaged rice cakes and crackers, all "senza gluten." I ordered a salad, and perhaps one of the best pork chops I have ever had. It was amazing, and all delivered with a smile, which just makes everything better! My only regret was that we didn't go to this restaurant until our last night in Parma, so I only got to try the one meal there.
The next day we were off to Florence. If you ever make it to Italy, the locals will tell you how easy it is to navigate Florence, "Just find the river, and walk beside it until you get to the bridge. That will put you on the exterior of the main part of the city, and you can find your way anywhere from there." Well, it's not that easy at all!!! We found the river all right, but which bridge were we supposed to use as a landmark?!? There were at least three bridges that we could see! So we walked, a lot!!! We did actually manage to find our hotel on the outskirts of town, but it took about two hours. I was so happy we left ourselves plenty of time to make it back to the hotel before dinner. We didn't leave enough time to shower after getting lost, but eh, it's Europe, who needs a shower? After we made it back we did a quick change to meet in the lobby to walk to our dinner location. Yep, I said we were hoofing it again. In fact, you actually have to walk to most locations inside Florence. Cars are strictly prohibited in most of the city. It's no wonder that most Italians eat the way they do, but stay very slim. Again, we had the joy of navigating Florence without a guide to get us where we were going. The 20 minute walk quickly, or maybe slowly, became an hour long walk, but we finally found the little restaurant we were looking for. Once there, it was the first place I was able to get pasta! I was so excited for some noodles I didn't actually care how they were served, so I tried my first wild boar of the trip. It wasn't bad, kinda interesting, albeit a bit gamy, but it is a specialty dish of the region, so I had to try it!
Florence was a bit of a whirlwind, and after only one day there, we departed to the Chianti region of Tuscany, which was also my favorite stop of the trip. Tuscany is beautiful!! In fact, I would say it was easily some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever, or probably will ever see in my life! Not only is the actual countryside beautiful, but the food was beautiful too! Our hotel was in the middle of the country, with a little family restaurant next door. The next closest restaurant, shop, or anything for that matter, was about 6 km away, or a little more than three miles, so not exactly close walking distance. We spent a lot of time at that restaurant, and by the end of our time there the chef and our server were very familiar with my needs. Here's a picture of an amazing beef carpaccio salad that I had. It was delicious!
This is Alfredo, our server from Tuscany
My favorite part of the trip, by far, was prepping lunch at the Tuscan vineyard. We had an actual cooking lesson in Parma, which was awesome too, but in Tuscany we had easy prep work, and did it outdoors with the most amazing view I have ever seen! We made bruschetta, and veggies to top our homemade pasta, that the group also made. Of course I didn't eat the pasta, or the crostinis, but it was still an amazing experience to prep on the patio. They did actually give me a bowl of the fresh tomatoes and a gluten free pasta with our veggies. It was incredible! Everything was fresh, and organic, including the wine! This vineyard was cool! They are the first in the world to come up with a way to make a totally organic, sulfate free wine, and it is tasty!! Below are a couple of pictures of the vineyard, and us cooking on the patio. I still feel like it was all a dream, and I even have pictures to prove it wasn't.
These two are of the group making pasta. I didn't help because hand washing was tricky while making food on the patio, and I didn't want to cross contaminate my hands. It was still pretty awesome to watch it all happen!
Here's me posing with our insane view!
After our few days in Tuscany, it was time to hit the road again, and we were off to Rome! Rome is a lot like Florence because it is a very busy city. However, cars are allowed in many more locations in Rome than they are in Florence. Lanes don't exist, if your bike, car, truck or bus fits, it's totally OK to drive anywhere. Small cars and scooters dart in and out of traffic, and they park where ever they can find a spot. Sometimes the spots that they find to park in are quite funny actually. They will park on the sidewalk, they park on the road in a usable lane, and even funnier, they parallel park beside another row of parallel parked cars, so the parking is two cars wide into the actual street. I have never seen so many people, on the roads, or within the city! It was incredible! We did a ton more walking in Rome in order to see all the sites within the city, but our first stop was at McDonald's to use the facilities. Inside the Micky D's was a whole other world. In America our McDonald's are pretty standard. The plastic booths look pretty much the same no matter what state you are in, the counters are the same, and that's pretty much it. In Rome, the McDonald's was two stories, with fashionable art deco interior. As with most of Italy, they decorated with bottles of olive oil and vinegar, but they also had a number of boards with information about what "specials" they were offering, and downstairs they had one of the most elaborate pastry and cappuccino bars I have ever seen! I know it's crazy for me to care so much about McDonald's, especially since I stopped eating McDonald's long before I stopped eating gluten, but it was spectacular, and it just shows how much pride all Italians have in their food. Even their fast food!
Later that night we made it to our Rome hotel which left something to be desired, but eh, it's Europe, so you can't expect the same comforts we get used to out here. OK, it was actually pretty bad. We were in a really bad part of town, and my roommate and I got stuck in a room that is smaller than my office at work, while the rest of the group had "normal size" rooms. After raising a little hell, and getting our room switched we were off to dinner.
We found a nice restaurant across the street from the hotel and we all ordered wine and food. After mentioning that I needed gluten free food I ordered chicken breast with roasted potatoes and a salad. My salad came out great, but when I got my chicken there were no potatoes, which made me sad since I was really looking forward to them. When I asked the server what was up, he went back to the kitchen to figure it all out. A short while later, the chef came out and explained that the potatoes are prepared at the station next to the pizza making station, and there was too much likely hood for cross contamination, but he would be bringing me some grilled veggies on the house. It was a first! In my experience in the states, the servers and cooks go with it, and they rarely tell you about such instances of cross contamination. What was even better, the next day we went back for lunch and I didn't even have to order. The chef had personally gone shopping earlier in the day to buy me an assortment of gluten free pastas and breads! I was amazed!! Never since I have been gluten free has anyone ever gone to those lengths for me! I was so thankful that they cared so much, and I was grateful that we had a few meals scheduled there so that I could show how much I appreciated it!!
By the end of the 12 day trip, I only had pasta four times, and two of those times were at our restaurant in Rome. The rest of the trip I could pretty much guarantee that I would get a plate of meat and cheese, which wasn't too bad either honestly. I also ate quite a bit of risotto, which I'm not as big a fan of, but at least I knew they were taking me seriously! I wish that in America when I order gluten free that I wouldn't have to explain that it really is a medical necessity, and that my food would be delivered with a smile instead of an eye roll. Maybe some day. For now I will fondly think of Italy, and all the plates of meat. I would much rather a restaurant tell me, "We can't make that gluten free. Would you prefer a plate of assorted meats and cheeses?" Instead of being told that, yes, I can get that GF, only to go home sick 20 minutes later.
Above is one of the many assorted meat trays I ate.
Below is what I made at our lesson in Parma. Eggplant and Zucchini Caponata
If Italy can get gluten free food right, then surly we can do the same in the US. I have faith that we can anyway. For now, I'm happy to be home, but I will miss the simplicity of "Senza glutine por favore."
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