My Supper In Genoa
I found a gem in Genoa called the Trattoria Alle Due Torri.
Look at the web page and translate it into English and you’ll see it is endorsed by the Associazione Italiana Celiachia. They have an extensive gluten-free menu and it was great.
If you look at the picture of my starter, you’ll see something at the right that was some sort of vegetable flan, that tasted like quiche. But it was gluten free and gorgeous.
Certainly, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had in Italy. And I’ve eaten quite a few!
I did overindulge a bit. But I was on holiday!
A Big Mistake In Naples
I know Naples well and I like the city a lot, but I still made a big mistake, by not getting a hotel right in the middle and preferably by the station.
I choose to stay at the Holiday Inn and it all went well getting there as the taxi was just ten euros.
I then needed to get back into the city to have something to eat. I wanted to get to Umberto’s restaurant, which is one I’ve used before that is very celiachia-friendly.
I thought there would be a bus, as coming in, I’d noticed the stop on the other side. But the guy at reception said that the only way to get back to the city centre was to take a taxi and he would call one. Like an idiot I believed him.
The taxi driver appeared about twenty minutes later and insisted I wanted to go to Pompeii. I ignored him and felt that perhaps the best thing to do was take an early night. He then called the receptionist and as I was hungry, I negotiated a trip to Umberto. I didn’t get the direct route and it cost me twenty euros to return.
But at least the meal was worth eating, even if I was a bit stressed. I finished the meal off with this ice cream.
Ice Cream at Umberto’s
It tasted as good as it looked. But then I trust Umberto’s, as everything gluten-free is clearly marked GF. And they even do gluten-free pizza!
Coming back, they sorted the taxi for me and I got back to the hotel for fourteen euros. As they said, I should have got a hotel in the centre.
The room in the Holiday Inn was actually quite comfortable and good value.
In the morning though, when asking another receptionist (female) how to get to the city centre, she gave me the timetable of their free shuttle bus. And of course, one would have been convenient to have used in the evening.
I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near a Holiday Inn again. Especially in Italy!
Do Italians Talk With Their Hands?
I only have a few words of Italian, but at least I can pronounce celiachai, which is Italian for coeliac well enough to get served gluten-free food.
On the other hand, I find Italians easy to understand, as they seem to use their hands more for emplasis, than other nationalities.
I must learn some more Italian!
At least I know most of the words for food, although at lunchtime one day in Carluccio’s I wasn’t sure what rapa was. But then there was a translation.
Supper In Palermo
The hotel recommended a restaurant round the corner called Gagini.
The food, staff and atmosphere were all excellent and of course gluten-free.
The starter was particularly good as it was three types of seafood blended with salt from Trapani on Salina and spices. I’ve actually been to that island in the Aoelian Islands.
Breakfast At Gatwick
It wasn’t that good, as the South Terminal doesn’t have a Jamie’s Italian like the the North one does.
I was in a restaurant, where I had some pretty good scrambled egg, but there were other things on the menu, that I thought, if they had been properly cooked, would be gluten-free.
The restaurant was also serving Aspall’s cyder, which I know is gluten-free, but they didn’t know it was.
Surely, if McDonalds know what contains allergues, it is not beyond the wit of any restaurant to do the same.
So that’s one restaurant, I won’t bother with again.
Carluccio’s Do A Gluten-Free Crostini
This week, Carluccio’s have a gluten-free crostini on the special menu.
Carluccio’s Do A Gluten-Free Crostini
It is all about garlic, mushrooms and rocket.
It made a nice change as a starter.
Incidentally, the Carluccio’s in Islington now has wi-fi. And like the system in Manchester Piccadilly, it is easy to connect to it.
An Ideal Job For A Coeliac!
Something seems to be stirring at Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery On Upper Street in Islington.
A notice has appeared saying that they are hiring.
An Ideal Job For A Coeliac!
They also gave a web site address, which appears to be as they say still being cooked.
Eurostar Go For The East Coast Franchise
I have noticed that Eurostar are bidding to run the trains to the North and Scotland from Kings Cross.
I do hope that if they do run it, they bring the excellent gluten-free food from their continental services.
Lots Of Taxis But No Buses
I felt hungry, so I felt the best thing to do was move on towards Manchester, as there didn’t appear any good coffee or gluten-free snacks. This greeted me as I walked back to Preston station.
Lots Of Taxis But No Buses
Is this the cause of the city’s bus problems at the rail station? Moving the taxi rank to the side would allow buses to call at the station properly. But then rule one in planning traffic around railway stations and city centres is not to annoy the taxi drivers. and as I suspect many taxis are driven by ethnic minorities, rule two is not to annoy ethnic minorities.
But something must be done in Preston to make the city centre more viable. With a proper interchange at the station, it might encourage the use of buses to get to the outlying towns around the city. At present I suspect, that you have no excuse but to drive.
As a coeliac, Preston is a place, I wouldn’t put on a list of places to change trains. the only restaurant I know there, that I’d trust to do gluten-free well is Pizza Express.
The best thing about Preston was the train I took to Huyton.
Ready Meals
I have just realised I’ve not eaten a shop-bought pre-prepared ready meal for about five to six weeks now. I have had a couple of cartons of soup for lunch, as I’m trying to keep my liquid levels up.
Usually, I cook something from scratch.
On the other hand, I was looking around my local Sainsburys in Dalston, yesterday and there seemed to be some frozen ready meals from a company called Kirstys.
The range is shown here.
If I’m late and need a meal urgently, I might try one.
The Anonymous Widower 