Gluten Free
Gluten Free - Glutenfrei (Senza Gluten - Italian)
Let's face it - finding safe gluten free food anywhere is a pain in the ass. Trust me- we have been doing this for over 7 years now. From the moment we returned from the emergency room, we knew life was going to change. And I mean for the good. We knew what the problem was and how to get her better. Everything was clear. From that moment on - we were gluten free. And the adventure began.
Over the years we have gotten creative at home - and on vacations. Some countries are harder than others to navigate but we are finding our way. (Switzerland - we are still working on it!) But Austria had been our favorite to navigate until.... we went to Italy. By far, the easiest place to find safe gluten free food. We visited 4 totally gluten free bakeries in 3 cities. We had so much that by the time we got to our last stop - we couldn't even look for it! Groceries stores were stocked - even the tiny shop in the little town in Tuscany we were staying had a gluten free pasta for sale. The salads, risotto, pizza and pastas were AMAZING. My kids ate tortellini and ravioli for the first time since our friend, "Celiac" entered our life. And I mentioned the bakeries right?
MILAN:
GluFree Bakery: Hip Bakery with amazing treats, breads and coffee.
PanParMe: Stay a while and maybe get the swings by the window.
Rossopomodoro: Hello Pizza!
Cantina Piemontese Milan: Fancier than pizza. Lovely to sit outside.
FLORENCE:
Lorenzo de Medici: We went both days we were in Florence. Salad was delish and the pizza - well - it was AMAZING! I would go back to Florence just for that restaurant.
Starbene Gluten Free Gold: Gluten Free Bakery. When on the website it looks like they have other locations in other cities.
SIENA:
Sorry, I have no suggestions there- we failed MISERABLY - even the coffee - I didn't realize you could get a bad cup of coffee in Italy!
PISA:
L'Arciere: What gluten pizza again!!!! Woo hoo
And truthfully, there were more gluten free locations, but we could not get to them. Looks like we will need to go back.
By the way, some food we brought back with us. Red wine and olive oil directly from the farms in the town we stayed. We also brought a jar of local tomato sauce, pesto and olive tapenade home with us - oh and chestnut flour, I cannot wait to bake with it!
Two places not to miss if you are going through the farms and small towns:
Il Caffè degli Amici: If ever in the town of Tarvarnelle - don't miss this local treat!
La Spinoza: This little shop is where we were able to sample local wines and bring and purchase local products from the farms.