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Sorry this note is quite late but I did want to share what an awesome 
experience I had on vacation in May. Only being diagnosed in Jan., I 
considered cancelling a trip I'd been planning for more than a year. I 
knew London was a Celiac knowledgeable place but everyone said Paris was 
awful for Celiacs. I did not find the latter to be true. I would say 
France is the least Celiac knowledgeable country in Europe but it's still 
ahead of the US in terms of eating out safely.

In London we had b'fast at the hotel and I took my own gf muffins (from 
Sainsbury's in London) to add to my buffet choices of cheese and fruit. 
Lunch was easy, usually a salad with my own dressing packets and crackers 
but I did have an awesome omelet at Harod's one day. We were pressed for 
time in London and did not really pursue gf places, but gf food. The only 
really awesome meal I had in London was at the Dorchester Hotel where we 
had afternoon tea with gf food. Unbelieveable! We could not get over the 
bread for the tea sandwiches and didn't think it was gluten free until we 
saw the other tables around us did have different looking bread. 

In Paris I had really searched out places that knew about gluten but we 
only ended up trying one place on my list as most every place there was 
more than happy to accomodate me when I presented them with my French 
dining card. Only one place didn't take the card back to the chef to see 
what I could and could not have but luckily I didn't get sick. Their food 
was the least inspired of the trip however - they are clearly living off 
their awesome view of Notre Dame.

Here is why it was easy to eat out there as opposed to doing so in the US. 
Most of the food comes from nearby farms (the produce alone you would not 
believe how fresh it tasted!) and most of the food is made onsite at each 
place so the chef/cooks know what is in the food - quite unlike most 
moderately priced places here. For instance, at a higher end place which I 
will name (as the chef wife has Celiac - I think), Le Reminet, the server 
told me I could have their duck pate` and I did and it was great. Another 
cheaper place told me I could not have their pate` and when they brought 
it to my husband you could see the breadcrumbs in it. 

Also, I noticed that the French servers seemed more intelligent and 
thoughtful than those I run into here at home - regardless if they are 
college students or not. They are just more serious about food and their 
jobs. Unlike here, the servers in Paris took my dining cards very 
seriously and read every word before going back to the kitchen to give 
them to the chef. Here it's like you have to beg servers to take the cards 
to the kithcen sometimes when they think they can tell you what is safe - 
when in fact they can't. 

Being on vacation and eating out for 12 days and not getting sick was like 
being in a dream I didn't want to wake up from. Maybe one day it will be 
like that here but in the meantime I'll always have Paris...




   

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