A fantastic opportunity to spend time as a family, even though our children are not so small any more. Exploring a small part of Italy to discover what it had to offer including a fine array of allergy-friendly and delicious foods. Our 10 days were simply stunning and I know we’d all love to go back again:
Without a doubt we loved our meals out whilst in Italy, but sometimes it was equally fab to be able to stay in and enjoy a glass or two alongside a simple home-cooked meal. I decided we would travel lighter than normal this year in an attempt to avoid the mammoth queues that were plaguing the UK airports over the summer months. This meant I couldn’t pack our usual extra suitcase of safe foods to take with us. Fortunately, there was a large Co-op hypermarket near our farmhouse in Orvieto and we found a great free-from section there with plenty of options to keep everyone happy.
The shelves were stocked with a variety of Schar gluten-free breads which were perfect for our “at-home” days and there was plenty of choice of cooked meats and local goats cheeses that both G and M enjoyed. With fresh fruit and vegetables and crisps to sit alongside the rest of the food, most mealtimes were plentiful and we didn’t really need too much else to satisfy the pickings of my hungry duo. However, it was amazing to find these extras to keep them both smiling throughout the day:
Pizza: Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of the label for the gluten- and dairy-free pizza we found, but with the option of both proscuitto and magherita pizzas which suited both G and M, these were a big hit on our first night there. They were easy to oven-cook and it was fantastic to find a free-from pizza that was both gluten- and dairy-free to prepare as that’s rarely the case at home in the UK. In fact, I’d go far as to say UK brands should take note as this would be an absolute game-changer for us. The two pizzas were more than enough to feed even the hungriest amongst us – the 16 year-old boy who appears to have hollow legs – and Mike and I even managed to sneak a slice to taste-test too.
: These were a real find during our holiday and G and M tried both the Quinoa and Cranberry bars and Rice and chocolate drops bars, although the latter did contain a small amount of soy lecithin which was a shame. We also tried a selection of their biscuits, though these contain egg and M had to be sensible about just how many he consumed in any one sitting! We bought a few boxes of the cereal bars in particular as they were easy to pack to take out with us when we were on the move and were great at tiding M over whilst waiting for the next meal!
Valsoia
& Bene-si Ice-creams: Another set of great finds, though soya was the main ingredient in the Valsoia ice-cream and hazelnuts the base for the Bene-si one. Fortunately, neither child struggles with an allergy to hazelnuts and M in particular was extremely careful about how much of this one he tried. We managed his consumption of the sour cherry soya ice-cream with an increased dose of his anti-histamines and anti-allergens when he had a bowl and we didn’t see any 
ill effects during our time away. It was fantastic to see a wide selection of different flavoured dairy-free ice-creams readily available in the hypermarket, although I wish we’d been able to find a good coconut ice-cream for M to try as well as the others.
It has been quite some time since I lasted blogged and boy have those months been busy! Amongst other things we’ve celebrated a 16th birthday, survived the onslaught of BTEC and GCSE exams – as well as nearly all the results – some big changes at work and a performance in the West End by G and M. With so much going on, it’s been difficult to find time to put the proverbial pen to paper, but having just come back from an amazing 10 days in Italy, I was determined to find 5 minutes wherever I could to share our travel experiences.
Unusually, I didn’t do as much research on safe places to eat before we travelled as I have in the past, but having seen how well Italy accommodates those on special diets on our quick jaunt there a few years’ ago, I was hopeful we might have reasonable success. And so we did. With a little light touch internet searching on the ground to assist us, we found some amazing places to eat.
Our journey started in Pisa where we walked to see the Leaning Tower before heading for a quick pit-stop in Florence for lunch, and finally on to a beautiful farmhouse just outside Orvieto, where we spent the first week of our holiday. We didn’t eat out much whilst we were there, but the meals we did have were brilliant:
Hard Rock Cafe Florence: A holiday simply wouldn’t be a holiday without lunch at the local Hard Rock Cafe. I can’t say we go as far as planning our destinations around the HRC locations, but it is pretty much always one of the first things M asks about once he knows where we’re going. The Italian approach to allergy-friendly eating was a little different than we’re used to, with no separate menus, but we did have an extremely knowledgeable server who was able to tell both G and M if their selections were safe or not. G picked the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, whilst M chose a starter of chicken wings, followed by the grilled chicken sandwich. Their plates were cleared in the usual fashion when we eat at a HRC and I’m told that the gluten-free bread rolls were the best that they’ve eaten anywhere in the world.
Antica Cantina, Orvieto
: Our base for the week, La Grande Quercia, was a fabulous farmhouse found on top of a hillside overlooking the cliff-top city of Orvieto and mid-week we decided to venture there for an explore and a lunch at the Antica Cantina restaurant. There were some great local specialities on the menu and M was delighted to learn that all of their pasta dishes could be made gluten- and dairy-free. The children started with a plate of parma ham and melon before G enjoyed a platter of goats’ cheeses with gluten-free bread and salad, and M selected the rigatoni with a tomato and smoked bacon sauce. Mike and I also chose regional dishes and we all very much enjoyed our first proper Italian meal out.
Trattoria del Buongusto, Marmore
: Our one big day trip out was to the awe-inspiring Marmore Falls, the tallest man-made waterfall in the world. We spent our time exploring the various trails and climbing to get the most amazing views of all 3 tiers of the falls. We managed to buy a very basic hot dog lunch at the Falls themselves as there were no allergy-friendly options on offer, but our dinner at the nearby Trattoria del Buongusto more than made up for a somewhat scrappy lunch. Disappointingly they didn’t have any gluten-free pasta available the evening we were there, but our waitress was brilliant and helped translate the menu for us as well as letting us know which dishes could be prepared gluten- and dairy-free. This time G chose a cold meats and cheeses platter with salad and potatoes, whilst M feasted like a king on a mixed seafood platter starter followed by a mixed grill entree.
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